Thursday, November 10, 2005

Quiz Tampa Bay Gamma Rays

What major leaguer is buried within 20 miles of the human-made landmark he was (nick-) named after? (Anybody who comes up with one gets a point. I can only think of one. But I haven't thought for too long about this yet.)

Clue: It's not "The Georgia Peach." Georgia's a state, not a landmark. And Cobb was buried in Gerorgia, not "within 20 miles" of it. But nice try, no one.

Comments:
Frank "The Fordham Flash" Frisch is buried in the Bronx.

Herb "The Knight of Kennett Square" Pennock is buried in Kennett Square, PA. If there is an actual Square in "Kennett Square" that would help.

You're lucky that I'm studying for the gre's. Nothing makes baseball trivia more interesting than pressing academic responsibilities.
 
Well, Babe Ruth is buried in Hawthorne, NY, exactly 20 miles from "The House That Ruth Built" in the Bronx.

But I think I might be answering this one backwards. Did you mean that the player is nicknamed after the place, or vice-versa?
 
Ryan-

The Fordham Flash--I'm gonna count that one. He is named after the University at which he starred as a four-sport athlete, not just for that area of the Bronx. And I guess I have to consider Fordham University a "landmark."

There is no actual Kennett Square within the town of Kennett Square, as far as I can tell. And even if there was, I'm gonna guess he's named after the town itself. Like, if some scout said, "Where you from, kid?" and he was from, say, Chan Boulevard in the town of Kennet Square, I doubt he'd say "I'm from Chan Boulevard," leading the scout to say "Then we're gonna call you the Kinght of Chan Boulevard, see." Also, the scout has a cigar in his mouth. So no credit there. Town, not landmark.

AJM-

Yes, that would get credit if it weren't reversed. Like, if the question was "What landmark was named after a dude who is buried within 20 miles of it?"

So everyone can keep guessing. No one's guessed the one I thought of yet.
 
Well, Walter 'Big Train' Johnson is buried in Rockville, MD, approximately 20 miles from Union Station in Washington, DC.

I know, that doesn't really count.
 
"Nice try, no one."

Ha. That made me laugh. I got nothin' though.
 
The only one I can think of is Dick Radatz, but I don't think he was named after the Green Monster, and I don't think he's buried in Boston.
 
From baseballlibrary.com: His nickname, "The Big Train," came from the fact that he seemed to always be moving his team down the track. Another reason for the nickname was his almost mechanical, precision harnessing durability and power on a 6-foot-1, 200-pound frame.

So it wasn't because of any actual nearby trains.

Radatz was buried in Michigan, so he's out regardless.

Here's a clue about my guy: The landmark is in the eastern half of the U.S. But feel free to find any others from anywhere, as they're worth a point, too. In fact, why don't I make the one I'm thinking of worth 1 1/2 points, and any other ones that are deemed okay by the judges will be worth 1.
 
Yeah, I was mostly joking about Walter Johnson.

Bill "Ninety-Six" Voiselle is buried in Greenwood, SC, just over 9 miles from his hometown of (you guessed it) Ninety-Six, SC. And yes, he wore #96 on his uniform.
 
Oops, you're not counting towns. I really need to read all the comments more carefully.

Terrible job, me.
 
Is it Connie Seleca? Think peach.
 
It's cool, AJM, it was worth it for that nice little fact about 96.

No Seleca, W. I think it's time you moved on. Tesh ain't goin' nowhere.
 
Well, Lou Gehrig's first MLB nickname was Columbia Lou (he went to Columbia University), and he was buried in Valhalla, NY, but this map says Valhalla's 32 miles from Morningside Heights, so... too far. But that's the closest one I've got.
 
Oh, also: next is Delta, then Epsilon. And then I have no clue.
 
Columbia Lou---Wow, he upgraded by about 1000 percent with that Iron Horse nickname. I never knew that. I do know where he was born because I can see the plaque out my window across the street.

Thanks for the Greek update, ANdrew. I'm glad Delta is next, as you early 90s SNL fan know exactly what I'm gonna do with that one.
 
Zeta, eta, theta, I think........
 
Last night I pondered whether any player had ever been nicknamed after the Statue of Liberty or the Liberty Bell. I think not.

I think that, in addition to being nicknamed "Capital Punishment", Frank Howard was also known as "The Washington Monument". Fortunately, though, Frank is very much alive and kicking at age 68.
 
All right, I'll give another clue. The landmark is in the northeast U.S.

Answer will be given Sunday night at midnight.

So even if Howard dies right now, he probably wouldn't be buried by then, regarless of location. So keep trying.
 
Carl "The Reading Rifle" Furillo?
 
John "Triborough Bridge" McGraw?
Man, I got nothin'.
 
So, no clue if this is the particular guy that you had in mind, but there was a player for a variety of teams between 1897 and 1906 named "Broadway" Aleck Smith. He was born and died in New York City, so presumably is buried there as well, which would certainly put him within 20 miles of Broadway itself.

Do I win?
 
I still got nothing, just checking in for the answer.
 

Post a Comment

If you're "anonymous," please leave a name, even if it's a fake one, for differentiation purposes.

If you're having trouble commenting, try signing in to whatever account you're using first, then come back here once you're signed in.



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

My Photo
Name:
Location: Rhode Island, United States