Comments on: You Can Call Me Al (Jaffe)

by: Malcom Lamey

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:28:03 +0000

Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.

by: Kadeem P.

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:22:41 +0000

Anytime four New Yorkers get into a cab together without arguing, a bank robbery has just taken place.

by: David

Wed, 28 Dec 2005 20:23:52 +0000

Steve,

You may well be correct about the pronunciation of Honus. Spurred on by your posting, I did some more poking around and found some evidence to back up your claims. However, there is too much conflicting evidence for me to be sure about one pronunciation versus the other.

On the other hand, I have no information about how Al Jaffe says “Honus.” Josh Elliot, on the other hand, definitely said “hō’nŭs.”

Thanks for posting!
David

by: Steve Hatcher

Wed, 28 Dec 2005 18:04:04 +0000

Al Jaffe pronounced “Honus” correctly. You are wrong. The name was a corruption of “Johannes” or “Hans.” Originally it was printed as “Hannas.”
All oldtimers pronounced it as “hah’niss” just as Mr. Jaffe did. Why most dictionaries mispronounce the nickname is a mystery. See Biographies on Wagner.

Steve Hatcher
Member SABR