John Leonard over at All Things Valley League recently posted a great entry entitled, "Moniker Madness" which detailed minorleaguebaseball.com's contest for the most interesting names in the minor leagues. Naturally, that got me to thinking about the most interesting names that have ever appeared on a major league roster.
For me, there was never a more interesting name than that of Cub hurler Orval Overall, who debuted with Cincinnati in 1905. The Cubs picked him up the next season and he won 15 games for them in 1908, which, as all Cub fans know, was the last time the Chicago Northsiders were World Champions. In fact, Orval ranks 13th in career ERA with a 2.233 mark. I'm not sure why this name has left such an impression on me since I first heard it as a child. Maybe it's because whenever I hear it, I envision someone on the mound raking it and planting seed instead of toeing the rubber and hurling a ball.
This is the only person I know with the name "Overall." For that matter, I don't think that I've ever heard of anyone named "Orval" (Orville yes, but not Orval) either. And does anyone else think that Mr. Overall had a cousin who used to co-star on Captain Kangaroo who was named Mr. Greenjeans?
I invite all my readers to chime in on this one, be it your favorite name or strangest name or any name you wish to comment upon. Feel free to make up categories and suggest which players' names would fit best. For example, in the Most Likely to Become a Butler After Retirement there would be Rome Chambers, who pitched in 1 game for 4 innings in his big league career, registering an 11.25 ERA, but who recorded the save(!) and Virgil Cheeves, who ended a 6 year career with a mark of 26-27. No nicknames, however; stick with the player's given name.
No one would be more assured of a first-ballot election to the Hall of Fame for Names, however, than Orval Overall.
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