Oddly Named Governors - Part I

There’s 50 states, right? And some of them have been around for over 200 years. So, chances are we’re going to get some crazy names in there, right? So … let’s have at 'em.

NOTE: Some of these states actually haven’t been around that long. So, I’m including territorial governors as well. Drawing the line on colonial governors though. I mean, ya gotta draw the line somewhere, right?

 

Alabama

Clement Comer Clay (1835-1837, Democrat)

Nothing like a little of the ol’ alliteration to get us started.

Fun fact:  Father of Clement Claiborne Clay, US & Confederate senator

Honorable mention:  Israel Pickens, Rufus W Cobb, Fob James (All-American running back at Auburn), Bibb Graves, Chauncey Sparks

 

Alaska

Jefferson C Davis (1867-1870)

Wait a minute. Shouldn’t this guy be a little further south than this?

Fun fact:  Civil War general (for the Union); shot & killed his commanding officer, William “Bull” Nelson, after getting sacked (& with absolutely no repercussions!)

Honorable mention:  Lyman Enos Knapp, John C Tidball, Wilford Bacon Hoggett

 

Arizona

Frederick Augustus Tritle (1882-1885, Republican)

Fun fact:  Associated with the “Thieving 13^th,” a corrupt legislature

Honorable mention:  John Philo Hoyt, Bruce Babbitt (Sec. of the Interior, 1988 presidential candidate), C Meyer Zulick, Fife Symington (convicted of extortion & bank fraud), Rawghlie Clement Stanford

 

Arkansas

Xenophon Overton Pindall (1907-1909, Democrat)

Fun fact:  Original Xenophon was a Greek historian and military strategist

Honorable mention:  Dale Bumpers, Jeff Davis (again, and not the one you're thinking of), Ozra Amander Hadley, Orval Faubus

 

California

Henry Huntly Haight (1867-1871, Democrat)

Astonishingly awesome alliteration

Fun fact:  Probable namesake for Haight-Ashbury

Honorable mention:  Friend Richardson, Arnold Schwarzenegger (3-time Mr Universe)

 

Colorado

John Hickenlooper (2011-2019. Democrat)

Fun fact:  Quaker, presidential candidate, grand-nephew of Bourke B (see Iowa)

Honorable mention: Roy Romer, Julius Caldeen Gunter, Teller Ammons, John V Vanderhoof

 

Connecticut

You can get married at his house!

Phineas C Lounsbury (1887-1889 , Republican)

Fun fact:  Shoe manufacturer

Honorable mentions:  Chauncey Fitch Cleveland, Hobart B Bigelow

 

Delaware

Simeon S Pennewill (1899-1907, Republican)

Fun fact:  Peach farmer

Honorable mention:  Sherman W Tribbitt, Cornelius P Comegys (haven’t a clue how to pronounce that last name), Gove Saulsbury, Ebe W Tunnell

 

Florida

Spessard Holland (1941-1945, Democrat)

Fun fact:  Offered a baseball contract by Connie Mack but declined

Honorable mention:  John Milton, Ossian B Hart, Reubin Askew

 

Georgia

Button Gwinett (1777)

Fun fact:  Also a signer of the Declaration of Independence; killed in a duel

Honorable mention:  Wilson Lumpkin, Herschell Vespasian Johnson, Rufus Bullock

 

Hawaii

Linda Lingle (2002-2010, Republican)

Fun fact:  First female & first Jewish governor of the Aloha State; shoulda kept that maiden name (Cutter)

Honorable mention:  Lucius E Pinkham, John D. Waiheʻe III, Ingram Stainback

 

Idaho

Thank you, Interwebs

Butch Otter (2007-2019, Republican)

Fun fact:  Real given name is Clement Leroy

Honorable mention:  Dirk Kempthorne, Barzilla W Clark

 

Illinois

"Bond ... Shadrach Bond"

Shadrach Bond (1818-1822, Democrat)

And, no, there are no Meshachs or Abednegos out there

Fun fact:  Came from a part of Illinois called the American Bottom

Honorable mention:  Ninian Edwards

 

Indiana

Ratliff Boon (1822, Democrat)

Fun fact:  Such an excellent wolf hunter that the state ended its bounty program after paying him $700 (over $18,000 today)

Honorable mention:  Ira Joy Chase, Ashbel P Willard, Noah Noble

Iowa

Not sure why this little guy’s blue, of all colors

Bourke B Hickenlooper (1943-1945, Republican)

Fun fact:  Nickname was “Hick”; is John’s great-uncle (see Colorado)

Honorable mention:  Horace Boies, Herschel C Loveless

Kansas

Extra points for the ‘stache

John St John (1879-1883, Prohibition)

Now, that’s creative …

Fun fact:  Prohibition Party’s presidential candidate in 1884 (see Montana for another one)

Honorable mention:  Harry Hines Woodring, Lyman U Humphrey, George Washington Glick, Lorenzo D Lewelling

Kentucky

Ruby Laffoon (1931-1935, Democrat)

Fun fact:  Known as "the terrible Turk from Madisonville”

Honorable mention:  Augustus Owsley Stanley, Happy Chandler (2^nd Commissioner of Baseball), Simon Bolivar Buckner (terrible Confederate general), Flem D Sampson, Beriah Magoffin (kept KY neutral in the Civil War)

Louisiana

PBS Pinchback (1872-1873, Republican)

And here I thought he was named after my favorite radio station

Fun fact:  1st African-American governor

Honorable mention:  Edwin Edwards (served 8 years in federal prison for racketeering), Oramel H Simpson, Ruffin G Pleasant

 

Maine

Sebastian Streeter Marble (1887-1889, Republican)

Fun fact:  Was president of Maine’s Senate when the previous guy passed away (Maine does not have lieutenant governors)

Honorable mention:  William D Williamson, Clinton Clauson, Hannibal Hamlin (Lincoln’s 1^st VP), Sumner Sewall

Maryland

Yup, he said it

Spiro Agnew (1967-1969, Republican)

Fun fact:  US VP, 2^nd one to resign (Calhoun was the 1^st)

Honorable mention:  Samuel Sprig, Harry Nice, Levin Winder, Oden Bowie, Lloyd Lowndes Jr (say it three times fast)

 

Massachusetts

Increase Sumner (1797-1799, Federalist)

Fun fact:  Wrote 7 books

Honorable mention:  Marcus Morton, Endicott Peabody (hard to get any more Boston Brahmin than that), John QA Brackett, Foster Furcolo, Leverett Saltonstall (I actually have this guy’s autograph)

Minnesota

Epaphroditus Ransom (1848-1850, Democrat)

Fun facts:  Original Epaphroditus was Roman emperor Nero’s secretary

Honorable mention:  Adolph Olson Eberhart, Henry H Crapo, Hazen S Pingree, Alfeus Felch

 

Mississippi

That particular type of facial hair is called an “imperial”

Adelbert Ames (1870-1874, Republican)

Fun facts:  A Union general in the Civil War (Medal of Honor winner), he was the last surviving one, passing away at age 97 in 1930

Honorable mention:  Tilghman Tucker, Alexander G McNutt, William McWillie, Theodore G Bilbo

 

Missouri

Meredith Miles Marmaduke (1844, Democrat)

How appropriate he’s from M-M-M-Missouri

“Fun” fact:  Became governor when the previous guy, Thomas Reynolds, committed suicide

Honorable mention:  Kit Bond, Trusten Polk, Daniel Dunklin, Lilburn Boggs, Meriwether Lewis (of Lewis & Clark fame, I know, but still pretty odd), Elliott Woolfolk Major

Need some more?  Click here!

Dog Breed Name Generator

You know, there are some pretty strangely named dog breeds out there. Have you, for example, ever heard of any of these:

• Azawakh
• Catahoula Leopard Dog
• Dogo Argentino
• Karelian Bear Dog
• Peruvian Inca Orchid
• Porcelaine
• Portuguese Podengo Pequeno
• Pudelpointer
• Small Munsterlander
• Xoloitzcuintli

Azawakh

Believe it or not, they are all officially recognized by the AKC (American Kennel Club).

Which got me thinking ... Surely, I could come up with something even crazier on my own. 

And, indeed, I did. What might be even more fun, though, would be to create a dog breed name generator.

Dogo Argentino

So, here’s how it works:

1. Take any 4-digit number (the year you were born, the day & year you were born, the 4 digits of your phone number, the last 4 of your Social Security number …).
2. Match them up to the columns below 

Column 1

• 0 – Bulgarian
• 1 – Burmese
• 2 – Hawaiian
• 3 – Indonesian
• 4 – Lithuanian
• 5 – Mongolian
• 6 – New Jersey
• 7 – Peruvian
• 8 – Filipino
• 9 – Transylvanian

Column 2

• 0 – toy
• 1 – standard
• 2 – pigeon-toed
• 3 – miniature
• 4 – long-haired
• 5 – hairless
• 6 – giant
• 7 – curly-haired
• 8 – cross-eyed
• 9 – brindled

Column 3

• 0 – coon
• 1 – ditch
• 2 – duck
• 3 – goat
• 4 – mud
• 5 – pig
• 6 – rat
• 7 – skunk
• 8 – squirrel
• 9 – swamp

Column 4

• 0 – terrier
• 1 – spaniel
• 2 – setter
• 3 – retriever
• 4 – poodle
• 5 – pointer
• 6 – mutt
• 7 – hound
• 8 – dog
• 9 – collie

For example, I was born in 1959. That gives us the Burmese Brindled Pig Collie.  Month and day?  May 10 gives us 0510, which gives us the Bulgarian Longhaired Ditch Terrier.

Phone? Well that’s 9086 for my mobile and 4352 for our land line. And that gives us the Transylvanian Toy Squirrel Mutt and the Lithuanian Miniature Mud Setter, respectively.

Komondor

Last 4 of my SSN? That would be the Burmese Cross-Eyed Ditch Hound.

How about some famous dates? 1776?  Burmese Curly-haired Skunk Mutt. 2001?  Hawaiian Toy Coon Spaniel. Christmas day? Burmese Pigeon-Toed Duck Pointer. July the 4th? Bulgarian Curly-haired Coon Retriever.

Go ahead, try it out yourself. Just don’t expect to see any of these at Westminster.

Chinese Crested

Odd Mascots of Division I Sports

Now, there are, of course, plenty of Bulldogs, Tigers, and Eagles out there. There are also, however, some that are a little different, maybe even unique.

We’ve all heard of some of these, right? I mean, Georgetown’s got the Hoyas, Ohio State the Buckeyes, and Tennessee the Volunteers. But what the heck do they mean? Where the heck did they come from?

In this post, I’m going to share some of my favorites, all from NCAA Division I schools.

Fighting Things

• Notre Dame Fighting Irish - originally after Irish immigrant soldiers who fought for the Union in the Civil War
• Illinois Fighting Illini - after the Indian tribe, for which Illinois is named
• North Dakota Fighting Hawks - formerly the Fighting Sioux, which was deemed politically incorrect
• Campbell Fighting Camels - from the name of the college

Mr. & Mrs. Gaylord and Gladys Campbell
(yup, Gaylord)

Straight -Up Nouns

• Elon Phoenix - rising from the ashes, after a devastating 1923 fire
• Hofstra Pride - formerly the Flying Dutchmen, changed in 2001because it was politically incorrect
• Northern Kentucky Norse - Norse = men from the north; winner of 1971 student poll
• Tulsa Golden Hurricane - originally, the Golden Tornadoes, which was already taken (by Georgia Tech, no less)
• Marshall Thundering Herd - from a popular 1923 Zane Grey novel about buffalo hunters
• Long Beach State Beach - mascot is Elbee the Shark, who just so happens to be non-binary and uses the pronouns they/them (I kid you not)

It’s supposed to be a hurricane (hint, hint),
something which has never actually hit Tulsa

Straight Colors

• Harvard Crimson - from the color of the jerseys; beat out magenta in an 1875 student poll
• Alabama Crimson Tide - from the color of the jerseys; formerly the Thin Red Line, a reference to Alabama’s Civil War troops
• Syracuse Orange - from the color of the jerseys; associated with the Dutch, who originally settled the area
• Dartmouth Big Green - from the color of the jerseys; formerly the politically incorrect Indians
• Cornell Big Red - from the color of the jerseys
• Stanford Cardinal - from the color of the jerseys; formerly the Indians
• North Texas Mean Green - after a nickname for the defense & the color of the jerseys

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Otto the Orange

Colorful Adjectives

• Texas Tech Red Raiders - from the color of the jerseys; formerly the Matadors
• St John Red Storm - from the color of the jerseys; originally, the politically incorrect Redmen
• St Francis Red Flash - from the color of the jerseys; also after a particularly quick offensive backfield from the 1920s
• Duke Blue Devils - from the color of the jerseys; also after a crack French military unit in WWI
• Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders - from the color of the jerseys; also after the Colgate Red Raiders
• Delaware Blue Hens - after the blue hens that Delaware troops in the Revolutionary War brought to cockfights
• Presbyterian Blue Hose - a variation of the Blue Stockings, from the uniform
• Tulane Green Wave - from the color of the jerseys, as well as a fight song published in the school newspaper in 1920
• Canisius Golden Griffins - a winged lion; also after French explorer Lasalle’s ship, the Griffin, built in Buffalo, the site of Canisius (perhaps the most obscure reference on here)
• Kent State Golden Flashes - after a 1927 contestant, with the winner picked by the school president; formerly the Silver Foxes, after a fox farm adjacent to campus
• Minnesota Golden Gophers - from the color of the pants; Minnesotans have been known as “gophers” since the mid 1800s
• Niagara Purple Eagles - from the color of the jerseys; formerly just the boring Eagles
• Evansville Purple Aces - from the color of the jerseys; formerly just the Aces

Scotty the Scotsman, a Medieval Scottish warrior (and Presbyterian’s mascot)

Uninspiring People

• Tennessee Volunteers - from the number of volunteers who signed up to fight the War of 1812
• Navy Midshipmen - a 17th century term for apprentice seamen, who berthed “amidship” 
• Purdue Boilermakers - from a typical occupation for the engineering-heavy school back in the 1800s when it was coined
• UTEP Miners - from the school’s original name, the State School of Mines and Metallurgy
• Nebraska Cornhuskers - from one of the state’s main products; used derisively by Iowa after Nebraska scored an upset win against them
• Stetson Hatters - from the Stetson hat; after John B Stetson, who started the company that made them & also founded the school
• Loyola Chicago Ramblers - from the 1920s football team’s barnstorming reputation
• Idaho Vandals - from a sports writer who compared them to the barbarians who sacked Rome in the 5th Century
• Penn Quakers - because so many Quakers settled in Pennsylvania, which is known itself as the Quaker State

His nickname is the incredibly dull John B

What the Heck Is It?

• Texas A&M / New Mexico State / NC A&T / UC Davis / Utah State Aggies - from the “Agricultural” in or previously in these colleges’ names
• Utah Utes - an Indian tribe, the source of the state’s name
• Ohio State Buckeyes - from the tree, common in the state; the dried seeds look like the eye of a deer
• Georgetown Hoyas - originally the Stonewalls; came from a Latin/Greek cheer, “Hoya saxa!” – basically “What rocks [these men are]”
• Virginia Tech Hokies - nonsense words from a school cheer
• Hawaii Rainbow Warriors - from the many rainbows that appear in Hawaii, as well as the warriors popular in Hawaiian history; originally the Deans
• St Bonaventure Bonnies - from the school name; originally the Brown Indians, from the color of their jerseys
• Chattanooga Mocs - originally the Moccasins, after Moccasin Bend, where Chattanooga is located; also cited as referring to the water moccasin, the snake, and the shoe, with its Native American connotations
• Vermont Catamounts - another term for cougar; the winner of a 1926 student poll
• Univ. of Kansas City Roos - following the adoption of two baby kangaroos by the Kansas City Zoo
• VMI Keydets - a play on “cadets,” what the students at the military college are called; oddly, the mascot is a kangaroo
• Akron Zips - from a 1927 student poll, perhaps referencing a local company’s product; the mascot, Zippy, is also a kangaroo
• Wichita State Shockers - someone who harvests wheat – i.e., into shocks, or stacks
• Coastal Carolina Chanticleers - a “proud and fierce” rooster, from Chauncer’s Canterbury Tales
• Grand Canyon Lopes - short for antelopes, common in the area
• St Louis Billikens - a mythical creature who brings good luck, sort of the opposite of a gremlin
• Manhattan Jaspers - after the school’s first athletic director, Brother Jasper

Looking more like Frankenstein, “Wu” is supposed
to be a "big, bad muscle-bound bundle of wheat”

Uninspiring Pooches

• Albany Great Danes - originally the Pedagogues; student Kathy Earle won $25 in a 1967 contestant to come up with a new name
• Boston Univ / Wofford Terriers - from the scrappy, feisty dog, originally bred to fight animals in their burrows
• UMBC Retrievers - after Chesapeake Bay retrievers; UMBC stands for University of Maryland Baltimore Campus, with Baltimore being located on the Chesapeake Bay; winner of a 1966 contest
• Southern Illinois Salukis - after the “royal dog of Egypt,” with Southern Illinois long being nicknamed Little Egypt, for its rich soil between two rivers, the Mississippi and Ohio

Nightmare fuel, pure nightmare fuel

Uninspiring Animals

• Rice / Temple / Florida Atlantic Owls - from their association with learning, particularly as the symbol of Athena, the Greek goddess of knowledge
• Oregon Ducks - because of the state’s wet weather
• Oregon State Beavers - because of the importance of beaver pelts in the state’s early history
• TCU Horned Frogs - origin unknown; formerly the Preacher Boys
• Richmond Spiders - likely from the Cleveland Spiders, now the Cleveland Guardians, a very successful baseball team at the time
• St Peters Peacocks - resurrected itself, as did the peacock in mythology, after being closed during WWI
• Youngstown State Penguins - from the cold weather there
• UC Irvine Anteaters - from a joke originally championed by the water polo team

His name is Zot, he was inspired by
Johnny Hart’s comic strip B.C. & he's my fave

How Italian is Moonstruck?

 How Italian is Moonstruck?

It’s such a great movie. It’s my wife’s absolute favorite. She always says, “Everybody’s so Italian.”

Looking at the actors’ bios on IMdB really got me thinking though. Exactly how Italian is this thing? Hint: it’s not just Cher.

Let’s take a look at the main actors in the film, as well as the director, writer & producer. Here’s what we’ll do …

1. I’ll show you the character’s name and a still of them from the movie
2. You can guess whether they’re Italian or not (be sure to write down your answer)
3. Scroll down a bit
4. I’ll show you the actor’s name, as well as a standard photo
5. Under the photo, I’ll list the actor’s real ethnicity

Ready? Here we go …

1.  Loretta Castorini

2.  Rose Castorini

3.  Cosmo Castorini

4.  Old Man (presumably Loretta’s grandfather)

5.  Ronny Cammareri

6.  Johnny Cammareri

7.  Rita Cappomagi

8.  Raymond Capomaggi

9.  Director/Producer

10.  Writer

Write down your answers?  Okay, let's see how you did ...

1.  Loretta Castorini – Cher

Armenian. Cher was born Cheralynn Sarkasian, to an Armenian father and American mother. She also has a little Cherokee blood in her, something she always emphasized, especially early in her career.

2.  Rose Castorini – Olympia Dukakis

Greek.  Her parents were Greek immigrants. Michael Dukakis, governor of Massachusetts and presidential candidate, is her cousin.

3.  Cosmo Castorini – Vincent Gardenia

Italian.  Born Vincenzo Scognamiglio in Naples, Italy. Immigrated to the US at age 2.

4.  Old Man – Feodor Chaliapin Jr.

Russian.  Born in Moscow. His wealthy, well-known family fled the Bolsheviks for Paris when Feodor was 19. He later immigrated to the US to pursue an acting career. His father, Feodor Chaliapin Sr., was a famous opera singer.

5.  Ronny Cammareri – Nicholas Cage

Italian.  Born Nicholas Coppola, and related to Francis Ford Coppola, as well as the rest of the Coppola family. He changed his name to Cage to avoid any appearance of nepotism.

He is actually only half Italian, through his father August, a comparative literature professor. His paternal great-grandparents immigrated to the US from Basilicata, in southern Italy. 

6.  Johnny Cammareri – Danny Aiello

Italian.  Though both his parents were of Italian ethnicity, his mother was actually an immigrant (from Naples).

7.  Rita Cappomagi – Julie Bovasso

Italian.  A serious theatrical actress, she also played in super Italian movies such as Wise Guys, Saturday Night Fever & Staying Alive (and playing John Travolta’s mom in the last two, no less).

8.  Raymond Capomaggi – Louis Guss

Jewish.  “Often cast as Italian,” according to Variety. Was also in The Godfather.

9.  Director/producer – Norman Jewison

English. Despite that surname. Born in Canada.

10.  Writer – John Patrick Shanley

Irish.  In proper form, he remembers being “thrown out of St. Helena's kindergarten, banned from St. Anthony's hot lunch program and expelled from Cardinal Spellman High School."

Final tally …  Moonstruck is approximately 1/3 Italian.  Sort of like a pizza roll, you know.