Nicknames - part 2

FOLLOWING on from last week’s feature, here are a few more nicknames of sporting stars, past and present:

USA sprinter Shelley-Ann Fraser (the Pocket Rocket) Pryce; boxers George (Big George) Foreman and Audley (Fraudley) Harrison; cricketers Zak (Creepy) Crawley of England, Aussies Ken (Slasher) Mackay and Glenn (The Big Show) Maxwell, Brendan (Baz) McCullum, Rahul (The Wall) Dravid, Indian bowler Harbhajan (The Turbanator) Singh and batters Virat (Old King) Kohli, Sachin (The Little Master) Tendulkar and Marcus (Banger) Trescothick; cyclists Mark (The Manx Missile) Cavendish and Lance (Mellow Johnny) Armstrong; darters Andy (The Viking) Fordham, Michael (Mighty Mike) van Gerwen and John (Old Stone Face)

Lowe; footballers David (Golden Balls) Beckham, Colin (Njinsky) Bell, John (Budgie) Burridge, Jack (Giraffe) Charlton, Wayne (Sniffer) Clarke, Ralph (Dixie) Dean, England women’s goalkeeper Mary (Queen of the Stops) Earps, Duncan (Dunk & disorderly) Ferguson, George (Stroller) Graham, Ruud (Black Tulip) Gullit, Nat (The Lion of Vienna) Lofthouse, Diego (El Pibe de Oro/The Golden Boy) Maradona, Darren (Big Dave) Moore, Len (The Clown Prince of Soccer) Shackleton, Ray (Butch) Wilkins and Norbert (Nobby) Stiles; golfers Colin (Mr Doubtfire) Montgomery and Gary (The Black Knight) Player; rugby stars Rob (Squeaky) Andrew, Will (Shaggy) Greenwood, Colin (Pine Tree) Meads and Keith (The Raging Potato)

Wood; and swimmer Michael (The Baltimore Bullet) Phelps.

Also there are The Warwickshire Bears in cricket, NFL side The Dallas Cowboys (The Dirty Dozen) and football clubs Crewe Alexandra (The Railwaymen), Heart of Midlothian (The Jam Tarts), Shrewsbury (The Salop) and Sunderland (The Black Cats) plus the Busby Babes of Manchester United (1960s).

Now top this! Fitz Hall, the ex-Southampton, Oldham, Crystal Palace, Watford, Wigan, Newcastle and QPR defender, had one of the most inspired and ingenious nicknames for a footballer. And for anybody who needs it explained, it’s simply ‘One size fits all’.

There are more ‘unusual and quirky’ nicknames to come.