Top 11 Athlete Nicknames

By CJ Tiernan

As a person who goes by CJ, i'm a fan of a nickname. I'm a big proponet of having fun with what you call people, as long as said people are in on the fun. I'm also a sports fan. Athletes have had a long list of excellent nicknames dating back to way before ESPN ever showed highlights or dropped a "Boo-Yah!" Below, I've created a list of my favorite nicknames in all of sports.

1. The Minister of Defense - Reggie White

Position: NFL Defensive End

Team(s): Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers

Years Active: 1985-2000

Full Disclosure: I'm a Green Bay Packers fan. I feel confident that was a factor in ranking this one as high as possible. I love this one because not only is it unique, but it also hits on accuracy. He was first given the nickname in college, as he became a Baptist minister while enrolled. He was a minister that played on defense. They nailed it.

2. The Galloping Ghost - Red Grange

Position: College/NFL/AFL Running Back

Team(s): Chicago Bears, New York Yankees, Illinois Fighting Illini

Years Active: 1925-1927, 1929-1934

This nickname is awesome. It's so awesome that I chose an athlete who played like 100 years ago. Obviously, I never saw him play. Which was too bad because he was up to some weird stuff. He helped invent a football team and named it the New York Yankees. What!? He also played in College Football and Pro Football in the same season. As a bonus, he was born Harold Edward Grange so "Red" is a nickname too.

3. The Flyin' Hawaiian - Shane Victorino

Position: MLB Outfielder

Team(s): San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, LA Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Years Active: 2003, 2005-2015

Another spot-on nickname. He was from Hawaii and he flew around the outfield to the tune of 4 Gold Gloves. Plus it rhymes. You'll pretty much always get bonus points from me if you make something rhyme.

4. Sultan of Swat/Colossus of Clout - Babe Ruth

Position: MLB Outfielder/Pitcher

Team(s): Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Boston Braves

Years Active: 2003, 2005-2015

If the movie "The Sandlot" is to be believed, this guy was like the king of nicknames. I didn't even include "The Great Bambino," "The Titan of Terror," or "The King of Crash." Babe Ruth was famously one of the best baseball players of all time. Can you imagine not knowing one of the best players' of all time actual name? Surprise: Babe is a nickname too. He was born George Herman Ruth.

5. The Gravedigger - Gilbert Brown

Position: NFL Nose Tackle

Team(s): Green Bay Packers

Years Active: 1993-2003

Alright, now my Green-and-Gold tinted glasses are really showing. But how sick is this nickname? And it came with a move! When he made a sack or a tackle behind the line of scrimmage he would pantomime holding a shovel and digging dirt from the ground. Epic! I need more grave digging and less Griddy dancing in my life.

6. The Hick from French Lick - Larry Bird

Position: NBA Forward

Team(s): Boston Celtics

Years Active: 1979-1992

I like this one for several reasons. One, it's just a straight-up insult and Larry was just too midwest nice to say anything (If you're hip to his epic trash talk during his playing days, you may push back a little there). And two, he is one of the best NBA players of all time and this name makes him seem like he backed into sucess or something. He was also known as "Larry Legend," which is like how you call Lebron James "King James" at 18 because greatness is as inevitable as it is unassuming. French Lick is a small resort town in Indiana, by the way, where Larry went to High School.

7. The Law Firm - BenJarvus Green-Ellis

Position: NFL Running Back

Team(s): New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals

Years Active: 2008-2013

This is my kind of nickname right here. The cadence to his name sounds like a list of several names (like the title of a law firm), so someone called him "The Law Firm" and it stuck. Like how, as an adult, you have people in your life you call by their last name because you played sports with them in Elementary School. This nickname is unquestionably the most memorable thing about his career, although he did finish with exactly double the number of career rushing touchdowns that Red Grange had.

8. The Flying Tomato - Shaun White

Position: Snowboarder/Skateboarder

Team(s): USA Olympian

Years Active: 2002-2022

If you're gonna suffer the indignity of being named after propelled produce, you're gonna need a good sense of humor. Shaun is laughing all the way to the bank as an all-timer in the Olympics and at 2 different board sports. He received the nickname because he's a red head. How 'bout that: red heads are people too.

9. The Wizard of Westwood - John Wooden

Position: College Head Coach

Team(s): Indiana State, UCLA

Years Active: 1946-1975

Whelp, I cheated. I sought to play an honest game but here I've gone and put a coach on the list. Technically, he was a 3 time All-American at Purdue, so he didn't not play. But obviously, he's famous for coaching. Specifically, he's famous for winning 10 college basketball national championships in a 12 year span, including 7 in a row. Westwood refers to a neighborhood in LA where the campus resides.

10. Slash - Kordell Stewart

Position: NFL Quarterback/Gagdget Guy

Team(s): Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens

Years Active: 1995-2005

Here's another fun nickname. Slash refers to the backslash (/) that one would use to divide various postions, as he managed to play many different roles for his teams. He could pass, run, and catch. He even punted in a playoff game once. He was an early prototype for what some of the very best QBs of today excell at.

11. The Round Mound of Rebound - Charles Barkley

Position: NBA Forward

Team(s): Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets

Years Active: 1984-2000

Here's another nickname that we slapped on a great player that feels like an insult. Today, Chuck plays a caricature of himself on TV. Back in his playing days, oh man. I would not want that smoke. While the name clearly attatcks his weight, he does also have the nickname "Sir Charles" in his back pocket for special occasions. Plus, the nickname does also highlight the fact that he was a demon on the boards.

Final Thoughts

There are tons and tons of nicknames for athletes and it was so hard to pare it down to a Top 11. I'm sure I left off more than a few of your favorites. Please let me know who I missed. I will leave you with a small list of the athletes that just missed the cut on my list.

El Mago - Javier Báez

The Baltimore Bullet - Michael Phelps

The Splendid Splinter - Ted Williams

The Akron Hammer - LeBron James

The Greek God of Walks - Kevin Youkilis

Wilt the Stilt - Wilt Chamberlain

The Greatest - Muhammad Ali

Magic - Earvin Johnson

The Playmaker - Michael Irvin

Night Train - Dick Lane

The Refrigerator - William Perry