I love my name. Ian. Three common letters, only one a consonant. A variation on the Gaelic form of John, but so much cooler. When I was growing up I rarely met anyone else named Ian, and I never
saw any playing sports. I'm sure if I'd grown up in the U.K. following soccer I probably would've seen more than I could keep track of, but here in the U.S. it was a different story. As Ian has gradually moved into the Top 100 boys' names in America though (this site is great), my fellow Ians and I finally have several of our own among the finest in athletics.

Look at baseball, the American Pastime. Before 2004 there had never been a Major League Baseball player named Ian. There now have been four, and each of them has played this year. There's Ian Snell, the first Ian in Major League history and a semi-promising pitcher for the Pirates. I actually listened to him pitch a no-hitter over the radio when he was in the minors. There's Ian Kinsler of the Rangers, arguably the best second baseman in the American League (and in my opinion he is). There's Ian Kennedy, an underachieving pitching prospect on the Yankees who most fans have heard of because, well...he's a Yankee. Most obscure is Ian Stewart, who's been playing a mean third base for the Rockies since late May. He may be one to watch for in the future. Interestingly enough, Stewart and Kennedy were teammates at La Quinta High School in Westminster, CA.

It might appear that the first Ian in the NFL was Ian Sunter, a Scottish kicker who played three games for the 1976 Lions and ten more for the 1980 Bengals. In fact, it was Johnny Scott, a player from the 1920's who went by the American version of his actual name. The 1990's saw a few more on the gridiron, most notably guard Ian Beckles. Beckles (a Canadian) played nine years in the NFL for the Buccaneers and Eagles, starting 122 games during that span. The others from that decade were English kicker Ian Howfield for the 1991 Oilers and offensive lineman Ian Rafferty for the 1999 Jets. This decade has seen an unprecedented four Ians in the NFL. There's been linebacker Ian Gold (named to the Pro Bowl on special teams in 2001), journeyman offensive lineman Ian Allen, defensive tackle Ian Scott (who played for my Bears) and running back Ian Smart (Gold's teammate on the 2004 Buccaneers). Even though he hasn't played in the NFL, Boise State running back Ian Johnson deserves a mention for his college heroics.

The NBA has only had two Ians so far. There was Ian Lockhart, a forward from the Bahamas who played one game for the Suns way back during the 1990-91 season. The other is Ian Mahinmi, a French center taken by the Spurs in the first round of the 2005 Draft who finally made his debut this past season, playing six games. So far the NBA hasn't seen an American Ian.

Of the major American pro sports leagues, the NHL just beats out the NFL with ten Ians in its history. Perhaps I would've had more Ians to root for if I'd followed hockey growing up. As we've seen, it's a more common name outside the U.S. It comes as no surprise then, that eight of the ten NHL Ians have been Canadian. The first was longtime minor leaguer Ian MacIntosh, who had a cup of coffee with the 1952-53 Rangers. The next was Ian Cushenan, who made the All-Star team in 1958 representing my Blackhawks but who also spent the majority of his career in the minors. Ian Turnbull was the first to become a real star. With the 1970's Maple Leafs he made the 1977 All-Star team and set a defenseman record with five goals in one game that still stands. Other Ians with noteworthy NHL careers are Avalanche right wing Ian Laperriere, former Penguins defenseman Ian Moran, and Maple Leafs defenseman Ian White. The obscure Ians have been Ian McKegney (another Blackhawk!), Ian Kidd, Ian Herbers and Ian MacNeil.

The name Ian is already more common in sports than it was ten years ago. Within a few years there'll be so many of us that you won't even notice when a player has that name. At last we live in a world where boys named Ian can vicariously live out their sports fantasies through someone with the same name. It's good to be us.


(Special thanks to the Sports-Reference websites for help with this research.)