Original Nicknames
- Thread starter klockdoc
- Start date
The tradition of nicknames for pool hustlers/players goes way back -- and there used to often be several players operating at the same time, with the same nicknames.
I wrote a short article, and have compiled a very long list of names (which continues to get added to), here:
AKA: Nicknames, Monikers & Also Known As
You have to understand that while today there are many "pro players" (even though there is still embarassingly short money available for them to make a living) before the proliferation of tournaments in the last third of the 20th C there were very few pros. The rest were amatuers and hustlers, and in those early days it appears to have been mainly the hustlers that had the nicknames, not the pros.
What we have today is often more of a "show name" than a genuine nickname. Nicknames were traditionally bestowed by others, not invented or stolen from somebody else for one's self. They often were descriptive (ie "Red"), or referred to a place ("NY" Fats), or were some kind of abbreviation or play of words on the player's real name, especially if the real name was not so catchy itself (Michael "Geese" Gerace).
They served a "real" purpose...
I wrote a short article, and have compiled a very long list of names (which continues to get added to), here:
AKA: Nicknames, Monikers & Also Known As
You have to understand that while today there are many "pro players" (even though there is still embarassingly short money available for them to make a living) before the proliferation of tournaments in the last third of the 20th C there were very few pros. The rest were amatuers and hustlers, and in those early days it appears to have been mainly the hustlers that had the nicknames, not the pros.
What we have today is often more of a "show name" than a genuine nickname. Nicknames were traditionally bestowed by others, not invented or stolen from somebody else for one's self. They often were descriptive (ie "Red"), or referred to a place ("NY" Fats), or were some kind of abbreviation or play of words on the player's real name, especially if the real name was not so catchy itself (Michael "Geese" Gerace).
They served a "real" purpose...
Snapshot9 said:
WRONG!!!!!
Fatboy said:
Mark "The Snake" Haddad is in Denver now & has been a very good player for some time. I believe he had the Snake nickname put on him years ago for the little moves you would have to fade when you played him. One that sticks out in my mind is when playing him one pocket and you are breaking, he would be chalking his cue and set the chalk down in your line of sight just when you are ready to fire. We played in the 9 ball tournament at the Spring Fling at Hard Times in Sacramento this year, and his Break Cue fell over and made some noise while I was down on a key shot. I'm sure it was an accident and I got lucky and won the set anyway. John
klockdoc said:Mika Immonen A.K.A. "Iceman" original Larry "Iceman" Hubbard
Luc Salvas A.K.A. "Machine Gun" original Lou "Machine Gun" Butera
Who else do you know that had their nick name stolen?
We retire jersey's of professional baseball, football and Hockey players. How come we don't retire the nicknames of famous pool players?..
Actually the original "Ice Man" spells his name, Larry Hubbart. Very Common mistake.
Bill Cress one time played "Surfer Rod" one-pocket (with the big cue-ball) on a bar box in Madison Wi. for $20. Bill won and doubled the bet the next game. Bill doubled the bet after every game he won. Bill won the first 6 games before he lost. While Bill was racking the balls for the next game Rod noticed he was shorted $20. Bills response was that he just wanted Rod to Know he could have had a chance to bet the $1280 too.