A freshman basketball player in Kailua, Hawaii, a baseball player in Corona, Calif., a basketball player in Polson, Mont., a football player in Butler, Pa., and a baseball player in Philadelphia, Miss., come from the far reaches of the United States, but they all have one common bond — ESPN.
Yes, the quintet of high school athletes are all sports fans and likely watch the cable sports giant on a regular basis, but that's not the bond they share. All five of them are named ESPN. They represent 25 athletes found in the MaxPreps database over the past five seasons named after the sports network.
They also represent a growing number of athletes who have sports-related first names, particularly former New York Yankees. Gehrig and Jeter, usually surnames, now serve as first names for children whose parents are sports fans.
Another popular first name is the number Seven, which we really hoped had some ties to former Yankee Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle and the "Seinfeld" episode in which George Costanza wants to name his first born child after the Yankee great's uniform number. Unfortunately, that didn't turn out to be the case. More on that later.
Gehrig Nuttall of Liberty in Arizona is among a number of players found in the MaxPreps database with unique sports names, such as his honoring the New York Yankees first baseman. Other interesting first names in the database include ESPN, after the sports cable channel, Jeter and even Seven. (Photo: Kevin French)
We reached out to a few of the ESPNs, the Gehrigs, the Jeters and even the Sevens and here's what we found out about their first names.
Espn Bennett is a freshman basketball player at
Le Jardin Academy (Kailua, Hawaii). His father Paul said he chose ESPN because former anchor Neil Everett was from the islands and Chris Berman always used to talk up the Pro Bowl, which used to be played in Hawaii.
"Those two men inspired me to name my son ESPN," the elder Bennett said. "My family growing up always believed sports was the way to work together, communicate and enjoy each other's company. Relationships you make in sports will benefit your life in the future."
Bennett's wife, Cindy, however, wasn't crazy about the idea at first.
"My husband is a sports fanatic," she said. "At first I said, ‘No way!' but I've grown on it and now I love it. I wouldn't change it for the world."
ESPN Blaze Simpson is a catcher on the
Centennial (Corona, Calif.) baseball team. His father was a big baseball fan and came upon the idea while watching the network while on a college road trip.
"He started pronouncing it different ways and he came up with 'S-Pen,' " ESPN Blaze said. "He called my mom and said that's what they were going to call me. She thought he was joking and brushed it off, but he was serious."
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Espn Leroy Fisher is a basketball player in
Polson (Mont.) and his name is one of several sports-related names in the family. "My dad is a sports fan so he also named my brother Xavier after the college."
Lou Gehrig was a Yankee first baseman who famously played in 2,130 consecutive games before being cut down by Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease that now bears his name. A total of 114 baseball players in the MaxPreps database have the first name Gehrig.
All of the Gehrigs who responded to our e-mail requests, including
Gehrig Nuttall of
Liberty (Peoria, Ariz.),
Gehrig Graham of
Durant (Plant City, Fla.),
Gehrig Syms of
Helix (La Mesa, Calif.) and
Gehrig Loera of
Bowie (Austin, Texas) echoed the same sentiment about the origin of their first name.
"My parents weren't Yankee fans, but they were huge baseball fans and loved the name," Nuttall said. "They wanted to name me after a good man."
"My mom came up the the name," Graham said. "She was watching the Lou Gehrig movie ("Pride of the Yankees") and fell in love with the man he was."
Syms and Loera both said their father liked the player, were huge fans and liked what he stood for.
Derek Jeter was a 14-time all-star for the Yankees and made the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.75 percent of the vote. His last name has become a favorite first name for baseball fans. A total of 33 baseball players in the MaxPreps database are named Jeter.
"My dad is a crazy Yankees fan and loves Derek Jeter," said
Jeter Fieldsted of
Cedar (Cedar City, Utah). "When people who know baseball see my name, they know that I play baseball."
Seven is the most popular first name of the four names we researched with 163 athletes in the database. Regrettably, none of those who replied to our e-mail mentioned Mickey Mantle, or "Seinfeld" and George Costanza.
Several mentioned that their name came from the Bible, because God created the Earth in seven days. Another mentioned they were born in September and "Septem" is Latin for the number seven. All of them mentioned that they frequently have to hear the joke, "Seven ate nine."
All of the athletes we questioned about their sports-related names took great pride in having such a unique moniker.
"The best part of having the name Gehrig," said Gehrig Graham "is knowing I'm named after arguably one of the best ball players of all time and a man with some of the most respect in the game."
"I love to play sports, especially baseball," said Espn Leroy Fisher. "So it's pretty awesome being named after a sports channel and playing the sports that have shaped my life."
Finally, Paul Bennett added several benefits to naming his son ESPN.
"Being able to talk to my son about sports everyday," he said. "And if I'm at the park when I need to find where my son is, I just yell 'DaDaDa, DaDaDa!' "
