Worst Nicknames in Sports
"The Great Bambino", "Air Jordan", "The People's Champion", "The Iron Horse" — names that will live on as a bookmark in the pages of athletic history and glory. Nicknames in sports are generally seen as marks of honor; specific methods of identification that have been fought for and earned throughout successful careers. Some nicknames, however, are used for farce, mockery and travesty.
We take a look at some of the worst nicknames in sports:
Mark Sanchez, "Sanchize"
Hopeful New York Jets fans who saw Sanchez' success at USC and dreamed of Super Bowl rings to show off to New York Giants fans weren't so disappointed when the "Franchise" itself released the former Trojan in March of 2014. "Sanchize" now hangs onto a one-year contract with a different franchise in Philadelphia, as a backup.
Lester Hayes, "The Molester"
Undoubtedly one of the more lewd nicknames in sports, Hayes earned this dignified title due to his physical play as a cornerback. The former fifth-round pick was particularly effective for the Oakland and LA Raiders on the bump-and-run coverage, which was perfected by fellow Raider, Willie Brown.
Harold Miner, "Baby Jordan"
By bearing the name of one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century, you are effectively comparing yourself to him. The name "Baby" in front of it either implies that you have an equal, albeit dormant, talent, or that your talent, in fact, is callow in the comparison.
Anthony McFarland, "Booger"
We're actually not certain where this nickname came from. And we're not sure we want to know.
Glen Davis, "Big Baby"
As most nicknames are a reflection of a particular athlete's talents, the fact that Davis' nickname came to him from a youth-league football coach at the age of 9. He was too big to play on a team with kids his own age, so he played with older kids, and subsequently earned the nickname when the coach would tell him "Stop crying, you big baby." The name is not, as is popularly believed, a derivative of a baby face.
Doug Martin, "Muscle Hamster"
Nothing strikes fear into your opponents like telling them the "Muscle Hamster" is coming after them. Martin himself has suggested that he despises the nickname. None of us will blame him.
Caron Butler, "Tuff Juice"
The other guy who had "juice" as his nickname experienced a rather public fall from popular athletic grace, and since then, the name hasn't had the same effect. The intentional misspelling of the word "Tough" eradicates any association with the word's actual meaning.
Dennis Boyd, "Oil Can"
This might actually have been a cool nickname if it were associated with a storyline of an athlete finding heart in the game, similar to a certain "Wizard of Oz" character with a missing heart who rocked the nickname originally. But, no, this one is said to have been associated with beer.
