The Spoked B

Posted in Bruins History, 50 Greatest Bruins names May 28th, 2007

The 50 greatest Bruins names of all time: #31-40

Last week, I began my countdown of the top 50 names in Bruins history. One thing I want to clarify is that there’s no “greatest” and “worst” names list…just greatest. However, by default, some of the worst names are also the greatest. Would anyone remember Don Mossi if it wasn’t for his giant ears? And if this is the first time you’ve ever seen Don Mossi, what will you remember him for? His career 3.43 ERA? IIIIIII don’t think so! Likewise, some of the worst names are also the “greatest”.

And so we strike forward!

#40 - Gerry “Cheesy” Cheevers - Whether it be due to his predisposition to giving up a lot of goals, his taste in clothes or a love of muenster, you’ve gotta love the nickname of “Cheesy”.

#39 - Wayne “Weiner” Brown - A man lost to the ages who only played four playoff games with the team in 1954…none in the regular season…and never saw the NHL again. And yet, he managed to earn a nickname. What’s in a name? Perhaps everything.

#38 - Bob “Pinkie” Davie - Hey, as stupid as it sounds, if you’re going to give someone a finger-based nickname, I’d rather it be Pinkie than “Thumbs” or “Middle Finger”. I’m sorry, check that. If his nickname was “Middle Finger”, he catapults to #1 on this list.

#37 - Woody Dumart - Maybe it’s the “Cheers” fan in me, but I’ve always loved “Woody” as a nickname. That love also goes back to precocious woodpeckers. Not only that, but “Dumart” rolls off the tongue rather easily…to the point where the whole name sounds like a question.

#36 - Cleon Daskalakis - I’m going to go out on a limb here and say he’s Greek. Hey, I’m right! Cleon’s one of those rare people who…with at least 10 games under their belt…have nearly more letters in their last name (ten) than games on the ice (twelve).

#35 - Charles “Moose” Cahill - One season, one point…in 31 games. No, he wasn’t a defenseman or a goalie. He was a winger. Even better? He was 5′10″ and 180 lbs. Apparently, “Moose” referred to his agility, not his size.

#34 - Harry “Yip” Foster - According to a 1995 trivia piece in the Boston Globe, the first mustachioed player in the NHL. What’s that have to do with “Yip”? I have no idea. Maybe he was either a bad putter or he had one of those tiny aggravating dogs that makes you want to punt it out the window when someone comes to the door or when a noisy leaf blows by.

#33 - Poul Popiel - No, that’s not a typo. A name like that seems like a cross between Pol Pot and Ron Popeil. Boy, as much as I’d love to come up with clever joke incorporating a mass murderer, the Veg-O-Matic and hockey, I’m drawing a blank here. Well, whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll include the 1924-25 Boston Bruins! <rimshot> Thank you! Thank you! You’re too kind! Thank you!

#32 - P.J. Stock - His name just screams “goon”. Somehow I don’t think his parents had any intention for him to grow up to become a frilly center with cutesy stickhandling skills. And…hey wait a minute…I may have found the punchline for #33 above!

#31 - Joe Juneau - Like Dallas Smith, you gotta love the city name. And he treasured it right down to the #49 on his jersey (Alaska, of course, being the 49th state). Even better was the French pronunciation of his name: Zhoe-ay Zhoo-no.

Stay tuned for #21-30, coming soon!

This entry was posted on Monday, May 28th, 2007 at 6:52 pm and is filed under Bruins History, 50 Greatest Bruins names. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.