Nickname
David Dupree explained a common view of how he was given the nickname, Superchief, "he was part Creek Indian and always in command on the pitching mound." At this time it was very common for baseball players with Native American heritage to be called 'Chief.' Jeffrey Powers-Beck explains that in the early half of the 20th century, "it appeared virtually impossible for a baseball player of admitted native origin to be known popularly as anything but "Chief."
Former teammate and American League President Bobby Brown noted his heritage and a popular railroad influenced the baseball media to use the nickname, "But for some of you too young to remember, the Santa Fe Railroad at that time had a crack train (call the Superchief) that ran from California to Chicago, and it was known for its elegance, its power and its speed. "We always felt the name applied to Allie for the same reasons."
Brown notes that Reynolds was not comfortable with the nickname because of the importance of the 'chief' title. He also explained that his teammates called him Chief. "When we talked with him, we called him Allie... But when he wasn't in the room, he was referred to as the Chief, because we felt he was the one at the top, the real leader."
Read more about this topic: Allie Reynolds
Famous quotes containing the word nickname:
“A nickname is the heaviest stone that the devil can throw at a man. It is a bugbear to the imagination, and, though we do not believe in it, it still haunts our apprehensions.”
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830)