NELLIE or NELLY

[Laurence Horn]

At 4:33 PM -0400 7/11/05, Wilson Gray wrote:
>
>On the other hand, though, who doesn't know that "Nellie/Nelly" is a
>girl's name? Remember the baseball player, Nelson Fox? I never was able
>to understand his letting himself be referred to as "Nellie."
>
>-Wilson Gray
More recently, there's Don Nelson, a reserve forward on the great old
Bill Russell Celtics teams who later coached the Bucks, Knicks, and
Mavericks in the NBA, now an exec with the Mavs.  He's always been
"Nellie".  I imagine a lot of Nelsons are, even in pro sports, and
regardless of whether Nelson is their first or last name.  (Is it
relevant that Nellie Fox was not a home-run hitter?  Naaah.)

L