The Strange and Forgotten Nicknames of Baseball Legends
Baseball has always had a thing for nicknames. Most of them stuck because of how a guy played, how he looked, where he came from, or something that happened once and never again. This list zooms into the oddball, outdated, and occasionally baffling nicknames that made it into the dugout and the box score.
Boots “The Baron” Poffenberger
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He didn’t like rules, didn’t care for curfews, and didn’t always show up. “The Baron” was just one of many names people gave to Boots. When the team hired a detective to track him, he suggested they save the money and just check the nearest bar. He wasn’t joking.
Mose “The Rabbi of Swat” Solomon
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Hyped as the next Babe Ruth, Solomon brought power and Jewish heritage to the Giants in the 1920s. The nickname riffed off Ruth’s “Sultan of Swat,” and doubled as a marketing ploy. He only played two games in the majors, but his nickname outlasted his stats.
Walter “Boom-Boom” Beck
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Beck had a rough time on the mound, and Dodger fans had front-row seats to it. The first “boom” was the bat hitting the ball. The second was that same ball slamming against the outfield wall. It stuck because it summed up his outings—loud, fast, and not in a good way.
Joe “Ducky-Wucky” Medwick
Credit: Wikipedia
This one came from a female fan, and Joe Medwick absolutely hated it. The hard-hitting Cardinals outfielder had no patience for cute names—or much of anything else. At one point, he chased teammates Dizzy and Daffy Dean around the field. Not surprisingly, they kept calling him “Ducky-Wucky” anyway.
Eddie “Bazooka” Basinski
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He played for the Dodgers and later the Pirates, but was also a classically trained violinist. When manager Leo Durocher found out, he dared Eddie to prove it. Eddie did—on the spot—and earned a new nickname: Bazooka. Later, his teammates started calling him “Fiddler.”
Branch “The Mahatma” Rickey
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Known best for signing Jackie Robinson, Rickey was a GM, innovator, and relentless ideologue. Sportswriters nicknamed him “The Mahatma,” as a tribute to his wisdom and sanctimony. Others called him “El Cheapo” for his tight budgets. Still, few baseball minds reshaped the sport more.
George “Twinkletoes” Selkirk
Credit: MLB
Selkirk replaced Babe Ruth in right field for the Yankees—no pressure. He ran on the balls of his feet, which gave him a springy, almost tiptoe-like gait. That earned him “Twinkletoes,” a soft-sounding name for a guy with five World Series rings.
Tony “Poosh ‘Em Up” Lazzeri
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Before he became a Hall of Famer, Tony Lazzeri was a kid in New York’s Italian neighborhoods. Fans misheard his father’s shouts of encouragement—“Hit it out!”—at games. Sportswriters ran with it, morphing it into “Poosh ’Em Up.” It stuck, eventually pairing with a second nickname: “The Mussolini of the Diamond.”
Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown
Credit: IMDb
Unlike some of the weirder clubhouse nicknames, this one was literal. Brown lost parts of two fingers in a farming accident as a kid. That injury gave his pitches unusual spin. What should’ve been a disadvantage became a weapon, and “Three Finger” became synonymous with his Hall of Fame career.
William “Dummy” Hoy
Credit: Wikipedia
Hoy was deaf, and in the late 1800s, “Dummy” was sadly a standard label for deaf players. But Hoy wasn’t defined by it—he played over 1,700 games and is often credited with helping umpires adopt hand signals for balls and strikes. His nickname might’ve reflected the times, but his impact went far beyond it.
Hugh “Ee-Yah” Jennings
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Jennings was a fiery shortstop who shouted “Ee-Yah!” every time he came to bat. Fans began calling him “Ee-Yah” off the field, too, much to his delight. The nickname outlasted his playing days, following him well into his time managing the Tigers.
Charles “Victory” Faust
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Faust convinced Giants manager John McGraw that he was good luck. Though he couldn’t pitch much, the team started winning whenever he suited up. McGraw kept him around; he was more of a mascot than a player. The nickname “Victory” came from superstition, and it worked, for a while.
Elroy “The Baron of the Bullpen” Face
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Before closers were a thing, Face was already dominating the late innings. In 1959, he went 18–1—all in relief—setting a record that still stands. The nickname “Baron of the Bullpen” came later.
George “Specs” Toporcer
Credit: Wikipedia
In the 1920s, wearing glasses on the field wasn’t common, and Toporcer was the first major league position player to do it. Fans and teammates dubbed him “Specs.” The moniker, like the lenses, was hard to miss.