Ol' Ricky's Washington Football Tales
Ol’ Ricky thinks nicknames have always been one of the fun parts of sports. Everybody wants a cool one even before thinking of the merchandising rights. The thing is you can’t force a good nickname. It has to be organic or will sound dumb. I remember a few years back when the defensive line wanted to be “The Capital Punishers.” After a couple bad games, that was gone. So have repeated attempts to be the Hogs 2. It just never stuck.
Of course, the best nickname in the last half century has been the Hogs. Great players make for great nicknames as the late coach Joe Bugel blurted it out one day at practice to get down low in the dirt like a bunch of hogs. Players liked it a lot and given the unit was a big part of three Super Bowl titles being a Hog was cool.
George Starke was “Head Hog” became he was the oldest and only played in the first Super Bowl. The core was Joe Jacoby, Jeff Bostic, Russ Grimm, Mark May and Starke plus tight ends Rick “Doc” Walker and Donnie Warren.
Grimm went to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as the best guard of the ‘80s. Jacoby was nearly elected. Maybe he’ll get in as a seniors committee pick.
There was a second wave that kept the line going in Jim Lachey, Raleigh McKenzie, Ray Brown and Mark Schlereth, who was nicknamed “Stinky” for obvious reasons.
And don’t forget the “Hogettes” who spent 30 years at RFK and FedEx Field wearing dresses and hog snouts. Those guys raised a lot of money for charity before retiring in 2013.
There were some other cool nicknames. John Riggins was known as Riggo or “The Diesel” because the radio crew played a diesel truck horn after his big plays. “Slingin’” Sammy Baugh actually gained the name from his days as a third baseman throwing to first.
Chris Cooley was “Captain Chaos” for antics on and off the field. Lorenzo Alexander was “One Man Gang” for playing several positions. And don’t forget Billy “Furnace Face” Kilmer, Dan “Big Daddy” Wilkinson, Stephen “Big Country” Davis, Ron “The Dancing Bear” McDole and Rod Gardner, who was dubbed “50/50” by Bruce Smith for the receiver’s drops.
The “Over the Hill Gang” of the 1970s that was indeed a great nickname led by linebacker Chris “The Hangman” Hanburger. The Posse and the Smurfs were great receiver corps of the Super Bowl era.
Even past team owners earned nicknames. George Preston Marshall was “George the Gorgeous” while Jack Kent Cooke was “The Squire.”
Tomorrow: Ol’ Ricky remembers the discovery of the team’s 1937 championship trophy.
Rick Snider is an award-winning sports writer who has covered Washington sports since 1978. He first wrote about the Washington football team in 1983 before becoming a beat writer in 1993. Snider currently writes for several national and international publications and is a Washington tour guide. Follow Rick on Twitter at @Snide_Remarks.
