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

[Wilson Gray]

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>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>Subject:      Re: Mystery of "mungo" (from Van Lingle Mungo?)
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>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

And then there's the one-hit wonder of the ca. late '60's-early
'70's, Mungo Jerry.

-Wilson Gray