Franz Beckenbauer is regarded by many as the greatest German footballer of all time. Throughout his career, Beckenbauer was universally known as ‘Der Kaiser’ or ‘The Emperor’. The nickname had nothing to do with football, and he was first called ‘The Kaiser’ by a magazine because he looked like Kaiser Ludwig II (pictured below), a former Bavarian King.
Retired German discus thrower and Olympic gold medalist Robert Harting earned the nickname ‘Incredible Hulk’ because he was known for ripping apart his shirt after a major victory.
Harting won the discus gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. After the win, he tore open his shirt, donned a German flag like a cape, and ran a hurdling lap around the track to celebrate.
Shane Heal is an Australian basketball great with a brilliant career that including captaining Australia, playing in the NBL and also playing international in Greek, Italian and US basketball leagues.
When asked during an interview with Inside Sport the question of where he got his ‘Hammer’ nickname from, Shane Heal provided the following answer: “I got into a few scuffles when I was a bit younger and also enjoyed a bit of competitive boxing when I was growing up. I also played a lot of footy and, because of my attitude, I got into a bit of biff. All of a sudden they were calling me ‘Hammer’ and it stuck”
Achievements
Andre Agassi is a former World No.1 professional tennis player from the United States who won eight Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal in singles. Agassi was one the game’s most dominant players from the early 1990’s to the mid-2000’s, and his return of serve is regarded as one of the best in the history of the game.
Agassi was called ‘The Punisher’ by peers during his playing career for his systematic breaking down of his opponents. Jim Courier who was a former World No.1 tennis player himself, gave an example of how Agassi would punish his opponents in extremely hot weather conditions describing how “he would go out on days like today at this very tournament and try to play long first sets. Try to move the guy around side to side to take the legs out. He didn’t even care necessarily if we won the first set, it didn’t matter”.
AB de Villiers is a former South African cricketer who had the ability to play shots to any part of the ground, this led to his nickname ‘Mr. 360’.
AB de Villiers is one of the few batsman to have averaged over 50 in both Test and one-day international (ODI) cricket, and was also one of the world’s greatest fielders.
Career highlights include:
ICC Player of the Year: named ICC ODI player of the year on three occasions. Winning the award in 2010, 2014 and 2015.
Fastest records in One Day Internationals: he holds the records for the fastest 50 (16 balls), 100 (31 balls), and 150 (64 balls).
Retired professional basketball player Stephen Jackson got his nickname ‘Captain Jack’ from his former coach Don Nelson. Jackson was the team captain for the Golden State Warriors, and also around the time Jackson joined the Warriors in 2007 was when the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies were really popular, hence a humorous reference to Johnny Depp’s character Captain Jack Sparrow.
Former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding was nicknamed ‘Whispering Death’ by English umpire Dickie Bird because of his smooth and silent run-up. Bird described Holding as having an unusually quiet run up and he could not hear Holding approach the crease to deliver the ball.
Holding had a quiet run up, but he would terrify batsmen with his frightening bowling speed.
Whether you’re a casual tennis player or a competitive tennis player, sweatbands can be an important accessory. Sweatbands are often a high performing part of a tennis player’s apparel. They are super absorbent, stylish, and a well-designed sweatband will help keep sweat away from your hands while holding your racquet.
Sweatbands are not a required tennis apparel, but many players wear them because they are useful tools to wipe sweat off your forehead to keep it from dripping into your eyes, and keep the sweat from your arms off your hands, improving your vision and grip.
If you perspire excessively then consider double-length wristbands, and also think about carrying a few extra pairs of sweatbands in your tennis bag.
How to wash your wristbands? Sport wristbands can be washed with other clothes in the washing machine with laundry detergent using either cold or warm water. Wristbands typically don’t have a long life span and will eventually start to fluff and deteriorate, however if you want to try extend the lifespan of wristbands then wash them in a mesh net (what women would put their bra in).
Sir Richard Hadlee (born July 3, 1951 from Christchurch, New Zealand) was nicknamed ‘Paddles’ because of his large sized feet. The former world class international cricketer is regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers and all-rounders in the history of cricket. He is the first bowler in Test history to capture 400 Test wickets, and also became the first player in Test history to capture 400 wickets and score 3000 runs.
In 1990, Hadlee was knighted for his services to cricket. In 2009, he was inducted into the ICC World Cricket Hall of Fame.
Caron Butler was entrusted his nickname ‘Tuff Juice’ by his former NBA coach, Eddie Jordan, calling his forward a tough player who was committed to play with high intensity and passion.
Butler had a tough childhood, finding himself dealing drugs at the age of 12 to make money. When he was 15, he was sent to a juvenile correctional facility after police had arrested him for possession of drugs and a gun. Butler then decided that he needed to change his life and make positive choices like enrolling in school and pursing his love of basketball.
