A History of Athlete Name Changes

Image via Complex Original

Sport: Baseball
Year: N/A

There's speed, and then there's the stories of how fast "Cool Papa" Bell was. Word is he could score from second base on a sacrifice fly and that he could go from first to third on a bunt. Bell got his nickname "Cool Papa" for his play on the field, but we wonder if it may have had something to do with his off the field play, too. What, you thought groupies were 21st century? Nah, son.

Sport: Boxing
Year: N/A

At the age of 14, Walker Smith, Jr. tried entering into his first boxing tournament, but he was told he needed to have an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) membership card first. The earliest he could get one was not until he turned 16 years old. To get around the system, Smith borrowed a card from his friend Ray Robinson. Eventually, he got into the ring and showed that "sweet as sugar" style that he became known for.

Sport: Boxing
Year: 1964

Hear of this guy? Born Cassius Clay, one of the most badass athletes of all time, became Muhammad Ali when he joined the Nation of Islam in 1964. Many white reporters and at least one unfortunate opponent refused to call him by his new name at first, now he's an American icon. #lastlaugh

Sport: Basketball
Year: During college (1965-68)

While at Wichita State, Warren Edward Armstrong decided to make a change that would reflect his African roots. Known as a stout defender throughout his playing days, Armstrong switched up his name to Warren Jabali, which in Swahili means "rock." Still, Jabali doesn't necessarily confirm that as being the reason for his choice in surname. Sadly, we'll never know the real meaning behind the change since Warren died in 2012 at 65.

Sport: Basketball
Year: 1971

Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the day after the Bucks won the NBA championship in 1971. The Muslim name means "generous servant of the mighty one." When asked about the change he stated that Alcindor was the name of a French planter who brought his family to America as slaves. "When I was a kid, no one would believe anything positive that you could say about black people. And that's a terrible burden on black people, because they don't have an accurate idea of their history, which has been either suppressed or distorted."

Sport: Football
Year: 1972

Everyone knows the former Pro Bowler turned sportscaster, Ahmad Rashad, but how many of you would recognize the guy named Robert Earl Moore? At the age of 23, Moore converted to Islam and as a result, Rashad was born.

Sport: Basketball
Year: 1976

Born Donald A. Smith, the former first-round pick altered his name in 1976 to Zaid Abdul Aziz. There isn't a definitive reason for Aziz's switch-up, however, after his career came to an end, he dedicated himself and became a more religious man, as well as becoming a drug and alcohol counselor in Seattle.

Sport: Basketball
Year: 1982

Lloyd Bernard Free officially changed his first name to World when he was 28. Young World? Perhaps, although his hairline said otherwise.

Sport: Boxing
Year: 1982

Throughout his boxing career, Marvin Hagler was referred to as "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler. Pretty cool, huh? But whenever the media talked to him, they would only call him by his government name. A little ticked by the reference, Marvin officially made Marvelous his first name. We're making plans to swap our middle name for "Awesome" in the coming weeks.

Sport: Football
Year: 1985

When your last name happens to be Duper, having the middle name Super would be pretty dope. So, in 1985, the Dolphins receiver made it official and became Mark Super Duper. As a three-time Pro Bowler with good but not great career stats, maybe plain old Duper would've been the way to go.

Sport: Baseball
Year: 1985

After getting traded to the Giants in 1985, Jose Gonzalez changed his last name to his mother's maiden name of Uribe because, according to him, there are too many players named Gonzalez. Apparently no one told him that "Jose" is a pretty popular name, too.

Sport: Basketball
Year: 1991

After making his Muslim religion a bigger priority in his life, Hakeem Olajuwon made an alteration to his name that if you blink, you'll miss. That's because on March 9, 1991, Akeem changed it to the proper Arabic spelling, "Hakeem," In response to the change, Olajuwon said, "I'm not changing the spelling of my name, I'm correcting it." All good. You'll forever be "The Dream" to us, regardless.

Sport: Basketball
Year: 1991

Chris Jackson changed his name to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf as a part of his dedication to his Muslim faith. He then took a stand for his religion by taking a seat.

Sport: Skating
Year: N/A

Former star skateboarder turned convict Mark Rogowski removed his surname because it came from his father whom he had never really known. He became known as "Gator" Mark Anthony. While Mark may have thought that a new name would help him find peace, he couldn't escape the legal and personal troubles that included being convicted of murder in 1992.

Sport: Wrestling
Year: 1993

The legend of "The Ultimate Warrior" is respected only in the world of wrestling. So, in order to keep that nickname going, Jim Hellwig officially changed his name to Warrior. Outside of wrestling, people may not know who this Warrior guy is, but in the ring, he is a legend.  If you don't know, now you know.

Sport: Basketball
Year: 1993

Not a name change in the most conventional way, but prior to attending Providence College, Shammgod Wells was given an ultimatum: Legally change his name to Shammgod Wells or go by his birth name, God Shammgod. While the choice could be understandably difficult for anyone, it was an easy one for Shammgod. That's because changing your name required a $600 fee and he didn't have that type of money.

Sport: Golf
Year: 1996

After years of being known on the links as Tiger Woods, the man born Eldrick Woods decided to make the name official on his 21st birthday. Obviously, the alteration didn't make many headlines since we all knew him as Tiger for years anyway. #oldnews

Sport: Basketball
Year: 1997

After converting to Islam, Tariq Abdul-Wahad became the new name of the former first-round pick. Not too bad, considering his name once was Olivier Michael Saint-Jean. Damn, try getting all that on a Scantron.

Sport: Basketball
Year: 1998

When Brian Williams did some research on his past and his family genealogy, he discovered that he had Native American roots. To honor his newfound heritage, Williams changed his name to Bison Dele, which was meant to acknowledge his Native American side while keeping a traditional African name. Sadly, Dele retired in 1999 and disappeared while on a sailing trip in the South Pacific Ocean in 2002.

Sport: Football
Year: 1995; 2000

OK, stick with us on this one. While he was still in college, Sharmon Shaw—who was a Muslim—received the name Karim Abdul-Jabbar. When the NBA legend with nearly the same name learned of Shaw, who also happened to wear the number 33, he sued the up-and-coming running back for attempting to profit off his identity. The basketball Abdul-Jabbar won the lawsuit and Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar was born.

Sport: Baseball
Year: 2001

Since childhood, John Paul Bonser was called "Boof," and made that his official first name in 2001. For the record, you don't have to change your name to a childhood nickname. OK, Lumpkins?

Sport: Hockey
Year: 2002

After some family drama, Mike Jefferson decided to make a radical break and change his last name. The name change came in handy when he ended up catching a conspiracy to commit murder charge in 2004. Nothing like removing yourself from the fam before they disown you.

Sport: Baseball
Year: 2003

Call us crazy, but we'd like to be confused with one of the best to do it in our profession. Ervin Santana didn't feel the same. In an effort to differentiate himself from then-Twins ace Johan Santana, Johan Ramon Santana changed his name to Ervin. Now that he's got a no-hitter to his (new) name, maybe Ervin can go back to Johan Ramon.

Sport: Basketball
Year: 2003

At 6'10'' and 250, Nenê is the furthest thing from a "baby." But, as a kid, the relatives of Maybyner Rodney Hilário gave him the nickname "Nenê," which translated to baby, and in 2003, Hilário decided to official change the word to his real name.

Sport: Football
Year: 2005

As a child, Maurice Jones-Drew hated his hyphenated name, so he dropped it and was referred to as Maurice Drew. After his grandfather, the person who helped raise him, died after suffering a heart attack, Maurice honored him by going back to his original name.

Sport: Football
Year: 2006

After leaving the Giants for what he thought was the greener grass of Philadelphia, Will Peterson left something else behind: his birth name. Because he wanted "a change in my mind-state," the NFL cornerback became known as William James. How has that new mind-state worked out? Since leaving the Eagles in 2008, James is looking for a fifth team to take a chance on him for next season. Different names but the scrub remains the same.

Sport: Golf
Year: 2006

When asked why he changed his name from John Holmes to J.B. Holmes, his answer was short and sweet, "You guys ought to be able to figure that out." For those of you that don't know, John Holmes was the name of a famous adult film star, who smashed a reported 3,000 women in his life.  Soundtrack, please! 

Sport: Basketball
Year: 2007

Former NBA player J.R. Henderson struggled to make it in the L, so he high-tailed it to Japan. J.R. found so much success in Asia that he even wanted to become an official Japanese citizen. However, there were a couple things standing in his way, like being an American. In an effort to expedite the process, Henderson changed his last name to Sakuragi. Yup, you heard that right. Oh, and did you hear that too? The sound of American anime fans leaping out of their couches to file for citizenship.

Sport: Football
Year: 2008

Who's your favorite movie character of all time? How much do you like that person? So much that you would change your name to acknowledge that individual? Probably not, right? Well, don't tell that to Greg White, who in 2008, altered his name to Stylez G. White to honor Rupert "Stiles" Stilinski from the film, Teen Wolf. #toomuchfreetime

Sport: MMA
Year: 2008

During his days in MMA, Jon Koppenhaver was nicknamed "War Machine." He liked the alias so much that he made it his legal name in 2008. Cool name in the Octagon, but it sounds kinda frightening when you consider that dude moonlighted on the side by smashing  your favorite female adult film stars, no?

Sport: Football
Year: 2008; 2012

In 2006, the receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson did a little experimenting with his name on Hispanic Heritage Month. Chad gave himself the last name, Ochocinco, which was his Spanish interpretation of the number 85. Two years later, Johnson was no more and Ochocinco officially became his last name. Four years later, Chad went back to his last name from birth, Johnson. This is not the type of shit you want to be paying for on that unemployed wide receiver money.  

Sport: Basketball
Year: 2011

In a true head-scratcher of a move, Ron Artest took on the name Metta World Peace in 2011. He said that the change was meant to "inspire and bring youth together all around the world." Job well done, Metta. All of the youth are currently gathering together to wonder why you would do something so silly.

Sport: Baseball
Year: 2012

What's in a name? Plenty, if you're Giancarlo Cruz Michael Stanton. You see, after 5th grade, Stanton decided that he wanted to be referred to as "Mike" since it was easier for his classmates and teachers. However, when he was at home, his mother called him by his other middle name, "Cruz." And if that wasn't confusing enough for the guy, his father and other family members would refer to him as "Mike" or "Mikey." His stance on being called Mike didn't change until 2012 when Stanton wanted to be called "Giancarlo" again. At this point, dude is giving Sean "fill in current name here" Combs a run for his money.