The 13 Best Sports Nicknames of All Time

Some are earned in a ring, some handed over by a sportswriter, and a few were simply announced by the man himself. Which nickname has the best claim?

1

Iron Mike

Mike Tyson's nickname, earned by the most explosive heavyweight start boxing has seen.

2

The Greatest

Muhammad Ali named himself, then spent two decades making it stick.

3

His Airness

Michael Jordan, for a hang time that looked like a rules violation.

4

The Great One

Wayne Gretzky, the only nickname in hockey that needs no surname.

5

The Black Mamba

Kobe Bryant picked it himself after a Tarantino film.

6

Magic

Earvin Johnson got it from a sportswriter at 15 and never lost it.

7

The Sultan of Swat

Babe Ruth, the most gloriously overwritten nickname in American sport.

8

Broadway Joe

Joe Namath, for the fur coats as much as the arm.

9

The Answer

Allen Iverson, six foot nothing and the whole offence.

10

Smokin' Joe

Joe Frazier, a nickname that described the left hook precisely.

11

The Round Mound of Rebound

Charles Barkley, the rare nickname that insults and compliments at once.

12

The Refrigerator

William Perry, 350 pounds of Chicago Bears defensive line.

13

The Flying Finn

Paavo Nurmi ran with a stopwatch in his hand.