July 14, 2003

The Walrus wins ...: and it makes me wonder — who is the most out-of-shape athlete of all-time? I want to know, because whoever it is, it's probably the only gamer jersey I could fit into. Bonus points if you link to a picture.

posted by wfrazerjr to general at 08:54 AM - 11 comments

Oh my, wfrazerjr, what a great question to start the week with. I'll pick the low hanging fruit (maybe this guy should have tried more fruit) and go with baseball pitcher Terry Forster, who David Letterman once called a "fat tub of goo". You can see a few googled imageshere but they aren't the greatest...

posted by vito90 at 09:40 AM on July 14, 2003

Good call, Vito. I love that they have it listed as his nickname at Baseball Almanac...

posted by Mookieproof at 10:00 AM on July 14, 2003

I have to give at least one shout out to Kent Bottenfield, former journeyman pitcher with St. Louis, Anaheim, Houston, and others ... I always thought, "If THAT guy can pitch in the majors, where's my contract?" The funny thing is, Bottenfield was pretty damn effective, as I remember.

posted by wfrazerjr at 10:24 AM on July 14, 2003

Slightly OT, but speaking of game jerseys, I have a game-worn* Peppy Frias jersey which fits me just fine. But then I still have my boyish figure, give or take a hint of beer gut. *It was sold to me as genuine, and I think it is, because if you were forging jerseys, wouldn't you pick someone most people have heard of?

posted by alex_reno at 12:30 PM on July 14, 2003

Active or inactive? At last view, Buster Douglas looked like he went one step further than Tyson and actually did eat someone's children.

posted by 17-14 at 04:00 PM on July 14, 2003

I think I'd have to vote for Konoshiki. http://www3.nsknet.or.jp/~mark/konishiki.jpg

posted by Scottymac at 04:11 PM on July 14, 2003

Scotty, you are SO funny, Sumo wrestlers are SUPPOSED TO BE FAT, so I don't think they qualify.

posted by billsaysthis at 06:52 PM on July 14, 2003

Jimmy Spencer. I think he bursts all notion of race car drivers as athletes.

posted by gyc at 08:35 PM on July 14, 2003

Historically,the old Astro pitcher Fred Gladding comes to mind- Jim Bouton described him as looking 'like a grocer who has eaten a great deal of his profits..' And if you want to go REAL far back, old Fats Fothergill of the Tigers comes to mind...and not really an athlete per se..but certainly Eric Gregg should be mentioned..or poor John McSherry....

posted by NYSSoftballBlue at 10:19 PM on July 14, 2003

Jimmy Spencer. I think he bursts all notion of race car drivers as athletes. Thankfully NASCAR drivers don't count as race drivers. As for my vote, I always loved watching Mel Rojas use his gut as a centre of gravity when pitching.

posted by Space Coyote at 11:43 PM on July 14, 2003

Fernando Valenzuela was a preety beeg dood, no?

posted by Bixby23 at 01:59 AM on July 15, 2003

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