best sports team nicknames

Winning three consecutive pennants and the 1989 World Series, the Oakland A s were led by Hall of Famers Rickey Henderson, Dennis Eckersley and immensely muscular sluggers Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. Known for hitting massive home runs, the team became extremely popular around the country. Even with those homers severely aided by scientific enhancements, the nickname still stands as one of the best of all time.

In the early 2000s, Michael Vick mania was in full effect. The fastest, most hyped, most widely covered, rocket armed Virginia Tech QB was the leader in the Heisman Trophy standings, and there wasn t a football magazine in the country that didn t feature his picture. While he never won the award or a National Title, his offensive line cleverly gave themselves a great nickname to commemorate the hysteria The Secret Service. Because of course, they protected the most important man in America. Instantaneously, an all time monicker was born.

The 1927 Yankees were one of the best teams of all time and may have had the most feared first six hitters in the history of baseball Earle Combs, Mark Koenig, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jack Nelson and Tony Lazzeri. Winning 110 games and sweeping the Pirates in the World Series (and then sweeping the Cardinals the following year), the team easily cemented its place in history. Which is exactly where its fearsome nickname will forever remain.

The 1980s Detroit Pistons had a true identity. Led by Hall of Famers Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars, they were going to beat you up and make no apologies for it. Famous for their playoff wars with the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics, the Pistons won two titles and bullied Michael Jordan before his championship run. The team came to prominence in the late 80s, just in time for Inner Circle s famous Bad Boys anthem. The name perfectly fit.

After the 1981 NFL season, in which the Jets earned their first playoff appearance since 1969 behind 40.5 sacks from Mark Gastineau and Joe Klecko, the entire Jets defensive line was invited to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Thus, a great nickname was born. Rounded out by Marty Lyons and Abdul Salaam, The New York Sack Exchange led the Jets to the playoffs again the next year, losing in the AFC Championship to Miami. With on field success and a steady stream of New York tabloid intrigue throughout the 80s (Gastineau dated a famous actress), this stellar defensive unit more than earned their clever and memorable nickname.

Called the most dominant line in football history by none other than Dick Butkus, the 1960s Los Angeles Rams defensive line may still be just that. Led by punishing Hall of Famers Merlin Olsen and Deacon Jones, as well as hard hitting Rosey Grier and Lamar Lundy, The Fearsome Foursome transformed a sub .500 Rams team into an NFL powerhouse. In 1967, the Rams reached the conference championship game and became the first NFL team to surpass one million spectators in a season, which they would do again the following year. The nickname, like the team, is legendary.

In 1924, Notre Dame football was the biggest sports team in America. Coached by the legendary Knute Rockne, the team featured a fabled backfield that ran roughshod over opponents and into the imaginations of fans across the country. Dubbed the Four Horsemen by famous writer Grantland Rice (and immortalized in a now famous photo of the uniformed quartet on horseback), Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller, Jim Crowley and Elmer Layden will forever be remembered in sports history. In the three years they were together, they only lost two games. Add a national championship and the fact that all four played ironman football, and a spot on this list is assured.

In the early 1980s, John Wooden s UCLA played with a polished and methodical style, and every other basketball team followed suit. But in 1982, the University of Houston decided to change all that. Employing a frenetic, playground, above the rim style that centered around fastbreaks and dunks, the Cougars changed the way basketball was played. Thus, Phi Slamma Jamma was born. Known as Texas s Tallest Fraternity, the fraternity brothers were wildly popular and all had nicknames of their own. Led by Hakeem The Dream Olajuwon and Clyde The Glide Drexler, the team also featured Benny Bomber from Bernice Anders, Larry Mr. Mean Micheaux, and Michael Silent Assassin Young. The team reached the Final Four three straight years, losing the 1982 83 Finals, and is credited with transforming basketball into what it is today.

Rap music was just starting to explode on the scene in the late 1980s, and its influence undeniably began pervading the national consciousness soon after. Around the same time, a high scoring trio of stars found themselves on the Golden State Warriors. Coached by Don Nelson in his trademark run and gun style, Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin took the NBA by storm. Though they began as the Big Three, The San Francisco Examiner held a contest to Name the Warriors Trio. The name they selected was Run TMC, after the teammates first names, as a play on the popular rap group Run DMC. Though the trio only played together for two seasons, Richmond and Mullin are Hall of Famers, and the nickname has popularly stuck around ever since.

From 1999 2001, the St. Louis Rams broke offensive records nearly every week. Employing a five receiver, deep threat timing system, the Rams took the NFL by storm and couldn t be stopped. Led by quarterback Kurt Warner, who had famously been bagging groceries before being picked up by the team, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce and Tory Holt, the Rams bowled over defenses on their way to two Super Bowl appearances, one win, and three MVP awards. ESPN s Chris Berman said to audiences in 2000, Forget Ringling Brothers the Rams are the Greatest Show on Earth Soon the word Turf was substituted, in reference to their home field playing surface and the speed at which they flew on it. There aren t many nicknames that capture a team, or its style, any better.