Some Guys You Might Know: Donruss Names Series Finale

Welcome to the final part of the Donruss Names Series, where we look at some of the more interesting names on the back of Donruss baseball cards. This series takes advantage of the fact that from 1981 to 1992, Donruss printed the players full legal name on the back of their cards. If you're new to this series of posts or just want to reminisce, here's what we've covered so far:

Part 1: Famous players who went by their middle name

Part 2: Players who you thought had a nickname, but their nickname was their real name

Part 3: Players with a unique first name (Part 1)

Part 4: Players with a unique first name (Part 2)

Part 5: Players with a unique middle name

Part 6: Players who went by a nickname (Part 1 - 70s/80s)

All of the previous posts in the Donruss Names Series can be accessed by clicking here.

The final installment of the series today will feature players from the 80s/90s era who went by a nickname. I'm using a quiz format again to spice things up a bit, but if you want to skip ahead to the answers, feel free. The questions and answers are repeated below along with the cards that show the info. 

Let's dive in!

1) Which three-time all-star slugger had the given first/middle name Charles Theodore?
A) Cecil Fielder

B) Chili Davis

C) Danny Tartabull

D) Chet Lemon

2) Which pitcher who spent 13 years as a starter and reliever in the American League (and only played part of one season in the National League), had the given first/middle name George Earl?

A) Storm Davis

B) Goose Gossage

C) Turk Wendell

D) Tug McGraw

3) Which speedy one-time all-star had the given first/middle name Leon Joseph?

A) Otis Nixon

B) Willie Wilson

C) Bip Roberts

D) Mickey Rivers

4) Which long-time reliever had the given first/middle name Richard Michael?

A) Rollie Fingers

B) Goose Gossage

C) Willie Hernandez

D) Sparky Lyle

5) Which athletic outfielder had the given first/middle name Vincent Edward?

A) Kenny Lofton

B) Lonnie Smith

C) Bo Jackson

D) Barry Bonds

6) Which future manager had the given first/middle name Harry Ralston?

A) Bud Black

B) Torey Lovullo

C) Terry Francona

D) Dusty Baker

7) Which star shortstop had the given first/middle name Osborne Earl?

A) Ozzie Guillen

B) Ozzie Canseco

C) Ozzie Virgil

D) Ozzie Smith



Ok, let's see how you did!

1) Which three-time all-star slugger had the given first/middle name Charles Theodore?
A) Cecil Fielder

B) Chili Davis

C) Danny Tartabull

D) Chet Lemon

Chili got his nickname after a particularly bad haircut as a child. Other kids made fun of the haircut by saying it looked like someone had put a chili bowl over his head to cut around.

2) Which pitcher who spent 13 years as a starter and reliever in the American League (and only played part of one season in the National League), had the given first/middle name George Earl?

A) Storm Davis

B) Goose Gossage

C) Turk Wendell

D) Tug McGraw

Storm apparently got his nickname from a book his mother read while pregnant with him.

3) Which speedy one-time all-star had the given first/middle name Leon Joseph?

A) Otis Nixon

B) Willie Wilson

C) Bip Roberts

D) Mickey Rivers

Bip got his nickname from pronouncing certain words incorrectly during childhood, such as "bip" instead of "bit."

4) Which long-time reliever had the given first/middle name Richard Michael?

A) Rollie Fingers

B) Goose Gossage

C) Willie Hernandez

D) Sparky Lyle

A friend thought Rich looked like a goose when he looked in to read the signs from the catcher.

5) Which athletic outfielder had the given first/middle name Vincent Edward?

A) Kenny Lofton

B) Lonnie Smith

C) Bo Jackson

D) Barry Bonds

Bo was short for "boar hog," which Vincent was compared to as a child due to his penchant for getting into trouble.

6) Which future manager had the given first/middle name Harry Ralston?

A) Bud Black

B) Torey Lovullo

C) Terry Francona

D) Dusty Baker

Harry's sister started calling him Bud after the son in the 1950s sitcom Father Knows Best.

7) Which star shortstop had the given first/middle name Osborne Earl?

A) Ozzie Guillen

B) Ozzie Canseco

C) Ozzie Virgil

D) Ozzie Smith

Thanks for reading the final installment of the Donruss Names Series. As a thank you, I'm happy to announce you've stumbled into a "Pick 3" giveaway! 

Anyway, this giveaway is simple. There are three sets of players. Pick one player from each of the groups of names. Enter your names in the comments below. The first 6 people that comment will win and receive a PWE of cards of those three players. I'll try to include some interesting cards if I have them. Also, in the comments, if you want cards of that player from a particular team, you can say so, and I will try to accommodate. No doubling up on names. Once a player is taken by someone, you need to pick someone else in the group.

In subsequent giveaways, players chosen in the previous giveaways will not be available to choose again until some unknown date in the future. (Names with strikethrough below are not available.)

If you win, please provide your name and address via email by accessing my Blogger profile. If I've traded with you or have sent you cards before, you can skip this step. 

Remember, pick one player from each group!

HOF - Group 1

Roberto	Alomar		Whitey	Herzog		Cal	Ripken Jr.
Sparky	Anderson		Trevor	Hoffman		Ivan	Rodriguez
Jeff	Bagwell		Reggie	Jackson		Pete	Rose
Harold	Baines		Randy	Johnson		Babe	Ruth
Craig	Biggio		Chipper	Jones		Nolan	Ryan
Bert	Blyleven		Barry	Larkin		Mike	Schmidt
Wade	Boggs		Tony	LaRussa		Tom	Seaver
George	Brett		Tommy	Lasorda		Lee	Smith
Steve	Carlton		Greg	Maddux		Ozzie	Smith
Gary	Carter		Edgar	Martinez		John	Smoltz
Andre	Dawson		Pedro	Martinez		Bruce	Sutter
Dennis	Eckersley		Paul	Molitor		Don	Sutton
Carlton	Fisk		Jack	Morris		Frank	Thomas
Tom	Glavine		Eddie	Murray		Jim	Thome
Goose	Gossage		Mike	Mussina		Alan	Trammell
Ken	Griffey Jr.		Phil	Niekro		Larry	Walker
Vladimir	Guerrero		Tony	Perez		Dick	Williams
Tony	Gwynn		Mike	Piazza		Dave	Winfield
Rickey	Henderson		Kirby	Puckett		Robin	Yount
			Tim	Raines
			Jim	Rice

Grover	Alexander		Reggie	Jackson
Luke	Appling		Fergie	Jenkins
Earl	Averill		Walter	Johnson
Ernie	Banks		Chuck	Klein
Johnny	Bench		Nap	Lajoie
Jim	Bottomley		Joe	Morgan
Lou	Brock		Stan	Musial
Rod	Carew		Brooks	Robinson
Mickey	Cochrane		Frank	Robinson
Joe	Cronin		Tris	Speaker
Bob	Feller		Willie	Stargell
Rollie	Fingers		Bill	Terry
Jimmie	Foxx		Honus	Wagner
Frankie	Frisch		Paul	Waner
Bob	Gibson		Billy	Williams
Goose	Goslin		Ted	Williams
Lefty	Grove		Carl	Yastrzemski
Gabby	Hartnett
Rogers	Hornsby

Past Stars - Group 2

Mark	McGwire		Curt	Schilling
Kevin	Mitchell		Mike	Scioscia
Raul	Mondesi		Gary	Sheffield
Dale	Murphy		Ruben	Sierra
Graig	Nettles		JT	Snow
John	Olerud		Sammy	Sosa
Paul	O'Neill		Dave	Stewart
Magglio	Ordonez		Darryl	Strawberry
Rafael	Palmeiro		Rick	Sutcliffe
Dave	Parker		Danny	Tartabull
Lance	Parrish		Miguel	Tejada
Larry	Parrish		John	Valentin
Lou	Piniella		Fernando	Valenzuela
Darrell	Porter		Andy	Van Slyke
Aramis	Ramirez		Greg	Vaughn
Manny	Ramirez		Mo	Vaughn
Jeff	Reardon		Robin	Ventura
Edgar	Renteria		Omar	Vizquel
Kenny	Rogers		Tim	Wakefield
Scott	Rolen		Tim	Wallach
Bret	Saberhagen		David	Wells
Tim	Salmon		Vernon	Wells
Deion	Sanders		Lou	Whitaker
Benito	Santiago		Frank	White
Steve	Sax		Bernie	Williams
			Matt	Williams
			Willie	Wilson
			Don	Zimmer

Current/Recent Stars - Group 3

Jose	Abreu		Robinson	Cano
Ronald	Acuna Jr.		Matt	Carpenter
Ozzie	Albies		Starlin	Castro
Jose	Altuve		Matt	Chapman
Elvis	Andrus		Willson	Contreras
Chris	Archer		Carlos	Correa
Nolan	Arenado		Nelson	Cruz
Jake	Arrieta		Yu	Darvish
Josh	Bell		Khris	Davis
Cody	Bellinger		Jacob	deGrom
Andrew	Benintendi		Ian	Desmond
Mookie	Betts		Josh	Donaldson
Charlie	Blackmon		Jacoby	Ellsbury
Michael	Brantley		Freddie	Freeman
Alex	Bregman

Joey	Gallo	Kyle	Schwarber
Paul	Goldschmidt	Chris	Sale
Didi	Gregorius	Carlos	Santana
Zach	Greinke	Max	Scherzer
Bryce	Harper	Jean	Segura
Felix	Hernandez	Luis	Severino
Jason	Heyward	Andrelton	Simmons
Aaron	Judge	George	Springer
Clayton	Kershaw	Giancarlo	Stanton
Dallas	Keuchel	Trevor	Story
Cory	Kluber	Stephen	Strasburg
Jon	Lester	Dansby	Swanson
Francisco	Lindor	Ichiro	Suzuki
Evan	Longoria	Noah	Syndergaard
Manny	Machado	Masahiro	Tanaka
Trey	Mancini	Troy	Tulowitzki
JD	Martinez	Justin	Turner
Andrew	McCutchen	Trea	Turner
Yadier	Molina	Justin	Upton
Matt	Olson	Joey	Votto
Salvador	Perez	Adam	Wainwright
Tommy	Pham	Christian	Yelich
Buster	Posey
David	Price
Jose	Ramirez

Building a Dynasty on Nicknames: Donruss Names Series Part 6: Early 80s Edition

Welcome to part six of the Donruss Names Series, where we look at some of the more interesting names on the back of Donruss baseball cards. This series takes advantage of the fact that from 1981 to 1992, Donruss printed the players full legal name on the back of their cards. If you're new to this series of posts or just want to reminisce, here's what we've covered so far:

Part 1: Famous players who went by their middle name

Part 2: Players who you thought had a nickname, but their nickname was their real name

Part 3: Players with a unique first name (Part 1)

Part 4: Players with a unique first name (Part 2)

Part 5: Players with a unique middle name

All of the previous posts can be accessed by clicking here. 

This week, we'll look at players who went by a nickname and get the scoop on their real names. 

Interestingly, three of this week's players were prominent members of both the '77 and '78 New York. So if you know your late 70's Yankees, you should score well with this quiz. I'll mix the non-Yankees in with the Yankees. 

If you want to skip ahead to the answers, feel free. The questions and answers are repeated below along with the cards that show the info. 

1)   Which position player from the '77 and '78 World Champion Yankees had the given first/middle name of John Milton? (1982 Donruss)

A) Roy White

B) Bucky Dent

C) Lou Piniella

D) Mickey Rivers

2)   Which part-time player from the late 70s and early 80s had the given first/middle name Gene Ellis? (1981 Donruss)

A) Denny Walling

B) Champ Summers

C) Mickey Klutts

D) Broderick Perkins

3)   Which position player from the '77 and '78 World Champion Yankees had the given first/middle name of Russell Earl? (1982 Donruss)

A) Paul Blair

B) Bucky Dent

C) Lou Piniella

D) Mickey Rivers

4)   Which future manager who played 17 years in MLB had the given first/middle name of John Albert? (1981 Donruss)

A) Buck Martinez

B) Cito Gaston

C) Ned Yost

D) Tony Pena

5)   Which relative of a more famous player had the given first/middle name of Elliott Taylor? (1982 Donruss)

A) Dale Berra

B) Ken Brett

C) Larry Yount

D) Bump Wills

6)   Which pitcher from the '77 and '78 World Champion Yankees had the given first/middle name of Albert Walter? (1982 Donruss)

A) Sparky Lyle

B) Dick Tidrow

C) Goose Gossage

D) Ron Guidry

7)   Which future pennant winning manager who played 19 years in MLB had the given first/middle name of Johnnie B.? (1986 Donruss)

A) Dusty Baker

B) Cito Gaston

C) Ned Yost

D) Terry Francona

8)   Which long-time Cub and Dodger had the given name Robert James? (1982 Donruss)

A) Ron Cey

B) Rick Monday

C) Bill Buckner

D) Rick Sutcliffe

9)   Which pitcher who carved out a 19-year career as a reliever had the given name Frank Edwin? (1982 Donruss)

A) Willie Hernandez

B) Bruce Sutter

C) Lee Smith

D) Tug McGraw

OK, time to see how you did. 

1)   Which position player from the '77 and '78 World Champion Yankees had the given first/middle name of John Milton? (1982 Donruss)

A) Roy White

B) Bucky Dent

C) Lou Piniella

D) Mickey Rivers

2)   Which part-time player from the late 70s and early 80s had the given first/middle name Gene Ellis? (1981 Donruss)

A) Denny Walling

B) Champ Summers

C) Mickey Klutts

D) Broderick Perkins

Mickey Klutts belongs in the all-time pantheon of great baseball names in my opinion.

3)   Which position player from the '77 and '78 World Champion Yankees had the given first/middle name of Russell Earl? (1982 Donruss)

A) Paul Blair

B) Bucky Dent

C) Lou Piniella

D) Mickey Rivers

Red Sox fans especially might find it surprising that Bucky Dent's middle name is Earl and not f***ing.

4)   Which future manager who played 17 years in MLB had the given first/middle name of John Albert? (1981 Donruss)

A) Buck Martinez

B) Cito Gaston

C) Ned Yost

D) Tony Pena

Buck only managed a season and a half with Toronto, but for some reason I thought his tenure was longer. He had a winning percentage of .465. 

5)   Which relative of a more famous player had the given first/middle name of Elliott Taylor? (1982 Donruss)

A) Dale Berra

B) Ken Brett

C) Larry Yount

D) Bump Wills

Bump played in Japan in 1983 and 1984 before retiring. 

6)   Which pitcher from the '77 and '78 World Champion Yankees had the given first/middle name of Albert Walter? (1982 Donruss)

A) Sparky Lyle

B) Dick Tidrow

C) Goose Gossage

D) Ron Guidry

The acquisition of Goose Gossage for the 1978 season caused some tension with Lyle, who was the shutdown closer in 1977.

7)   Which future pennant winning manager who played 19 years in MLB had the given first/middle name of Johnnie B.? (1986 Donruss)

A) Dusty Baker

B) Cito Gaston

C) Ned Yost

D) Terry Francona

Dusty's back in the managerial role with the Houston Astros in 2020.

8)   Which long-time Cub and Dodger had the given name Robert James? (1982 Donruss)

A) Ron Cey

B) Rick Monday

C) Bill Buckner

D) Rick Sutcliffe

The flag-saving outfielder opted for Rick instead of Rob, Robbie, Bob, or Bobby. 

9)   Which pitcher who carved out a 19-year career as a reliever had the given name Frank Edwin? (1982 Donruss)

A) Willie Hernandez

B) Bruce Sutter

C) Lee Smith

D) Tug McGraw

How did Tug McGraw become Tug McGraw? I'll leave you with this funny excerpt from McGraw's SABR biography

“I never answered to another name,” he told author Stanley Cohen in A Magic Summer. “My mother started calling me Tug when I was an infant because of the way I nursed. ‘He’s a real Tugger,’ she said.

“On my first day of kindergarten, the teacher called the roll and when she finished she said, ‘Is there anyone whose name I didn’t call?” I raised my hand. ‘My name is Tug McGraw,’ I said. She looked at the roll and said, ‘I have a Frank McGraw.’ I said, ‘No, that’s my dad. He already went to kindergarten.’”

How'd you do on the quiz today? Which name surprised you most? Thanks for reading. 

Bill Clemens, We Hardly Knew Ye

One thing I always liked about the early Donruss baseball cards was the full player's name appearing on the backs of the cards. It was just a quirky detail that someone like me enjoys. It was always interesting to see a player's full name, especially if their first name was a nickname or if they went by their middle name. A couple of my favorite players, Ryne Sandberg and Mark Grace, have the middle names Dee and Eugene respectively. I wouldn't know that without the Donruss cards. These cards also told us that Kirby Puckett was the Twins star's full legal name, as is the case for the now infamous Jose Canseco.

But back to those guys who went by something other than their first name. Did you know there are actually a lot of them? And not just random scrub players, but some of the biggest stars of the 80s and 90s. I looked through some 1990 Donruss cards to appreciate the beautiful design (sarcasm, of course) and to see if I could find some players who went by their middle name. I didn't even look at that many and still found several examples. So I'll present those here, in quiz format, because the former teacher in me can't help himself. But if you can't stand the quiz format, just scroll down to see the players/cards in question.

I also had some 88 and 91 Donruss nearby, so I found a couple of the examples from those sets. And now, the quiz:

1) Which member of the 1998 NL Champion Padres went by his middle name?

A) Tony Gwynn

B) Ken Caminiti

C) Greg Vaughn

D) Kevin Brown

2) Which Twins ace preferred his middle name?

A) Jim Kaat

B) Bert Blyleven

C) Johan Santana

D) Frank Viola

3) Which member of the 1993 World Series Champion Toronto Blue Jays went by a version of his middle name?

A) Rickey Henderson

B) Tony Fernandez

C) John Olerud

D) Joe Carter

4) Which Hall of Fame pitcher was known by his middle name?

A) Nolan Ryan

B) Phil Niekro

C) Don Sutton

D) Greg Maddux

5) Which pitcher who debuted in the 1980s preferred his middle name?

A) Orel Hershiser

B) Tom Glavine

C) Fernando Valenzuela

D) Roger Clemens

6) Which long-time Mariners slugger goes by his middle name?

A) Ken Griffey Jr.

B) Jay Buhner

C) Alvin Davis

D) Edgar Martinez

I think you'll be surprised by some of these. I know I was, and I'm sure I had seen them all at some point in my life. There are undoubtedly more examples than these (I'm looking at you George Thomas Seaver!), so feel free to leave your examples in the comments below. Anyway, many thanks to our favorite cards of the Overproduction Era, 1988, 1990, and 1991 Donruss. 

1) Which member of the 1998 NL Champion Padres went by his middle name?

A) Tony Gwynn

B) Ken Caminiti

C) Greg Vaughn

D) Kevin Brown

1990 Donruss #343 James "Kevin" Brown

Easy to understand Kevin's decision to go with the middle name. He could have gone with James Brown, risking confusion with the Godfather of Soul. He could have been Jim Brown, knowing he'd be associated with arguably the best football player of all time. He could have been Jimmy Brown, but that just doesn't seem to fit. So Kevin it is!

2) Which Twins ace preferred his middle name?

A) Jim Kaat

B) Bert Blyleven

C) Johan Santana

D) Frank Viola

1990 Donruss #331 Rik ("Bert") Aalbert Blyleven

It worked out alright for 7'4" NBAer Rik Smits to go by his given name when he entered the NBA in the 1980s. Fellow Dutchman Blyleven, however, came to America with his family in the mid-50s, so maybe America wasn't ready for a Rik at that time. 

Additional notes:

1) I think that mark on the card is Donruss puzzle glue stain or something. So the Donruss equivalent to a gum stain.

2) Blyleven was traded to the Angels with Kevin Trudeau. Wonder if it's the same Kevin Trudeau who went to jail after peddling those "Cures THEY Don't Want You to Know About" books.

3) Which member of the 1993 World Series Champion Toronto Blue Jays went by a version of his middle name?

A) Rickey Henderson

B) Tony Fernandez

C) John Olerud

D) Joe Carter

1988 Donruss #319 Octavio Antonio "Tony" Fernandez

Tony, who in my mind is quite underrated, passed away in February. If you ask me, Octavio is pretty cool. Certainly worked for Octavio Dotel. That guy played for 13 teams! 

4) Which Hall of Fame pitcher was known by his middle name?

A) Nolan Ryan

B) Phil Niekro

C) Don Sutton

D) Greg Maddux

1990 Donruss #166 Nolan Ryan

Can you imagine Nolan Ryan going by Lynn? Neither can I.

5) Which pitcher who debuted in the 1980s preferred his middle name?

A) Orel Hershiser

B) Tom Glavine

C) Fernando Valenzuela

D) Roger Clemens

1991 Donruss #81 William "Roger" Clemens

I wonder if Clemens was the guy Sheryl Crow was singing about in "All I Wanna Do." In the song, she meets a William whom she is sure went by "Bill or Billy or Mack or Buddy." No Sheryl, he went by Roger. Which works, I think, because Bill Clemens just doesn't have the same ring to it. 

6) Which long-time Mariners slugger goes by his middle name?

A) Ken Griffey Jr.

B) Jay Buhner

C) Alvin Davis

D) Edgar Martinez

1990 Donruss #365 George (Ken) Kenneth Griffey Jr.

Let's let this one sink in for a minute. 

George Griffey Jr... 

GEORGE. 

If the most marketable baseball player of the last half century would have gone by his given name, would he have been as marketable? I don't think so. I guess we have the original George Kenneth Griffey (Sr.) to thank for that, since he's the guy who went by Ken to begin with. 

Really, these guys all had pretty normal first names, but apparently just chose to go with their middle name, probably for a variety of reasons. But I don't think that was to case for everyone. Why, you ask? Because of Andy Hawkins. Who is Andy Hawkins? A middle of the road pitcher with a couple good seasons who spent 10 seasons in the bigs. Win/loss of 84-91, 4.22 ERA, 1.3 WAR. Pretty much your run of the mill major leaguer. I don't really have a great grasp on how it's calculated, but I feel like going by this first name would somehow drop you like 10 points in the WAR formula.

1989 Donruss Traded #T-52 Melton (Andy) Andrew Hawkins

Poor Melton.