Nicknames in Globeville

Globeville was (and is) like a small town where everyone knew everyone else, a familiarity evident in the many nicknames given to people.
Joseph Yelenick remembered, "Everyone down here had a nickname. There were 'Buck' and 'Beans' Oletski, 'Dutch' Maier, 'Alias' Stefanski, 'Stash' (Stash is Polish for Stanley) Slovenski, 'Butch' Lunka, 'Too-tall' Vuksinich, 'Hawk-eye' Evanitich (because he couldn’t see very well), and 'Goose-eye' McGahan (because he was a great shot). Andy Jackson was 'Stonewall Jackson' because he had a military posture. There was a kid who played football in Wyoming that had such a long last name that they just called him 'Joe Alphabet'. There was 'Oogie' Ungehire, Johnny 'Chink' Horvat, and 'Butch' and 'Moose' Horvat."
Larry Summers added. "Cocky Spomer was a little fellow and that’s why they called him 'Cocky'. John Dreith was called 'Peggy' because he had a bad leg and Harold Schaffer was called 'Shugs'”.
 "Gas-pipe" Joe Grabrian was a plumber and "lead-pipe John" Predovich managed the Polish Hall. John Wysowatcky was known as "Smitty" and Father Jarzynski as "Father Jar." 
The nicknames were good-natured and well-meaning fun in a tight-knit community.


Top photo, John "Smitty" Wysowatcky
Bottom photo, Andy "Stonewall" Jackson

Baseball in Globeville

Baseball was big in Globeville. Andy Jackson remembered, "The lodges had teams, all the packing houses, Armour & Company, Western Packing and Burkhardt, each had a team. The brickyards had a team that played at a ball field at 45th and Leaf Court on Sunday mornings. There were also ball fields at 49th and Washington and at 23rd and Welton. Lots of people played for several teams."

Top photo, 1923 team sponsored by the Gerhardt Mercantile Company.

Left to right, standing: Henry Heinz, Pete Shinall, Nick Walters, Pete Sterkel, Ollie Krieger, and Alec Hilzer, manager.

Left to right, seated: Henry Schlit, Horst Nickels, Charley Jack, Pete Spomer, Jake Sterkel, Henry Honstein, and Albert Tribelhorn, mascot. Photo courtesy Larry Summers.

Max Beer Parlor Baseball Team 1934. Photo courtesy of Paul Goreski