[Ads-l] pull(ing) (off) a PN (Ty Cobb) stunt

[MULLINS, WILLIAM D (Bill) CIV USARMY DEVCOM AVMC (USA)]

15 Mar 1901 Baltimore Sun p 7 col 3
"For the 29 Archers to practice a William Tell stunt there are 8 apples, and in case any of their engines of war are broken in stretching the long stave too far there are a couple of bows in the Directory who can be used in an emergency."

03 Jan 1907 Washington DC Evening Star p 16 col 1
"Will Try the Houdini Stunt" [headline] 

Are you interested only in forms "[PN] stunt"?  (I assume that is "Personal Name") Or the broader use of a person's name to refer to a specific action?


20 Jul 1901 Butte MT Daily Post p 6 col 3
"With a splash and a gurgle, the disciple of Bachus did a sudden "Brodie" into the murky element  . . ."
  [Steve Brodie supposedly jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge in 1886]



[14 Jun 1909] ....Cruikshank pulled off a Ty Cobb stunt. The first man up in the ninth hit a short fly to right, Cruikshank rushed in in time to grab the ball and throw the runner out at first. The Courier, Waterloo Iowa 2/5]

Lots of later (and maybe earlier) "Ty Cobb stunt" usages.

Was Ty Cobb the earliest PN for such trademark stunts?

Stephen



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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org