Written by Andrew Clayman

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Behold! It's the third installment of TCF’s countdown of the Top 100 Names in Cleveland Sports History. Today, we move along down the list to players #50-26, as we continue to mine for the rhythmical, the rhymey, and the ridiculous from over a century’s worth of Cavs, Indians, and Browns rosters. Here in Part 3, the 1970s make their presence felt, arboreal stereotypes are discussed, and names that sound like funny body parts are celebrated with only minimal shame.

100 Best Names in Cleveland Sports History: #100-76  |  #75-51  |  #50-26  |  #25-1

#50 – Campy Russell
Forward, Cleveland Cavaliers, 1974-1980, 1984
The Cavaliers’ Miracle of Richfield team has an impressive four representatives in our Top 50, starting here with the sleepy-eyed forward out of Michigan, Campy Russell (birthname: Michael Campanella Russell). Also known as “Mr. Moves,” Campy put together six fine seasons in the wine and gold, including a 22 PPG, 7 RPG, 5 AST 1978-79 campaign.

#49 – Candy LaChance
First Baseman, Cleveland Blues, 1901
In the inaugural season of the Cleveland Indians franchise (then known as the Blues), their most feared hitter was a dapper, mustachioed gentleman named Candy... such were the times. Silly name or not, LaChance was a rare switch-hitting first baseman who played 12 years of Big League ball-- mostly in Brooklyn-- and hit .280 for his career.
Honorable Mention: Candy Maldonado, Outfielder, Cleveland Indians, 1990, 1993-1994
In 1990, almost a century after Candy LaChance’s lone season in Cleveland, the Indians’ most feared hitter was a “Candy” once more—only this time he was a chubby-cheeked journeyman from Puerto Rico. Such were the times.

#48 – Mason Unck
Linebacker, Cleveland Browns, 2003-2006
A career special teamer, this Arizona State grad likely could have maintained his anonymity forever had it not been for the way our ears instinctively perked up whenever an announcer (probably Ian Eagle) said—somewhat bemusedly—“tackle made by… Unck.” Granted, this was something that only happened a handful of times in four years.

#47 – Bunk Congalton
Rightfielder, Cleveland Naps, 1905-1907
From Unck to Bunk, here’s another one of those too-good-to-be-true entries from Nap Lajoie’s “Murderer’s Row of Silly Monikers.” Back in 1906, the Canadian-born Congalton finished second on the club to only Lajoie himself with a .320 average, but the Naps sold him to Boston the next year for a dozen tobacco tins—or whatever teams sold players for in 1907.

#46 – Ernie Camacho
Relief Pitcher, Cleveland Indians, 1983-1987
Though his middle name at birth was Carlos, he’d become better known to the Cleveland faithful as Ernie “Macho” Camacho—the Tribe’s makeshift closer for a couple seasons in the mid ‘80s. With just 44 career saves, Ernie’s popularity is hard to explain with numbers or rational thought. Maybe it was the glasses, or the ‘80s porn stache… but it’s probably the name.
Honorable Mention: Bert Blyleven, SP, Cleveland Indians, 1981-85
Who can forget the glory days in 1984 when Bert and Ernie would combine for a Tribe win?

#45 – Tree Rollins
Center, Cleveland Cavaliers, 1988-1990
Trees are tall. Well, unless we're talking about saplings. Or bonsais, I guess. But when they started calling Wayne Rollins “Tree,” it’s safe to assume it had something to do with him being 7’1”. I cannot verify this, however. It’s possible that he actually breathed carbon dioxide or shed acorns. He was a bench player. We didn’t know him that well.

#44 – Chico Salmon
Utility, Cleveland Indians, 1964-1968
Born in Panama as Ruthford Eduardo Salmon, “Chico” wound up as one of a slew of snappy-named Tribesmen in the mid ‘60s, playing just about every position on the diamond for Birdie Tebbetts’ good but never good enough ballclub. Salmon hit .307 as a rookie in 1964, but never topped .256 in his subsequent four years in Cleveland.

#43 – Early Wynn
Starting Pitcher, Cleveland Indians, 1949-1957, 1963
With 164 of his 300 career wins coming in Cleveland (including #300 as a scrap heap geezer in 1963), Early Wynn makes most lists of all-time Indian greats. He makes our list, however, for having a name so well suited to his work— particularly on days in which he’d triumph in the first game of a doubleheader. …Just think about it for a second.
Honorable Mention: Herb Score, SP, Cleveland Indians, 1955-1959
In the same rotation as Early Wynn was another name picked right out of an unwritten baseball comic strip—Herb Score; deemed usable only because Joe Strikeout was a bit of a stretch.

#42 – Spergon Wynn
Quarterback, Cleveland Browns, 2000
So, if an “early wynn” is synonymous with victory, what exactly would a “spergon wynn” be? As it turns out, he would be a crappy quarterback. It’s harder to say what’s sadder about Spergon Wynn’s brief time in Cleveland—his 22-54 (41%) completion percentage and zero touchdowns, or the fact that many fans were still clamoring for him to unseat Tim Couch.

#41 – Satchel Paige
Pitcher, Cleveland Indians, 1948-1949
What’s left to be said about arguably the greatest pitcher of all-time? Nothing really. But what a cool name, right?

#40 – Butch Beard
Guard, Cleveland Cavaliers, 1971-72, 1975
As Bruce Willis explained in Pulp Fiction, the name “Butch” is American and thus, “doesn’t mean anything.” Combined with the English word for masculine face fuzz, however, “Butch Beard” is not merely a well-traveled, mediocre NBA player, but a major accomplishment in macho name history, as well-- topped perhaps only by former New York Met outfielder Butch Huskey.

#39 – "Super" Joe Charboneau
Leftfielder, Cleveland Indians, 1980-1982
He had everything you could ask of a baseball folk hero: a name with perfect rhythmical assonance, a boatload of charisma, and a self perpetuated mythology involving DIY dentistry and bottle-opening eye sockets. All “Super” Joe Charboneau was missing was his health, as his Rookie-of-the-Year coming out party also proved to be his final bow.

#38 – Rocky Colavito
Rightfielder, Cleveland Indians, 1955-1959, 1965-1967
What Joe Charboneau might have become is what Rocky Colavito had already been—the unanimously agreed upon face of the Tribe franchise and personal idol of every Baby Boomer in Little League. Had he not spent the early ‘60s in Detroit, Rocky (birthname: Rocco Domenico Colavito) could also very well be the Indians current all-time home-run leader.
Honorable Mention (Italian Names Category): Vito Valentinetti, RP, Cleveland Indians, 1957; Vinnie Pestano, RP, Indians, 2010-Present

#37 – Fest Cotton
Defensive Tackle, Cleveland Browns, 1972
Held every October in scenic Halls, Tennessee, “Cotton Fest” is a great event that recreates the feeling of rural life in the 1940s, with traditional music, southern food, games for the kids, and an antique tractor show. Hmm, hold on a tick. This is Fest Cotton, not Cotton Fest. My bad. But then again, Festus James Cotton only played 3 games for the ’72 Browns, so I don’t really feel like I’ve left out any important details.

#36 – Larvell Blanks
Utility Infielder, Cleveland Indians, 1976-1978
When it comes to marvelously well named utility men, Larvell “Sugar Bear” Blanks managed to eclipse even the high bar set by Chico Salmon a decade earlier. He hit better, too—equally muscle-less but good enough for a .276 mark over three seasons. The Tribe eventually dealt Blanks to Texas for a young perfectionist named Lenny Barker.

#35 – Blue Moon Odom
Pitcher, Cleveland Indians, 1975
Let’s stick around in the ‘70s just a wee bit longer and send some love to Johnny Lee “Blue Moon” Odom. After being a fixture in the A’s rotation for a decade, Odom suddenly found himself in the Cleveland Indians’ ramshackle bullpen—shellshocked by a midseason trade and now getting shelled by his former Oakland teammates in his May 24th Tribe debut. Ten days later, with a season ERA approaching 14.00, Blue Moon got a spot start against the Royals and wowed the Cleveland crowd with an improbable 2-hit, complete game shutout. It was literally a once-in-a-blue-moon event, however, as Odom was unceremoniously traded again (to Atlanta) just two days later.

#34 – Hot Rod Williams
Power Forward, Cleveland Cavaliers, 1986-1995
For a team packed with NASCAR-loving Southern boys (Daugherty, Nance, Price, etc.), it’s somewhat surprising that the Lenny Wilkens era Cavs only had one car-related nickname on the squad. That man was the impeccably flat-topped Tulane grad John “Hot Rod” Williams, who was the picture of consistency for nearly a decade at the Coliseum, throwing in his standard 12 points, 7 boards, and 2 blocks.

#33 – (Tie) Dave Mlicki, Bob Milacki, Mike Bielecki
Pitchers, Cleveland Indians, 1993
As perhaps the final punchline capping 60 years of Municipal Stadium futility, the ’93 Indians somehow wound up breaking camp with a Mlicki, Milacki, and Bielecki on their pitching staff. It’s silly, it’s bizarre, and in terms of results, it was downright icki—as the trio combined to go 5-6 in 21 games with a 5.14 ERA. None of them would stay on for the move to Jacobs Field in ’94. But then, just when we thought we were safe...
Honorable Mention: Scott Kamieniecki, RP, Cleveland Indians, 2000

#32 – Rivington Bisland
Shortstop, Cleveland Naps, 1914
When you stumble upon a crazy name from baseball’s deadball era, it’s usually a nickname gradually adopted by that player as his regular moniker. Not the case with the phenomenally well-christened Rivington Martin Bisland—a slick-fielding shortstop who simply couldn’t cut it at the plate for Nap Lajoie’s gang in 1914. In 57 at-bats that summer, Riv managed just six hits. They’d be the last of his Major League career.

#31 – Pio Sagapolutele
Defensive Tackle, Cleveland Browns, 1991-1995
He only recorded 2 sacks in five low-profile seasons with Bill Bellichick’s Browns, but the big Samoan with the bouncy name had the respect of his pre-hoodie head coach. Following the kidnapping of the Browns and his own firing, Bellichick brought Pio along with him to New England in ’96, where the DT put up the best numbers of his career. Sadly, Sagapolutele died of an aneurysm in 2009. He was just 39.

#30 – Bake McBride
Rightfielder, Cleveland Indians, 1982-1983
Former NL Rookie of the Year and perennial .300 hitter Bake McBride (birthname: Arnold Ray McBride) came to the Tribe-- like so many others before and since-- on his last legs. Even so, “Shake n’ Bake” earned his money during his two-year swansong in Cleveland, hitting .311 across 97 ballgames.
Honorable Mention: Sid Monge, RP, Cleveland Indians, 1977-1981
The man Cleveland traded to Philadelphia for Shake n’ Bake’s services.

#29 – Garland Buckeye
Pitcher, Cleveland Indians, 1925-1928
Mistakenly born in Minnesota, Garland “Gob” Buckeye finally found his proper home in the Buckeye State in 1925, settling into the Indians rotation as a 27 year-old rookie. He would finish 5th in the AL in ERA a year later. But after posting an awful 0.51 K/BB ratio and a league-high 10 wild pitches in 1927, the big lefty’s days as the state pitcher of Ohio had reached their end.

#28 – Gomer Hodge
Pinch Hitter, Cleveland Indians, 1971
Time for yet another short-lived fan favorite from the 1970s. Gomer Hodge (birthname: Harold Morris Hodge) spent more than 13 years in the Indians system, bouncing from A to AA to AAA back to AA again. But in 1971, he found himself with the big club, used almost exclusively as a pinch hitter in this pre-DH season. He only hit .205 with 1 HR in 80 games, but thanks to a 4-for-4 start to the season, he provided an all-time classic quote to match his Jim Nabors-inspired nickname. “Golly, fellas, I’m hitting four-thousand!”

#27 – Dick Shiner
Quarterback, Cleveland Browns, 1967
Ex-Redskin QB Richard Earl Shiner, Jr., caught on as a third stringer with Cleveland in 1967, tossing just 9 passes all year and completing 3 of them. Presumably tired of snickering at his name, the Browns let Shiner go after the season, but the Steelers jumped at the chance to acquire another Dick, as Shiner would go on to start 20 games for Pittsburgh over the next two seasons. Fortunately, those starts included an 0-3 record vs. the Browns.
Honorable Mention: Dick Teets, Linebacker, Cleveland Browns, 1987
The greatness of such a name need not be explained, but as a scab player during the 1987 NFL strike, Dick Teets’ comedic contribution to the game has largely been lost since that fleeting moment.

#26 – Daniel "Boobie" Gibson
Guard, Cleveland Cavaliers, 2006-Present
Okay, let’s move beyond Dick Teets now and class things up a bit. It’s Boobie Time! One of just two remaining players from the Cavs’ 2007 NBA Finals run, Gibson never quite developed into that consistent, deadly shooter he briefly looked like in those playoffs, but he still deserves credit for (1) telling LeBron to shut up, (2) marrying Keyshia Cole, (3) still looking like he is 12 years old, (4) proudly embracing one of the stupidest nicknames of all time.

Continue on to the Top 25 Names in Cleveland Sports History