I'm trying to compile a list of athletes, coaches, etc. who are known predominanty by their first name. Fans and announcers refer to this person by their first name on most occasions. It seems fairly self explanatory, but here are some general guidelines:

The name recognition has to be universal across all fields, not just sports, so Prince Fielder and Elton Brand don't get the nod.

It doesn't have to be their given first name, but the one they're known as...So Eldrick and Earvin get a pass.

Initials can be used only if it is the players generally used first name with a seperate last name...so OJ and AC are cool, but KG and TO aren't.

The best candidates for this list are players with uncommon first names and common last names, so people will tend to refer to them by the more uncommon name to more easily identify them. Names like Dikembe and Latrell are rare, but so are Mutombo and Spreewell.

No bullshit Sportscenter-contrived nicknames like Arod or Big Papi. You can't call those guys Alex and David and have everyone know who you mean, so they don't make the list.

Talent and success matter, but the name still has to be unique enough to be widely known. Michael and Scottie are obvious when paired together, but most people refer to them by their last names. People like Boof Bonser and Majestic Mapp were made for this list, but they're not well known enough to warrant inclusion.

The basic test is just saying the name around anyone with a basic knowledge of sports will bring up instant recongition and require no further explanation...People might ask "Which Vince?" but no one will ask "Which Lebron?"


Tiger
Lebron
Carmelo
Shaq(uille)
Pedro
Dontrelle
Nomar
Kobe
Baron
Babe
Vijay
Sergio
Kareem
Magic
Wilt
Hakeem
Isiah
Manny
Magglio
Dominique
Tiki
Yao
Ichiro
OJ
Pacman
Evander
Rasheed
(Alon)Zo
Vlad)amir
Dirk
Peyton
Eli
Edgerrin
Plaxico
Coco
Ozzie
Vlade

Not as many as you think.

I'm sure I missed a bunch.

I even cheated with Peyton Manning a bit to get one white American on the list, since it seems like everyone else is named Joe, John, David or Dan.

I hesitated to put Pacman on the list, but how many people refer to him as Adam?

Not suprisingly, I found black players feature more on this list since it seems like black parents can make up names at will while us Anglos are limited to a predetermined set of names with little room for variation.

Soccer has a bunch of one-name stars, but I'm not sure if those are the players real first names, real last names, or just something made up altogether.

I skipped hockey because I'm a fringe fan at best, and whenever I think of the famous players their last name always pops into my head first.

I also skipped all women, due to indifference.

I'm 22, so a few of the older posters probably have some from the 80's that didn't come to my mind.

I'm sure I missed a lot, so please add new names or mock the ones I listed.

8/22/2007 1:30:36 PM

chipper

8/22/2007 1:35:04 PM

Michael
Thompson

8/22/2007 1:36:21 PM

Ladainian

8/22/2007 1:38:28 PM

hahaha...

Quote :

"Manny"

can't wait for that can of worms to be opened again....

8/22/2007 1:39:05 PM

Smush

8/22/2007 1:39:12 PM

Chipper's a good one

LaDainian I didn't put because while everyone knows who you mean when you say "LaDanian", I think more people call him Tomlinson or LT (which is blasphemous in its own right).

8/22/2007 1:40:45 PM

Jr.

Zoom Zoom

8/22/2007 1:43:11 PM

Some of those names don't deserve to be on that list. Coco, Magglio, Dontrelle aren't that well known by casual baseball fans.

[Edited on August 22, 2007 at 1:44 PM. Reason : Pedro would fit better than any of those guys. ]

8/22/2007 1:43:21 PM

^I think Dontrelle is. Magglio is more iffy, but he is among the leaders RBI's and batting and has been a really good player for most of the past decade. Coco is only on there because he plays centerfield for Boston, so he's on TV enough to create a decent awareness of who he is.

Consider this to be "the world outside of Raleigh".

This is national, not local.

Someone will say Julius and not be talking about Pepper, Erving or Jones.

[Edited on August 22, 2007 at 1:46 PM. Reason : x]

8/22/2007 1:43:37 PM

Quote :

"Soccer has a bunch of one-name stars, but I'm not sure if those are the players real first names, real last names, or just something made up altogether."

It's often the first, but not always. Ronaldo's name is Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima, and Ronaldinho's is Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, but Pele's name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento.

8/22/2007 1:44:03 PM

Speedy
Dwayne



[Edited on August 22, 2007 at 1:46 PM. Reason : c]

8/22/2007 1:45:14 PM

Most people think Gonzales, not Claxton

and people call him by his full name or simply "D-Wade"...few just call him Dwyane

8/22/2007 1:49:18 PM

Reggie
Larry

8/22/2007 1:58:00 PM

not a fan, but

Sammy (Sosa)

8/22/2007 2:11:15 PM

basically since you felt oblidged to mention his last name you just contradicted yourself

8/22/2007 2:15:12 PM

Bob

8/22/2007 2:15:32 PM

^^^^reggie...bush, miller, white, lewis, brown, williams, nelson

i assume you meant bush, but with 2 other hall of fame reggies and 3 others currently with starting spots in his sport...i don't know about that

Donovan (there are two others with the last name, but i can't think of another first named "donovan")

[Edited on August 22, 2007 at 2:19 PM. Reason : ^]

8/22/2007 2:15:43 PM

he was obviously not serious

reggie and larry are two of the most common names in sports

8/22/2007 2:18:08 PM

Ozzie?

Is that the hall of famer (Smith) or the manager of the 2005 world series champions (Guillen)?

8/22/2007 2:19:29 PM

^^if so, my mistake. when i saw "larry" only one person came to mind despite the fact that there are multiple larrys. and i hardly think they are two of the most common names in sports...

8/22/2007 2:22:23 PM

^^ did you really just compare ozzie smith with ozzie guillen?

and of course:

BO cuz BO KNOWS

[Edited on August 22, 2007 at 2:23 PM. Reason : .]

8/22/2007 2:23:08 PM

Compare...no. Ask a question to clarify which Ozzie he was referring to...yes. I'll add Magic and Lance while I'm at it.

8/22/2007 2:26:32 PM

Quote :

"^^^^reggie...bush, miller, white, lewis, brown, williams, nelson"

hahaha, I meant Jackson (reggie, reggie, reggie)

Quote :

"reggie and larry are two of the most common names in sports"

Larry the legend, durr

damn, so young people in this thread I guess

8/22/2007 2:27:15 PM

yeah, how'd you miss Bo Jackson.

There are a few golfers who'd fit this

i mean, if someone's a golf fan, they know by first name:


Arnold
Jack
Phil
Freddy

and a bunch more

8/22/2007 2:31:48 PM

^^oh yeah...i forgot about jackson. i still don't think reggie is legit though cause of the other hall of famers and the heisman winner.

however, i'm with you on larry legend which is why i said nothing about it. i didn't think you were "obviously joking" as was said...

8/22/2007 2:36:30 PM

Quote :

"basically since you felt oblidged to mention his last name you just contradicted yourself "

yeah, i suppose you're right.

in many circles, it'd be gospel, though. (the mentioning of "Sammy")

8/22/2007 2:42:36 PM

This is such a n00b thread.....Pulease

8/22/2007 2:44:34 PM

Quote :

"Chipper's a good one"

Chipper is only valid if we're allowing nicknames. His real name is Larry.

8/22/2007 2:44:49 PM

BECKHAM

8/22/2007 2:48:19 PM

Pele

8/22/2007 2:50:19 PM

for tennis:

andre
venus
serena
martina

[Edited on August 22, 2007 at 3:19 PM. Reason : maybe not because of hingis]

8/22/2007 3:17:52 PM

Quote :

"Jr. Zoom Zoom"

Earnhardt or Griffy?

8/22/2007 3:22:13 PM

hines

8/22/2007 3:44:38 PM

akili
ki-jana

8/22/2007 3:54:17 PM

^^^^Maria is close enough too.

8/22/2007 3:54:44 PM

Danica (you specifically said no females but this is an easy one)
Junior (?) I don't guess "Junior" would count since his name is Dale and we all know Dale Sr is the king woo hoo! (pounds another budweiser)
Johan (yep)
Pudge (dunno if that counts since his name is Ivan)
Emeka (local but still)
Manu (you could get a lot of foreigners on this list probably although he is probably better known as Ginobli)

8/22/2007 4:20:46 PM

Tank (Tyler)

8/22/2007 4:24:06 PM

tank (johnson) outside of Raleigh

8/22/2007 4:26:26 PM

^beat me to it

[Edited on August 22, 2007 at 4:27 PM. Reason : ]

8/22/2007 4:27:08 PM

If you expand this to include wrestlers, the list could go on forever if you allow nicknames.

I personally think that the best one is Hacksaw.

8/22/2007 4:32:16 PM

^yeah but that would be "Jim"

Jim Duggan? Jim Brown? Jim Hat? Jim "Catfish" Hunter?

8/22/2007 4:33:45 PM

i would argue against "wilt" everytime i have heard him mentioned it is as "wilt chamberlain"

[Edited on August 22, 2007 at 4:38 PM. Reason : l]

8/22/2007 4:35:00 PM

^sometimes i'd park on chamberland in raleigh to go to class

8/22/2007 4:35:33 PM

i think wilt definitely fits the category

8/22/2007 4:56:54 PM

God

8/22/2007 5:14:51 PM

Quote :

"Chipper is only valid if we're allowing nicknames. His real name is Larry."

true but its the name he goes by... like thats what his family calls him. so its not like its a nickname given to him by fans... he's had it since he was very young. so i'd say its a different degree of a nickname

8/22/2007 5:30:28 PM

hawk

8/22/2007 5:58:56 PM

^^Chipper is in the same vein as Tiger and Magic...lots of casual fans probably don't even know their real first names

8/22/2007 6:12:49 PM

wow, i just googled that and had no idea his real name was "eldrick." i just thought his parents had a weird sense of humor

8/22/2007 6:33:47 PM