September 11, 2014

I've been following former Texas A&M star Johnny Fussball, as he is copyrighting names like Johnny Fussball, Johnny Cleveland Steamer, and Johnny Eggs Danny Thomas Style. This tradition of naming oneself after famous things like Fussball and glass tables goes way back in sports.

The all-time baseball great now known as Babe Ruth got it started, naming himself for the famous candy bar. His teammate Lou, in a fundraising campaign, named himself for a deadly disease. A future Hall of Fame outfielder in Detroit named himself for a brand of batteries, AlKaline. A still active first base coach endorsed a lubricant under the name Rusty Kuntz.

The trend has been a bit slower to spread to football, but a few legends have done changed names. Hopalong Cassidy named himself for a famous cowboy. OJ Simpson took the name of a serial killer. And OJ's Trojan predecessor Marion Morrison named himself for Big Ten commissioner Wayne Duke.

However, unlike the case with baseball, very few football players have named themselves to support advertising campaigns, other than one obscure Missouri defensive back who endorsed some nether region personal grooming product under the name Harry Colon.

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