Posted in Bruins History, 50 Greatest Bruins names No Comments June 9th, 2007
The 50 greatest Bruins names of all time: #11-20
So whaddya think? I’ll betcha no one was pondering the like of John Quilty and “Peggy” O’Neill, were ya? Hang on tight…what’s left is bound to be a pleasant blend of the obvious and the obscure. I can almost guarantee no one’s going to guess my top two. But, I digress, I’m tipping my hat too much…we’re not even at the Top Ten yet!
#20 – Orville “Obs” Heximer – Orville Heximer was good enough, but “Obs”? Heh. So immature. So awesome.
#19 - Forbes Kennedy - With a name like this, you don’t get a sad story about an poor child growing up in a steel mill town…father dying at age 7 after a horrible smelting accident…15 siblings in tattered clothes, 12 of them dying before the Red Sox won in 2004. Hell, you wonder why he’s not running for office in Worcester and/or driving mistresses into the local tributary. The funny thing is that he had 195 PIM for the Flyers in ‘68-’69. “Errrrah, is there any powdah in the clubhouse? My right fist is getting chafed!”
#18 - Sprague Cleghorn - Pay, ahhh say, pay attention boy! Ahhh was one of the dirtiest players eveh and even clubbed Lionel Hitchman over the head with mah stick when he was on the Senators! Ahhh couldn’t believe he kept his teeth numbered for just such an occasion!
#17 - Bobby Schmautz - Ahhhhh, Bobby Schmautz…my favorite non-Orr, non-Esposito player from the ’70s. You didn’t think I’d leave him off this list, did you? How can you not love someone apparently named after something you might find on the side of your face after eating a jelly donut?
#16 - Vladimir “Rosie” Ruzicka - As if “Rosie” wasn’t funny enough, there’s something ironic about having the same first name as Vlad the Impaler in addition to that. It’s almost like having someone named Adolf “Sweetcheeks” Johnson.
#15 - Kenny “The Rat” Linseman - Thus named by Bobby Clarke due to his on ice-posture. His career was ended prematurely in 1996 when he was slapped across the Panthers locker room by Scott Mellanby, sparking their Stanley Cup bid that year. What? Oh. sorry. Wrong rat.
#14 – Chris “Knuckles” Nilan – Finally, a nickname befitting someone’s job description. You know when you’re hiring someone named “Knuckles”, he’s not going to be there to help boost your power play. Not unless you’re planning on having him clobber the other team’s best defender.
#13 - Emory “Spunk” Sparrow - Another case where the name was good enough already but the nickname enhanced it jusssst that much more. He may have been spunky, but he wasn’t that good…in only eight NHL games, he had zero points to show for it.
#12 - Fleming MacKell - …zerre, late one night deep in zee Louisiana marshezz I heard it…zee throaty warble of one of zee rarest and mozzt elusive waterfowl in Les Etats-Unis…zee Fleming MacKell…
#11 - Percy “Perk” Galbraith - I guess when you’ve got a name like Percy, you’ve got to find a way to toughen it up a little bit. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if “Perk” was the way to go. On a positive note, he did play on various teams with “Peaches“, “Peggy” and “Pinkie“, so at least he must have able to deflect some of the taunting then…
Coming soon, the final list you’ve all been waiting for…#1-10!
