Best NBA Nicknames Of The Decades: 1940s - 1950s
NBA offseason research project time baby!
If there's one thing basketball-reference is king at, it's putting in the investigative journalisming to uncover as many nicknames of NBA players as humanly possible. I mean they got them all and maybe even made some up on their own. Over 1,900 players have at least one nickname in their basketball-reference profile page throughout NBA history and we are about the explore the best of the best throughout the decades. We start today with the 1940's through 1950s. Get ready because we are going to have an old-school "Rollickin' Rollie from Poly" kind of time. Whatever those "Boomers" meant by that.
No other site can compete with this. Basketball-reference finds everything. Spoiler alert to the modern day, but they even outed Boston Celtic Robert "Boo Butt" Williams. Why was he called "Boo Butt"? Because his sister called him that when they were kids. That's why. That's the level of gold these guys were able to dig up and that dedication deserves a comprehensive analysis.
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The word cloud above does what word clouds do and makes the most common nicknames bigger. As you can see, the most common nickname of this time period was "Moose" (7 players) followed by "Johnny" (5 players). Pretty blasé front runners, but the real fun is scanning over the little names to find the hidden gems. Obviously way too many to dive into them all, but here are my picks for best nicknames of the 1940s-1950s in no particular order.
"Pitchin' Paul", "Poppin' Paul" (Paul Arizin)
Before BBall Paul - the city of Philadelphia had Pitchin' Paul. AKA Poppin' Paul.
See Paul pitchin'.
Bettmann. Getty Images.See Paul Poppin'.
Bettmann. Getty Images.Poppin' was one of the original jump shooters in the NBA. Not sure if "Jumping Jack" would have something to say about that though. Imagine being an OG of something so rudimentary. But the best factoid I found was that he was also known as the original grunter. Dude had a chrinic sinus problem. Because of that he apparently wheezed, groaned and moaned down the court all the time. A true LeBron James of his time. He also had a blatant cowlick on the back of his head making him the OG Alfalfa as well. Just an OG of OGs.
"Blubber" AKA "Butterball" AKA "Fat Freddie" (Fred Scolari)
#Mean. I read up on this guy a little bit and came to find he was blind in one eye and deaf in one ear. Evidently, this wasn't enough to get a sympathy nickname. And yes, he struggled with his weight. But the coolest thing about him is that he literally "shot from the hip". How absolutely hilarious that was a viable technique in the late 1940s. Did I mention he was 5'10"? Wembanyama would block that with a shoelace loop. Luckily he was able to find some success in his era though as Wikipedia notes: "After his basketball career ended, he became a successful insurance salesman."
HOUDINI OFF!!!!
"Houdini of the Hardwood" (Bob Cousy) vs "The Harrisburg Houdini" (Bob Davies)
I didn't see this Houdini Off coming at all. But that's what makes a great Houdini. Not only was this a Houdini Off - but a Bob Off as well! Let's check out some stats Bob-to-Bob:
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Credit: basketball-reference.com
While Cousy had the more prestigious career, Davies was able to pull a rabbit out of his hat when on the same stage as Cooz. Not only was he 18-16 hat-to-hat, but he had a better effective field goal percentage in games played vs each other (.979 vs .752). Sure, Cousy was the headliner and played more minutes on stage, but The Harrisburg variety of Houdini used his angles and sleight of hand to steal the show.
"The Load", "The Record Book", "Big Musty", "Wilt the Stilt" (Wilt Chamberlain)
These are only a few of Wilt's recorded nicknames as the rest refer to his performance on the basketball court.
"Sluggish Cluggish" (Bob Cluggish)
Exactly what it sounds like. Bob was awful and slow and they told it like it was. You can't have a last name of "Cluggish" and be a professional athlete. You just can't.
"Tricky Dick" AKA "Slick Dick" AKA "Dick the Knick" (Dick McGuire)
"Dick the Knick" is an all-time name. He played for the Knicks most of his career before his final couple seasons in Detroit. I guess "Dick the Pis" didn't quite catch on.
"Boom Boom" (Ernie Beck and Clyde Lovellette)
Not one "Boom". Two "Booms". And not just one "Boom Boom". Two "Boom Booms". Both players entered the league in 1953 creating a boom boom in "Boom Booms". Only one other "Boom Boom" (Ray Williams - 1973) made their way to the NBA.
I think a "Boom Boom" comeback needs to happen.
"Fall Back Baby" (Dick Barnett)
Before there was Fall Out Boy, there was "Fall Back Baby". At first it seems this poor guy was the back up plan for the ladies but it's actually a pretty bad ass story. He was known for his deadly mid-range game and would call his shot by telling his defender while in the act of shooting to "fall back baby" to get ready to play offense. That's some 1950s swag right there.
"Big Cat" (Earl Lloyd and Kenny Sears)
I don't know why a professional athlete would roll with this as their nickname - let alone two in the 40s and 50s. But there's actually six "Big Cat's" total throughout NBA history. I don't know, just seems like we could go with something a little more athletic sounding. A little less like you're sitting on the couch just watching sports and losing bets. Better than "Blubber" though, I guess.
Honorable mentions:
- Butch Van Breda Kolff "The Butcher" and Ed Stanczeak "Butcher Boy" are the perfect father/son combo except for the fact that they don't appear to have been related
- Let me take "Ol' Hoss" Neil Johnston as late Mount Rushmore pick for "Hosses"
- "Trade Winds" has to be Trevor Ariza. Dude has been on ten teams so it's more than possible he got traded out of his own decades somehow too
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Plenty more good ones to peer over from the word cloud and this is just the early days of the 1940s and 1950s. Can't wait to check back in soon with the next batch. Until then, stay Pitchin'. Stay Poppin'.
- Jeffro