SP
RTS
NAMES
The term
"fan"
is a shortened form of the word fanatic, as in any New York Yankees'
fan who sits in the bleacher seats!
By the way, those
BLEACHER
seats are called that because they are uncovered and exposed to the sun,
therefore they get "bleached" of color faster (especially true of he older
wooden variety that were painted)
Why are they called the
Chicago BULLS?
It comes from Chicago's reputation as a meatpacking and stockyard city
and the beef that comes from that industry
Why is it called
RUGBY?
It was introduced in 1823 by William Ellis, a pupil at the Rugby Public
School in Warwickshire, England when he supposedly picked up the ball and
ran during a long tied game of traditional football.
Where did the baseball term
Texas
leaguer come from? From the minor baseball league in Texas - a nickname
for balls that dropped between the outfielders & infielders for a hit.
Cleveland Indians
=
A local paper ran a "name the team contest" and a reader suggested Indians
to honor player Louis Sockalexis.
A left-handed pitcher's arm
faces south in most stadiums so they are called
SOUTHPAWS
When you substitute a batter
because the team is in a "pinch" (or bad situation), that player is called
the
PINCH HITTER
(same applies for pinch runners)
DUGOUTS
were
originally dug out trenches at the first and third base lines that allowed
players and coaches to be at field level AND did not block he view of the
choice seats behind them.
In tennis, a score of zero is
called "love"
because of an English speaker's misinterpretation of the term
l'oeuf
(pronounced LUHF and French for "the egg", meaning a zero on the score
sheet)
see
Tennisopedia site
The Arabic word meaning "palm
of the hand" is the origin of the term
RACKET
Ever see a figure skater do
these jumps? The
AXEL
Paulsen,
the Alois
LUTZ
or the Ulrich SALCHOW
-
named after the skaters who created them. (that's called an eponym)
Send us an interesting sports name origin and
if we use it, we will give you a credit on the page (if you want credit)
E-mail us!
