View Full Version : Strange sporting names
Toots Hibbert
17 Oct 2006, 17:05
Got thinking about this because I came across the the name of an Advertiser journo who wrote about the Mcleod - Edwards saga. Her name:- Tegan Slugget (think I got the spelling right)
It reminded me of a few others
Marina Stepanova - A 400 metres hurdler for the Soviet Union about 20 years ago.
Mookie Blaylock - US basketballer
McGregor Grummet - Former South Adelaide footballer
Llane Spaanderman - Brisbane footballer (Does whatever a spaander can)
Che Cockatoo-Collins - Port
David Cockatoo-Collins - ?
Don Cockatoo-Collins - ?
Edit:- Thought I was posting this on The Twilight Zone.
Anyway there was the famous cricket scoreline "Lillee c. Willey b. Dilley"
matty_hawk
17 Oct 2006, 17:19
willy d1 ck. misty hymen won a gold medal in swimming not long ago didnt she
RussellEbertHandball
17 Oct 2006, 17:36
Misty Hymen beat Madame Butterfly, Susie O'Neil for the 200m Butterfly gold medal at the Sydney Olympics. She must have said Oh my God 20 x in a row after she won.
Anyway there was the famous cricket scoreline "Lillee c. Willey b. Dilley"
Reminds me of "The batsman's Holding, the bowlers Willey" :D
Captain Wacky
17 Oct 2006, 17:46
Misty Hymen
Beat me to it! That one will never be topped.
RussellEbertHandball
17 Oct 2006, 17:46
It reminded me of a few others
Marina Stepanova - A 400 metres hurdler for the Soviet Union about 20 years ago.
Sorry to change the topic slightly Toots but this is a great example of Nominative Determinism. Ie where your name is linked to your career.
Mr Ham was minister for agriculture, in UK I think,
Chris Web was the CEO of an internet security company.
Marshall Brain runs the How Stuff Works website and writes the How Stuff Works books.
I will have to think of a few more that I have noted over the years.
Slightly OT, but there was a racehorse in Perth called Tartoor once. :D
RussellEbertHandball
17 Oct 2006, 18:18
A couple of USA sporting names. More so the first name.
Anfernee Hardaway NBA basketballer. Mainly played for Orlando Magic, finished career with NY Knicks.
LaShinda Richardson 400m Hurdler. She represented USA at last years World Championships.
A couple of classic Afro-American modern bizzare names.
In fact the more I think about it, you just have to go through each NBA team list and you will find a name or two.
RussellEbertHandball
17 Oct 2006, 18:34
At the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games, in the weightlifting, Dean Lukin won his first international title and came up against a huge 17 year old kid from Nigeria, who won a bronze medal, and I'm 99% certain his name was Ironbar Bassey. I remember Neville Oliver getting very excited by the kid.
Edit: Did a quick google search and it confirmed I was right. Interestingly in Mad Max III the chief henchman played by Angry Anderson was called Ironbar Bassey. One of the writers must have watched the weightlifting and been impressed as well.
Santos L Helper
17 Oct 2006, 18:39
What about Yutaka Fukufuji ? Back up goalie for the LA Kings hockey team. Say his name real quick. ;)
Also., there's a guy playing in the minors called Wacey Rabbit.
RussellEbertHandball
17 Oct 2006, 18:49
A couple more from the Olympics that has come to the forefront of my memory;
2000 Olympics, an Italian basketballer last name on his jersey was FUKS pronounced by Phil Lynch as FOOKS.
2002 Winter Olympics German Ice Hockey player, KUN.T.Z. Roy and HG didn't pronounce his name, just showed his jersey.
A couple more from the Olympics that has come to the forefront of my memory;
2000 Olympics, an Italian basketballer last name on his jersey was FUKS pronounced by Phil Lynch as FOOKS.
...
It was better than that. His name was Fuka, poor mama. :D
RussellEbertHandball
17 Oct 2006, 19:05
It was better than that. His name was Fuka, poor mama. :D
:D
I was close. What I mainly remember is Phil Lynch (7 basketball commentator) not pronouncing the name as it was spelt.:D He must have said FOOKA
Toots Hibbert
17 Oct 2006, 19:12
Sorry to change the topic slightly Toots but this is a great example of Nominative Determinism. Ie where your name is linked to your career.
Translingual nominative determinism even! Unless she was taught English at school I guess. :)
Thanks for introducing me to a new term REB.
RussellEbertHandball
17 Oct 2006, 19:32
Translingual nominative determinism even! Unless she was taught English at school I guess. :)
That's a pretty good noun Toots. I first heard about this phrase in the early 90's in the old Column 8 in the Sydney Morning Herald. Dr Karl regularly brings it up in his chats on the radio. In fact he has some pretty good examples at his great moments in science page with the your name is your job example (http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s158395.htm)
Go to google and type in nominative determinism and you get plenty of examples.
Troy Wingate
17 Oct 2006, 20:25
Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean Jacque Wamutombo (this is his full name) - NBA basketballer
portentous
17 Oct 2006, 20:57
I always liked AFL's very own Derek Kickett.
Toots Hibbert
17 Oct 2006, 21:36
That's a pretty good noun Toots. I first heard about this phrase in the early 90's in the old Column 8 in the Sydney Morning Herald. Dr Karl regularly brings it up in his chats on the radio. In fact he has some pretty good examples at his great moments in science page with the your name is your job example (http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s158395.htm)
Go to google and type in nominative determinism and you get plenty of examples.
Wikipedia's entry on nominative determinism gives a beauty. The speed skater who was leading the 1000 metres when he and 3 others crashed to allow Australian Steven Bradbury to win gold was Apollo Anton Ohno! :D
:D
I was close. What I mainly remember is Phil Lynch (7 basketball commentator) not pronouncing the name as it was spelt.:D He must have said FOOKA
His name is Gregor Fu-cka (without the hyphen), prononuced foosh-ka.
Hodges 153!
18 Oct 2006, 16:17
Bo Hamburger - Danish pro cyclist
And how would you like to be called ESPN??
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/07/ap/strange/mainD8KJQHLO0.shtml
wharfie_1870
18 Oct 2006, 16:28
Mr Butcher is an orthopaedic surgeon here in Adelaide.
wharfie_1870
18 Oct 2006, 16:40
What about Yutaka Fukufuji ? Back up goalie for the LA Kings hockey team.......The Japanese word for recession or depression (economic not psychological) is 不況 (ふきょう) - fukyou :eek:
...... pronounced foo-kyoh of course :)