Humpy Wheeler - Nickname

Nickname

During an appearance on the National Public Radio quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! in July 2006, Wheeler explained the origin of his nickname. He said that when his father had played football at the University of Illinois, he was caught once smoking Camel cigarettes, earning the name "Humpy" for the camel's hump. His father's friends then began calling him "Humpy Jr." Growing up through high school, college football, and then racing, the name "Humpy" has stuck with him.

Read more about this topic:  Humpy Wheeler

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)