I guess it all started with Cher and Pele. For some reason, singers and soccer stars are famous for going by their first names.
Now, I'm a lot more familiar with the latter rather than the former. In fact, I'd be surprised if there's anyone out there who know these two groups equally well. It's kind of like a Venn diagram where the two circles never quite touch.
So, let's see how you do. Cast your votes, then scroll down to see how you did (and to learn a little more about who these folks actually are).
1. Aaliyah
2. Alisson
3. Ashanti
4. Cafu
5. Dalida
6. Dida
7. Dido
8. Dio
9. Ederson
10. Edurne
11. Enya
12. Imany
13. Joselu
14. Juanes
15. Kaka
16. Kenedy
17. Kesha
18. Lorde
19. Maxwell
20. Neymar
21. Rivaldo
22. Shakira
23. Shaqiri
24. Sia
25. Tarkan
26. Tinashe
27. Willian
28. Xavi
29. Xhaka
30. Zico
Answers
1. Aaliyah
Real name: Aaliyah Hauton
Country: USA
Age: Died in a plane crash in 2001 at age 22
Notes: Illegal marriage with R. Kelly at age 15
2. Alisson
Real name: Alisson Becker
Country: Brazil
Age: 27
Notes: Goalie for Liverpool, Brazil
3. Ashanti
Real name: Ashanti Douglas
Country: USA
Age: 39
Notes: In 10-year relationship with rapper Nelly
4. Cafu
Real name: Marcos Evangelista de Morais
Country: Brazil
Age: 49
Notes: Most caps ever for Brazil
5. Dalida
Real name: Iolanda Gigliotti
Country: France
Age: Suicide at age 54 in 1987
Notes: Born in Egypt of Italian parents
6. Dida
Real name: Nélson de Jesus Silva
Country: Brazil
Age: 46
Notes: Goalie for Milan, Brazil
7. Dido
Real name: Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong
Country: UK / Ireland
Age: 47
Notes: Arsenal fan
8. Dio
Real name: Ronnie James Dio
Country: UK
Age: Died at age 67 in 2010 of stomach cancer
Notes: Lead singer for Black Sabbath
9. Ederson
Real name: Ederson Santana de Moraes
Country: Brazil
Age: 26
Notes: Goalie for Manchester City, Brazil
10. Edurne
Real name: Edurne García Almagro
Country: Spain
Age: 34
Notes: Began career at age 7 acting in soap operas
11. Enya
Real name: Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin
Country: Ireland
Age: 58
Notes: Name Anglicized to Enya Brennan
12. Imany
Real name: Nadia Mladjao
Country: France
Age: 40
Notes: Family was from Comorros
13. Joselu
Real name: José Luis Mato Sanmartín
Country: Spain
Age: 29
Notes: Actually born in Germany
14. Juanes
Real name: Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez
Country: Colombia
Age: 47
Notes: Lives in Flroda
15. Kaka
Real name: Ricardo dos Santos Leite
Country: Brazil
Age: 37
Notes: Midfielder, Ballon d'Or winner
16. Kenedy
Real name: Robert Kenedy
Country: Brazil
Age: 23
Notes: In Chelsea organization
17. Kesha
Real name: Kesha Sebert
Country: USA
Age: 32
Notes: AKA Ke$ha
18. Lorde
Real name: Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor
Country: NZ / Croatia
Age: 23
Notes: Name comes from her "fascination with royals and aristocracy"
19. Maxwell
Real name: Gerald Maxwell Rivera
Country: USA
Age: 46
Notes: Son of a Haitian mother and Puerto Rican father
Real name: Maxwell Scherrer Cabelino Andrade
Country: Brazil
Age: 38
Notes: defender, primarily with PSG
20. Neymar
Real name: Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior
Country: Brazil
Age: 27
Notes: 3rd highest scorer for Brazil
21. Rivaldo
Real name: Rivaldo Barbosa Ferreira
Country: Brazil
Age: 47
Notes: Ballon d'Or winner
22. Shakira
Real name: Shakira Mebarak Ripoll
Country: Colombia
Age: 42
Notes: Partner of Gerard Pique, Barcelona & Spain star
23. Shaqiri
Real name: Xherdan Shaqiri
Country: Switzerland
Age: 28
Notes: Born in Yugoslavia of Albanian parents
24. Sia
Real name: Sia Furler
Country: Australia
Age: 44
Notes: Since 2014, has covered most of her face at concerts and on TV
25. Tarkan
Real name: Tarkan Tevetoğlu
Country: Turkey
Age: 47
Notes: Born in Germany
26. Tinashe
Real name: Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe
Country: USA
Age: 26
Notes: Father is from Zimbabwe
27. Willian
Real name: Willian Borges da Silva
Country: Brazil
Age: 31
Notes: Winger for Chelsea, Brazil
28. Xavi
Real name: Xavier Hernández Creus
Country: Spain
Age: 39
Notes: Has won 31 trophies for Barcelona & Spain
29. Xhaka
Real name: Granit Zhaka
Country: Switzerland
Age: 27
Notes: Has Albanian parents
30. Zico
Real name: Arthur Antunes Coimbra
Country: Brazil
Age: 66
Notes: Star for Brazil, coach since 1999
Real name: Woo Ji-Ho
Country: S Korea
Age: 27
Notes: Leader of the boy band Block G
Last week, we looked at the worst baseball careers ever, for batters. We defined that as coming up to only once, then whiffing.
So, how can we define something similar for pitchers? How about you get one shot in the bigs, and never record an out? Makes sense to me.
Notes:
- I eliminated any position players who were in just to mop up. These had to be real honest-to-goodness hurlers
- I limited it to the modern era (1903 and after).
- I’m listing them from least disastrous to most disastrous (and using earned runs as way to do that)
BTW, no Walter Alstons in this group
Lou Bauer
Year: 1918
Team: Philadelphia A’s
Earned runs: 1
Game notes: Walked the 2 batters he faced
Player tidbits: Only 1 season of minor league ball for his whole career
Gordie Sundin
Year: 1956
Team: Baltimore Orioles
Earned runs: 1
Game notes: 18 years old
Player tidbits: All state in high school for baseball, football & basketball
Bill Moore
Year: 1925
Team: Detroit
Earned runs: 2
Game notes: 3 straight walks
Player tidbits: Played one year in Williamsport PA (home of Little League)
Marty Walker
Year: 1928
Team: Philadelphia Phillies
Earned runs: 2
Game notes: Starter on the last day of the season; got the loss
Player tidbits: Full name was Martin Van Buren Walker
Joe Brown
Year: 1927
Team: Chicago White Sox
Earned runs: 3
Game notes: Starter
Player tidbits: With such a common name, it’s surprising to know that there’s only one other Joe Brown among the almost 20,000 players who have donned an MLB uniform
William Ford
Year: 1936
Team: Boston Braves
Earned runs: 3
Game notes: Starter
Player tidbits: Gave up pitching & played OF for 4 years in the minors
Mike Palagyi
Year: 1939
Team: Washington Senators
Earned runs: 3
Game notes: Faced 3 Hall of Famers: Joe Cronin, Jimmie Foxx, and Ted Williams
Player tidbits: Lived to be 96
Jim Schelle
Year: 1939
Team: Philadelphia A’s
Earned runs: 3
Game notes: A's would end up losing 16-3
Player tidbits: Never got above C league otherwise
Fred Bruckbauer
Year: 1961
Team: Minnesota Twins
Earned runs: 3
Game notes: Twins would end up losing 20-2
Player tidbits: Slated to be a starter for the Twins that year, but blew his arms out in spring training
Doc Hamann
Year: 1926
Team: Cleveland Indians
Earned runs: 6
Game notes: No other professional baseball before (or after) his MLB debut
Player tidbits: He and Bruckbauer were both from New Ulm, MN
So, what could possibly constitute a “worst baseball career ever” – in this case, if you’re a batter? How about if you got up only once, and then struck out? Yup, that’s it. Just one shot at glory, and you blew it big time.
Notes:
- I eliminated any pitchers. Hey, they can’t bat anyway, right?
- I also eliminated anyone who was listed without any position. Just wanted to make sure they weren’t pitchers.
- I limited it to the modern era (1903 and after).
- I’m listing them from oldest to most recent.
BTW, the famous Moonlight Graham actually got his bat on the ball. He at least avoided a big K.
There is one famous major leaguer here though. In fact, he’s in the Hall of Fame! Can you guess who he is? Read on …
Claude Gouzzie
Year: 1903
Team: St. Louis Browns
Position: 2B
Interesting Tidbit: Born in France
Willy Fetzer
Year: 1906
Team: Philadelphia Phillies
Position: OF
Interesting Tidbit: Head baseball coach at Davidson, NC State & UNC
Hunky Shaw
Year: 1908
Team: Pittsburgh Pirates
Position: 3B
Interesting Tidbit: Actually had his own (T206) baseball card
Larry McClure
Year: 1910
Team: New York Giants
Position: OF
Interesting Tidbit: Attended Choate & Amherst
Ed Conwell
Year: 1911
Team: St Louis Cardinals
Position: OF
Interesting Tidbit: Nickname was “Irish”
John Vann
Year: 1913
Team: St Louis Cardinals
Position: C
Interesting Tidbit: Played in minors for 17 years
George Tomer
Year: 1913
Team: St Louis Browns
Position: 3B
Interesting Tidbit: Once managed the Kalamazoo Celery Pickers
Delos Brown
Year: 1914
Team: Chicago White Sox
Position: SS
Interesting Tidbit: Only played 2 years of professional baseball
Al Cypert
Year: 1914
Team: Cleveland Indians
Position: 3B
Interesting Tidbit: Had a law degree from Harvard
Frank Fletcher
Year: 1913
Team: Philadelphia Phillies
Position: 3B
Interesting Tidbit: AKA Fletcher Franks
Buck Sweeney
Year: 1914
Team: Philadelphia A’s
Position: OF
Interesting Tidbit: Born Charles Francis
Harry Daubert
Year: 1915
Team: Pittsburgh Pirates
Position: SS
Interesting Tidbit: Once played for the Lima (OH) Cigarmakers
Newt Halladay
Year: 1916
Team: Pittsburgh Pirates
Position: SS
Interesting Tidbit: Died of TB at age 21
Ed Murray
Year: 1917
Team: St Louis Browns
Position: SS
Interesting Tidbit: Namesake Eddie Murray is in the Hall of Fame
John Cavanaugh
Year: 1919
Team: Philadelphia Phillies
Position: 3B
Interesting Tidbit: 1st player born in 1900s to play in MLB
Augie Swentor
Year: 1922
Team: Chicago White Sox
Position: 3B
Interesting Tidbit: Only played 3 seasons in professional baseball
Uke Clanton
Year: 1922
Team: Cleveland Indians
Position: 1B
Interesting Tidbit: Also made an error in that one game
Joe Price
Year: 1928
Team: New York Giants
Position: OF
Interesting Tidbit: Nickname was “Lumber”
Dutch Fehring
Year: 1934
Team: Chicago White Sox
Position: C
Interesting Tidbit: Head baseball coach at Purdue & Stanford
Walt Alston
Year: 1936
Team: St Louis Cardinal
Position: 1B
Interesting Tidbit: In the Hall of Fame as a manager for the Dodgers
Bill Sodd
Year: 1937
Team: Cleveland Indians
Position: OF
Interesting Tidbit: 107 home runs in 7 minor league seasons
Carl McNabb
Year: 1945
Team: Detroit Tigers
Position: 2B
Interesting Tidbit: Nickname was “Skinny”
Doc Daugherty
Year: 1951
Team: Detroit Tigers
Position: SS
Interesting Tidbit: 1945 West Virginia Amateur Athlete of the Year
Dick Teed
Year: 1953
Team: Brooklyn Dodgers
Position: C
Interesting Tidbit: 17 seasons in the minors
Moose Morton
Year: 1954
Team: Boston Red Sox
Position: C
Interesting Tidbit: Father Guy played in MLB for 11 years
Rod Miller
Year: 1957
Team: Brooklyn Dodgers
Position: OF
Interesting Tidbit: At bat came at age 17
Leroy Ream
Year: 1969
Team: Philadelphia Phillies
Position: OF
Interesting Tidbit: High school teammate of Hall of Famer Joe Morgan
John Bormann
Year: 2017
Team: Pittsburgh Pirates
Position: C
Interesting Tidbit: Called up from A ball
