Mystery of "mungo" (from Van Lingle Mungo?)

[Laurence Horn]

At 4:32 AM -0500 3/13/05, Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:
>I was looking for "san man" and spotted a "mungo."
>...
>The HDAS has "mongo {orig. unk.]." There are citations from 1985 and 1995,
>and both involve Brooklyn.
>...
>Grant Barrett made a "mongo" entry on Double-Tongued Word Wrester. He noted
>that the term was spotted as "mungo" in the 1938 WPA Lexicon of Trade  Jargon.
>...
>I think this may answer the question. If the term is "mungo," and if it's
>from the 1930s, and if it's from Brooklyn, all signs point to a
>spread from the
>Brooklyn Dodger pitcher Van Lingle Mungo. Was he known for throwing garbage
>pitches?
>...
He started out as a fastball pitcher, but evidently threw out his arm
and tried (unsuccessfully) to come back as a junkballer.  See
http://www.thedeadballera.com/BadBoneMungo.html

larry