A Great Weekend of Boxing

[bear]

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

The 20s and 30s were some really mean times for nicknames by today's standards. Goose Goslin looks a lot like a goose if you ever find his pictures. Guys with glasses, to the extent they were allowed to play, were almost always called "Specs". Fatty Fothergill and Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons also came from that era. I think Frenchy Bordagaray was so termed due to his flamboyantly large mustache (in an era where players were generally not allowed to wear them in MLB; Bordagaray was an exception because he starred in the PCL first). Oh yeah, and Joe Medwick was nicknamed Ducky-Wucky because, well, a fan called him that and the sportswriters thought it was funny.

My dad told me Medwick waddled when he walked and got the unkind moniker as a result.

[bear]

Dad had a Goose Goslin story too. Told me that he once walked up to the plate with a bat that was painted like a barber pole. We waved it around in the batter;s box to throw the pitcher off.

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by bear

My dad told me Medwick waddled when he walked and got the unkind moniker as a result.

The story I've heard was that he was hanging out before a game one day and some woman in the stands yelled "well ain't he the ducky wucky!" Maybe that was because of his waddle. His teammates called him "Muscles" because he had big ones (and that, sadly, would be his nickname if he were playing today).