*!http://active.typepad.com/teamsports/images/2007/03/27/shoelessjoe.jpg!http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/03/27/shoelessjoe.jpg*Last month I posted an entry that covered a few of the most unique mascots that I could dig up. When I posted the topic to our [message boards|http://eteamz.active.com/baseball/boards/baseball/message.cfm?id=1817684], there was some very interesting feedback on mascots from all over.
Today I decided to sift through some of the great sports nicknames and post up a list of my favorites. Many people say the creation of sports nicknames is a lost art and that athletes just don???t have nicknames like they used to. To an extent, they have a point; modern nicknames are, for the most part, boring and unimaginative (T-Mac, A-Rod, etc.) I'd like to salute a few of the great ones from the past in a brief list of my favorites (in no particular order):
The Iron Horse (Lou Gehrig) ??? There are few nicknames that are more apt in their description of a player than ???The Iron Horse???, earned by Gehrig during his long-standing record streak of 2,130 consecutive games played.
Shoeless Joe (Joe Jackson) ??? This is one of my favorite
nicknames of all time. Joe Jackson earned the name ???Shoeless??? when, as
a young player, he took off a pair of spikes that hurt his feet and
played the outfield wearing only socks.