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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Nicknames have been a part of New Orleans Saints history since the club’s inaugural team in 1967. The first Saints team was known as Mecom’s Misfits and featured a colorful cast of characters led by Billy “Furnace Face” Kilmer, Steve “Stoney” Stonebreaker, Lou "The Lip" Cordileone, Roy “Captain Weirdo” Schmidt and Monty “Dr. Strangebrain” Stickles.
Those teams didn’t win many games, but they rarely lost a fight — or missed a party in the French Quarter. When it comes to nicknames, they certainly don’t name 'em like they used to. Nicknames were far more common when I started covering the Saints in 1999, but the colorful monikers have dissipated over the years.
Tyrann Mathieu, a.k.a.
The Honey Badger, is a notable exception. He earned his nickname during his college days at LSU, so I didn’t include Mathieu on the list, but he is a worthy honorable mention, along with Marques “The Quiet Storm” Colston and Thomas “Legatron” Morstead. This week’s installment of my “25 for 25” series lists the best nicknames — both individual and unit — during my 25-year tenure: No.
5: Joe 'Hollywood' Horn If ever a nickname fit the player, it was this one. The brighter the lights, the better Joe tended to play. However, his nickname belied his roots.
Joe was from the country. Born and raised outside of Fayetteville, North Carolina, he played collegiately at Itawamba Community College in Fulton, Mississippi, which — in terms of culture and aesthetics — is about as far as you can get from Hollywood, California. Horn liked his nickname so much that he would use it when signing autographs.
He would often abbreviate the signature to “Wood” during long signing sessions. No. 4: The Snow Patrol You probably have not heard of this nickname.
Nor should you have. It was never used publicly. This was the name/inside joke for the all-Caucasian linebacker trio of Scott Fujita, Scott Shanle and Mark Simoneau on the 2006 Saints team that won the NFC South and advanced to the NFC championship game.
It was their tongue-in-cheek, lighthearted play on the great Dome Patrol linebacker corps of the mid-1980s and early 1990s. The linebackers were an underrated part of the 2006 team, and collectively their grit, intelligence and toughness epitomized that team. No.
3: Heavy Lunch Bunch Full disclosure: I came up with this nickname in 2002 for a story I wrote about the Saints’ beefy defensive tackle trio — Norman Hand, Grady Jackson and Martin Chase — so admittedly I'm biased. The story detailed the trio of 300-plus pounders' attempt to lose weight and gain condition through a personal chef and the team nutritionist. The effort ultimately proved futile, and the Heavy Lunch Bunch lasted only one season together in New Orleans.
It was a fun story while it lasted, though, and the nickname stuck. No. 2: Michael 'The Beer Man' Lewis The New Orleans native is one of the best stories in NFL history.
The Grace King High School product did not play college football and was famously working as a delivery driver for Budweiser before landing a job in a semi-pro league, which led to a roster spot in the Arena Football League, which led to a tryout and a job with the Saints. Lewis earned first-team All-Pro honors and an invitation to the Pro Bowl in 2002 after he set an NFL record with 2,432 return yards (1,807 kickoff, 625 punt) and led the league in punt return yards, kickoff return yards and all-purpose yards. No.
1: The Dome Patrol No-brainer here. No nickname in Saints history is more well known or historically accurate. The stellar linebacker corps of Rickey Jackson, Vaughan Johnson, Sam Mills and Pat Swilling spearheaded the great Saints defensive teams of the mid-1980s and early 1990s under head coach Jim Mora and brought credibility to the franchise.
The iconic poster of the fearsome quartet became an instant classic and remains on the walls of bars, restaurants and man caves throughout the city. Previous: July 16: Series introduction July 23: Favorite training camp memories July 30: Most memorable confrontations Aug. 6: Best quotes Aug.
13: Favorite stories Aug. 28: Favorite headlines Sept. 4: Most memorable season openers Sept.
11: Best road trips Upcoming: Sept. 25: Best teams.
