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Characters / Backyard Sports

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This is the character sheet for the Backyard Sports series.

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Backyard Kids

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_backyard_kids_playing_soccer.png
The Backyard Kids in Backyard Soccer (Not pictured: one of the Webber Twins, Dmitri, Ernie, Gretchen, and the later Atari Era kids).
The main gang of original (i.e. non-professionals) playable characters who appear throughout the series.

The below individual images for the original thirty Backyard Kids as they appeared in the classic games (1997–2003) were made by cheril59 from DeviantArt, based on a size chart of the characters dated February 4, 2000◊ and using their in-game colors.

    Achmed Khan 

Achmed Khan

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/achmed_khan.png
Voiced by: Mark Lund (1997-2002), Ryan Drummond (2002-2003), David Holt (Junior Sports Basketballnote )
Born: July 11 (older games), July 24 (newer games)
Nicknames: "Axeman" (1997-2005), "Rockmed" (2006-2010)

A Pakistani-American boy who loves rock music and aspires to be a rock musician, even doing Air Guitar at times. He is almost always seen wearing headphones.

  • Air Guitar: Plays air (baseball bat) guitar for his up-to-bat ritual in the first two Baseball games, and plays it during the intro of Baseball 2007 onward.
  • Boisterous Bruiser: Usually has the high power statistics to match his energetic rock music-loving personality.
  • Dreadful Musician: Is depicted as such in the earlier games. This was proven when he sang "Skate Rock Dude" in Skateboarding, especially the Outtakes version.
  • Headphones Equal Isolation: At least once per game, he tells the player to speak up when his profile is clicked.
  • Leitmotif: A hard rocking glam-metal theme.
  • Metalhead: Loves to rock out a little too much, considering he doesn't ever take off his headphones.
  • Totally Radical: His speech pattern is rife with "dude", "bummer", and "groovy".
  • Vocal Evolution: His accent gets stronger over time, even within the games with the original voice actors.

    Amir Khan 

Amir Khan

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/amir_khan.png
Voiced by: Mark Lund (1997-2002), Ryan Drummond (2002-2003), Dex Manley (2002-2006)
Born: September 1
Nickname: "Sticks"

A Pakistani-American boy who is Achmed Khan's younger brother. Like his older brother, he loves rock music and aspires to be a drummer (initially a bass guitar player).

  • Air Guitar: He has the same up-to-bat ritual as Achmed. Though drops the bat in the process.
  • Big Brother Worship: To the point where he gets a stat bonus if he and Achmed are on the same team.
  • Bilingual Bonus: In Soccer, he teaches the player how to say, "Hello, my name is…" in Urdu.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: His last appearance was Football 2006.
  • Leitmotif: A glam-metal theme similar to Achmed's but heavier on the lead guitar and drums.
  • Sibling Team: He gets powered up if he is playing alongside his brother Achmed.
  • Totally Radical: His speech pattern is rife with "dude", "bummer", and "groovy".
  • Vocal Evolution: His accent gets thicker over time, even within the games with the original voice actors. His voice gets lower as well.

    Angela Delvecchio 

Angela Delvecchio

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/angela_delvecchio.png
Voiced by: Corrie Anne Shenigo (1997-1998), Dolores Rogers (1999-2001)
Born: December 20note 
Nicknames: "Sugar Pop", "Gelly"

A klutzy Italian-American girl who acts like she's from The '50s. She has a bitter rivalry with her older brother Tony Delvecchio.

  • Brainy Brunette: She's apparently better at school than sports.
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The responsible to Tony's foolish. Angela acts less rash compared to Tony.
  • The Klutz: She is the least coordinated character in the game (meaning she trips the most often).
  • Leitmotif: A '50s doo-wop theme.
  • Nice Girl: Compared to her brother Tony, she's less pompous and more considerate of other people.
  • Sibling Rivalry: She gets powered up if she is playing against her brother Tony, and vice versa if they're teamed up.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: While she's less out about it, she has her moments as well.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: She loves milkshakes, and even considers making milkshakes as a future job.
  • Verbal Tic: She often adds "ya know" to the end of her lines.

    Annie Frazier 

Annie Frazier

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/annie_frazier.png
Voiced by: Cathy Faulkner (1997-2001)
Born: September 18
Nickname: "Flipper", "Fraiz"

  • Big Fun: She's rather portly and is a calm Nice Girl.
  • Everyone Has Standards: As much of an animal lover she is, even she prefers to give skunks a wide berth, because "they really stink!"
    Annie: I ran when I saw the skunk though, because they really stink! If you get sprayed by them, you like stink for at least 3 days or more, and you have to take a bath in tomato juice, and burn your clothes, and everyone would call you stinker!
  • Everything's Better with Rainbows: Had a rainbow on her shirt until the switch to 3D.
  • Granola Girl: Wears 100% Natural Organic Materials and was concerned about the cows being used for the leather for football until her mother told her it was simulated leather.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's blonde and a real sweetheart.
  • Hippie Parents: She is being raised by hippie environmentalists who went to Woodstock when they were younger. Her father almost named her "Moon Puppy". Unlike most examples of this trope, their lifestyle has clearly rubbed off on Annie.
  • Leitmotif: A Hawaiian folk-pop song.
  • New-Age Retro Hippie: She turns into one in later games, having gained an interest in astrology and magical thinking in addition to her peace-loving, vegetarian lifestyle.
    Annie: I have a hard time hitting. You see, I'm committed to non-violence, and I have a real issue with hitting a poor defenseless baseball with a big baseball bat.
  • Nice Girl: She is a very friendly girl and is the least aggressive character in the series.
    Annie: I wanna play on your team. You seem like a good kid.
  • Vocal Evolution: Her voice sounds less nasal and more like the Webber twins after the first two games.

    Ashley and Sidney Webber 

Ashley Raelynn Webber and Sidney Marie Webber

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ashley_and_sidney_webber.png
Ashley on the left and Sidney on the right. (According to the size chart, at least.)
Voiced by: Dolores Rogers (1997-2002), Lani Minella (2002-2003)
Born: February 18
Nickname: "Little Smokey" (both), "Ash" (Ashley), "Sid" (Sidney)

Two blonde-haired Caucasian-American twin girls who like tennis.

  • Divergent Character Evolution: They look less alike in the more recent games.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: They are both blondes and are both very supportive.
  • Leitmotif: They share the same marching-band theme, though the difference is that Ashley's theme is lower-pitched and Sidney's theme is higher-pitched.
  • Master of None: They have average stats in every game.
  • Nice Girl: They are both very sweet girls.
    Ashley or Sidney: I still think you're special, even if you didn't pick me.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Very subtle hints suggest Ashley is a bit more free-spirited than Sidney, while Sidney is more codependent (blue) than Ashley.
    • Ashley has one more stat point than Sidney in the GBA port of Basketball.
    • Ashley stands straight like everyone else on the back cover of Football 2002, while Sidney is turned towards Ashley and has a hand on her shoulder.
    • In Backyard Hockey, Ashley reacts to a goal scored on her by hitting her stick in anger, while Sidney by looking around fearfully when the same happens to her.
    • Ashley's theme is in a lower pitch (G), while Sidney's theme is in a higher pitch (C).
  • Sibling Team: They get powered up if they are playing alongside each other.
  • Single-Minded Twins: With each other; both express similar interests (such as their main one of tennis), Nice Girl personalities, and have the same voice.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: When the series started, they seemed to be incapable of being negative towards anyone. By the post-Humongous games, they've become more haughty (though still not as bad as Jorge ever was).
    Ashley or Sidney: (original Baseball, when a teammate makes an error) You get an A for effort!
    Ashley or Sidney: (Baseball 2007, when stepping up to bat) I haven't got all day, here!
  • Twin Switch: They tend to switch places with each other in class. Usually it's just as a prank, though in at least one instance it was because one of them was sick. Either way, nobody seems to notice.
  • Valley Girl: In later games, due to her love for shopping and abusing the word "like".
    Ashley: You totally beat us! Sid's got, like, homework but I'm the best when I play third base!

    Billy Jean Blackwood 

Billy Jean Blackwood

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/billy_jean_blackwood_0.png
Voiced by: Jen Taylor (1997-2001)
Born: January 26
Nickname: "Crazy Legs"

A very tall Caucasian-American girl with a Southern U.S. accent. A fashionista, she wishes to be a fashion model in Paris.

  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: She last appeared in Hockey 2005.
  • The Fashionista: She plans to go to Paris to be a fashion model.
  • Leitmotif: A zydeco theme.
  • Nice Girl: She is very warm and friendly to everyone, even those on opposing teams. Well, except Marky.
  • Southern Belle: She sports a strong southern accent.
  • Statuesque Stunner: She is the tallest character in the game, hence her nickname "Crazy Legs". For context, the next tallest, Ernie, is 5'6" (167.6 cm).
  • Verbal Tic: She often adds "ya hear" to the end of her lines.

    Dante Robinson 

Dante Robinson

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dante_robinson.png
Voiced by: Nick Austria (1997-2002), Lani Minella (2002-2003)
Born: March 3 (March 9 in Backyard Hockey)
Nicknames: "Stretch", "D-Lish"

A young African-American boy with a large Afro and an even larger appetite. He's the second-youngest of the Backyard Kids (only Luanne Lui is younger).

  • Big Eater: It's his power-up to have a game at a field where there would be food.
  • Funny Afro: Dante sports one that is at least half the height of the rest of him.
  • Leitmotif: A reggae song.

    Dmitri Petrovich 

Dimitri Ivan Petrovich

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dmitri_petrovich.png
Voiced by: Sally Lindberg (1997-2002), Lani Minella (2002-2003)
Born: June 9
Nicknames: "Paste", "Petri Dish"

A Caucasian-American boy of Russian descent who is the resident nerd of the Backyard Kids.

  • Acrofatic: Despite being a nerdy boy with a husky frame, he has a surprising amount of power and usually has good running stats.
  • Even Nerds Have Standards: He is actually one of Reese's most vocal haters, finding Reese's myriad of obsessions too much for him.
  • Fourth-Wall Observer: When clicking on him, he may make a comment about the game's artificial intelligence.
  • Leitmotif: An Edutainment-esque synth theme.
  • Nerd Glasses: He wears large rectangular glasses and is an intelligent nerd.
  • Paste Eater: Implied with his first nickname until confirmed in Backyard Football.

    Ernie Steele 

Ernie Steele

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ernie_steele.png
Voiced by: Dolores Rogers (1997-2001), Ryan Drummond (2002-2003)
Born: April 21
Nicknames: "Funnybones", "Big Easy"

A tall, thin, long-limbed African-American boy who loves cracking corny jokes. His backyard, Steele Stadium, is known for its shallow center field in baseball with a large shed and a neighbor's swimming pool past left field, and is one of the most frequently appearing fields in the series.

  • Leitmotif: An '80s R&B/dance theme.
  • Noodle People: He's very tall and skinny. He even lampshades this: one of his jokes that he cracks in Football is that his legs and arms are like spaghetti.

    Gretchen Hasselhoff 

Gretchen Hasselhoff

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gretchen_hasselhoff.png
Voiced by: Corrie-Ann Shenigo (1997-1998), Dolores Rogers (1999-2001), Lani Minella (2002)
Born: May 31
Nickname: "Jabberjaw"

A hyperactive blonde-haired Caucasian-American girl who loves to talk. Seriously, she's a total chatterbox.

    Jocinda Smith 

Jocinda Smith

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jocinda_smith.png
Voiced by: Regina Williams (2002-2003)
Born: September 28
Nickname: "MVP"

A sports-loving African-American girl who is widely considered one of the best players in the Backyard Sports League.

  • The Ace: She has the highest base stats in Basketball, and can play any position in Hockey.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Football 2006 is her last appearance.
  • Graceful Loser: Both of her rejection quotes ("Okay..." and "That's all right.") have no malice in them.
  • Leitmotif: A new-jack-swing style theme.
  • Sesquipedalian Smith: Her first name, Jocinda, is decidedly uncommon, especially compared to her last name, Smith.

    Jorge Garcia 

Jorge Raul Luis Garcia III

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jorge_garcia.png
Voiced by: Nick Austria (1997-2002), Lani Minella (2002-2003)
Born: October 7
Nickname: "Bonkers"

A spoiled rich Hispanic American boy who's not nice to others and hates getting dirty despite playing sports.

  • Blind Without 'Em: In the early games in particular; he has the worst eyesight of all of the characters.
  • Hypocritical Humor: He states he hates getting dirty when he plays sports and openly expresses he won't slide when picked in Baseball, he may end up sliding anyway if he has a good day where his running improves.
  • Jack of All Stats: Very much so in the original Baseball where his statistics were all average, lampshaded by his sharp dressing preventing him from playing aggressively.
  • Jerkass: He looks down on everyone due to his wealth and carries a haughty attitude with him.
    Jorge: Where's my butler?!
  • Leitmotif: A typical "rich guy" theme.
  • Neat Freak: So much that it hinders his ability to play sports.
  • Overly Long Name: His full name is "Jorge Raul Luis Garcia III".
  • Sharp-Dressed Man: Always wears an expensive play-suit when playing games.
  • Spoiled Brat: He thinks he is better than everyone because he has money.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: He already wasn't nice to begin with, but his Rich Bastard traits are even more present from the YAGA games onwards.

    Keisha Phillips 

Keisha Monet Phillips

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/keisha_phillips.png
Voiced by: Regina Williams (2002)
Born: April 2
Nicknames: "Flash", "Shuga", "Slugger"

A heavy-set African-American girl who acts like a class clown. She loves watching television and likes to make one-liners.

  • Acrofatic: She's very fast for someone of her weight.
  • Ground-Shattering Landing: Non-superhero example; her championship victory photo in Baseball 2003 shows her sitting in the middle of a swimming pool... with crack in the concrete underneath her and all the water drained from it. This implies that she is so heavy that the water didn't slow her down when she jumped into it, and her landing was enough to damage the pool floor underneath.
  • Leitmotif: A slow funky R&B jam.
  • Speaks In Shoutouts: Many of her quotes come from classic TV shows.
  • Stout Strength: She's very heavyset, but is often a strong choice to play any sport.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: With Maria in the later games, who gets boosted stats if Keisha is on her team. She's the tomboy.
    • She is notably the only female character in Football 2006 to have The Vapors as one of her power-ups.

    Kenny Kawaguchi 

Kenny Kawaguchi

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kenny_kawaguchi.png
Voiced by: Kiamalise Budak (1997-2002), Lani Minella (2002-2003)
Born: November 20 (November 2 in Backyard Hockey)
Nickname: "K-man", "Kenny K"

A Japanese-American kid who cannot use his legs and thus uses a wheelchair to move around and play sports. Despite his disability, he is considered one of the cool kids.

  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He last appeared in Hockey 2005, and did not appear in Skateboarding for obvious reasons.
  • Handicapped Badass: Plays sports in a wheelchair.
  • Inspirationally Disadvantaged: He was clearly added to show players that non-abled kids can play sports, too.
  • Leitmotif: Another glam-metal theme, although different from the Khans'.
  • Super Wheelchair: Though his legs don't work, he can somehow still kick a football or soccer ball very far. His wheelchair is also somehow faster than a fair number of the other characters who are all able-bodied.

    Kimmy Eckman 

Kimberly Raye Eckman

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kimmy_eckman.png
Voiced by: Corrie-Ann Shenigo (1997-1998), Dolores Rogers (1999-2001), Lani Minella (2002)
Born: June 22
Nickname: "Twinkie Toes", "Candy Monster"

A chubby, aggressive Caucasian-American girl who loves candy and sweets to the point of addiction. Her backyard, Eckman Acres, is considered In-Universe to be one of the better fields, if mainly because her mother always provides cookies when games are played there.

  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Until the reboot starting with Backyard Sports Baseball 2015.
  • Embarrassing Nickname: She reveals in her 1997 Baseball bio that her grandfather calls her "Little Stinker". She's obviously unhappy about it.
  • Fat Bitch: She is chubby and has her moments.
  • Fiery Redhead: She has red hair and is prone to aggressive behavior.
  • Jerkass: She gets aggressive pretty easily, constantly mocks Reese, and uses Maria's dolls for batting practice.
  • Leitmotif: A "Proud Mary"-esque piano piece.
  • Lethal Joke Character: She has the lowest base stats in Baseball, but when it's her birthday or if she's playing at her home field, her stats get a major boost.
  • Sweet Tooth: Candy is her favorite food.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Her stats get higher overall in the redesigned games compared to the early games.

    Lisa Crocket 

Lisa Crocketnote 

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lisa_crocket.png
Voiced by: Kathy Henson (1997-2001), Lani Minella (2002-2003)
Born: December 4
Nickname: "Mad Dog"

An introverted Caucasian-American girl who doesn't speak much but is nonetheless a skilled athlete throughout the series.

    Luanne Lui 

Luanne Lui

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/luanne_lui_4.png
Voiced by: Jen Taylor (1997-2001)
Born: January 27
Nickname: "Lulu"

An Asian-American 4-year-old girl who is always seen with her pink teddy bear, Teddy. She is the youngest player of the Backyard Kids and the fastest girl.

    Maria Luna 

Maria Luna

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maria_luna.png
Voiced by: Jen Taylor (1997-2002), Lani Minella (2002-2003), Samantha Kelly (2002-2005)
Born: July 23
Nicknames: "Pinky", "Moony"

A sweet Mexican-American girl who is by far the girliest of all the girls in the Backyard Sports League. She loves ponies and the color pink.

  • All Girls Like Ponies: She is a huge fan of the My Precious Pony series.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: She may be a sweet girl, but Kimmy has managed to rile her up by using her pony dolls for batting practice.
  • Color Motif: She really, really, really likes pink. Her stats are boosted to at least close to the highest in every category if she ends up on a pink team.
  • Girlish Pigtails: She has two black ones.
  • Leitmotif: A salsa song. Starting in Baseball 2005, her theme song is a Suspiciously Similar Song to "Smooth" by Santana.
  • My Little Phony: My Precious Pony is her favorite toy line.
  • Nice Girl: She is a very sweet and upbeat girl who loves it when all things go bright and beautiful.
  • Pink Means Feminine: Because pink is her favorite color, putting her on a team with all-pink uniforms will boost her stats.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: With Kiesha in the later games. She's the girly girl, with her stats rising if Kiesha is on her team. She's also the girly girl to Kimmy's tomboy, with the latter being annoyed by it.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: She was already a sweet girl at the start of the series, but by the Renderware games, she loves playing games for the sake of being with other people, and even gets a stat boost in games like Baseball 2007 if Kiesha is on her team, thanks to the latter's positive attitude.

    Marky Dubois 

Marky Dubois

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marky_dubois.png
Voiced by: Nick Austria (1997-2001)
Born: September 6
Nickname: "Cootie"

A Caucasian-American redneck boy who lives in a swampland. He usually goes around barefoot and carries his pet frog with him in his overalls.

  • Abhorrent Admirer: According to Billy Jean, anyway. She does not reciprocate his feelings and her stats decrease while Marky's increases.
  • Companion Cube: A frog named Frog.
  • Dogged Nice Guy: Has a crush on Billy Jean, but she does not reciprocate his feelings.
  • Leitmotif: A banjo-and-fiddle bluegrass song.
  • Prefers Going Barefoot: He really does not like wearing shoes or socks; according to his description in the original Backyard Baseball, he only ever wears shoes to school and church.

    Mikey Thomas 

Michael Rhett Thomas

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mikey_thomas.png
Voiced by: Shelley Reynolds (1997-2002), Lani Minella (2002-2003)
Born: October 19
Nickname: "Nugget"

A stout African-American boy who has a perpetual cold and acts very strange. He is the slowest player in the Backyard Sports League, both in running speed and awareness of his surroundings, though he's quite strong and is a good defensive player.

  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He last appeared in Hockey 2005.
  • The Ditz: He's not at Pete levels of ditziness, but he constantly forgets what he is supposed to do, and he still wets his pants.
  • Imaginary Friend: He has one named Timmy who lives inside his mouth.
  • Leitmotif: A slow cartoony theme.
  • Mighty Glacier: He's one of the best power hitters in Baseball, but is also one of the slowest players.
  • Stout Strength: He's overweight, yet his batting skills and physically defensive skills across many sports are often the highest possible.
  • Took a Level in Dumbass: His intelligence was closer to average early on, but by the time the voice cast starts changing, his intellect seems to plummet.
    Mikey: (after being rejected in Backyard Baseball 2003) Yay! I mean, boo.

    Pablo Sanchez 

Pablo Ramón Sanchez

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pablo_sanchez.png
Voiced by: Dex Manley (1997-2001), Ryan Drummond (2002)
Born: August 18
Nicknames: "Secret Weapon", "Pabs"

A short, pudgy Hispanic boy who usually only speaks Spanish. Despite his height, he's the best athlete out of all the Backyard Kids.

  • The Ace: One of the best, if not the best, players in every game.
  • Acrofatic: His belly sticks out from his shirt but he's easily the most athletic of the Backyard Kids. He loses a lot of weight in Baseball 2007, but regains his old physique in Baseball 2015.
  • Big "OMG!": Will sometimes utter one in Spanish when crashing in Skateboarding ("¡Ay mios Dios!"). Hilariously, it actually translates to the less politically correct version ("Oh my god!").
  • Bilingual Bonus: That's actual Spanish he's speaking.
  • Gratuitous Spanish:
    • He switches between Spanish and English in the GameCube version of Football.
    • An early Easter Egg had him saying that he learned Spanish in school.note 
  • Leitmotif: Basically a more badass version of "España Cañí", a Spanish bullfighting song.
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: He's one of the shortest kids in the game, but is great at most sports.
  • Secret Weapon: His nickname; you'd never know that this short little Spanish-speaking kid could be so skilled at sports. (Well, at least if you weren't paying attention to his stats.) That being said, the games soon acknowledged that it's not much of a secret when he's become renowned for his skills.
  • Significant Birth Date: He's been compared to the late baseball legend Roberto Clemente, and actually shares a birthday with him (August 18).

    Pete Wheeler 

Pete Wheeler

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pete_wheeler.png
Voiced by: Shelley Reynolds (1997-2002), Michelle Thorsen (2002-2005)
Born: October 13
Nickname: "Wheelie"

A dim-witted Caucasian-American boy who is by far the fastest runner of the Backyard Kids.

  • The Ditz:
  • Game-Breaker: In the original Baseball game, it is borderline impossible to get the ball to base before him. That, plus his very good stats in all other categories, makes him one of the best players in the game.
  • Leitmotif: A slow, Western-style piano song.
  • Simpleton Voice: A very Forrest Gump-esque drawl, to match his character type.
  • Super-Speed: He's the fastest of the Backyard Kids.

    Reese Worthington 

Reese Worthington

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/reese_worthington.png
Voiced by: Cathy Faulkner (1997-2002), William Corkery (2002-2003), Amy Broomhall (2002-2006 and Backyard Basics)
Born:
Nickname: "Big Toe", "Reesie"

A little nerdy Caucasian-American boy who is decently good at most sports but is asthmatic and tires out the quickest.

  • Author Appeal: He can play the Star Wars theme on a piano. Ron Gilbert, the co-founder of Humongous Entertainment, produced games for Lucasfilm Games/LucasArts.
  • Butt-Monkey: Even Dmitri insults him, finding him too nerdy and annoying for his tastes.
  • Immediate Self-Contradiction: It's possible to have him say "I wanna play on your team!" when clicking on him in Baseball, only for him to say "I didn't want to play on your team anyway." when saying no to him.
  • Leitmotif: An '80s synth-pop song.
  • Lovable Nerd: Zig-zagged; while some people, like Dante, Maria, and Vinnie the Gooch, like him, other people, like Kimmy, Dmitri, Ronny, and Barry Bonds, find him annoying.
  • Mistaken Identity: His celebratory photo in Backyard Basketball 2004 calls him Reese Witherspoon for some reason.
  • Nerdy Inhaler: When he steps up to bat in the original games, he breathes into an inhaler.
  • Phrase Catcher: "Reese is a nerd!" from Kimmy, Dmitri and Ronny.
  • Potty Failure: He mentions in Soccer peeing his pants because he would miss recess if he used the bathroom during class. He tries to tell this story as if someone else did it in order to cover himself up, but slips near the end.
  • Shorter Means Smarter: He is one of the shortest characters in the series, and he is said to be very smart. Also, in most sports (baseball being a notable exception), he has good stats.
  • Suspiciously Specific Denial: He is totally not a nerd.
  • Vocal Evolution: His voice sounds less nasal and more like the Webber twins after the first two games.

    Ricky Johnson 

Richard Alexander Johnson

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ricky_johnson.png
Voiced by: Dex Manley (1997-2001), Lani Minella (2002-2003)
Born: February 14
Nickname: "Fella", "Jojo" (Backyard Sports Baseball 2007 onward)

A meek African-American boy who is one of the more skilled athletes among the kids, especially at football (both soccer and American football).

  • Leitmotif: A classic jazz piece.
  • Nice Guy: Possibly the nicest character in the series. He is a very calm and soft-spoken individual who only gets aggressive when he has to play.
  • Shrinking Violet: He's very shy, has poor self-esteem (to the point that his trash talk isn't very good and his chatter often has him apologizing or being uncertain of what to say), and doesn't like to talk much.
  • Verbal Tic: He often ends his lines with "if that's okay/alright with you."
  • Weak, but Skilled: Typically lacks power, but is strong in other areas.

    Ronny Dobbs 

Ronald Henry Dobbs

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ronny_dobbs.png
Voiced by: Nick Austria (1997-2002), Lani Minella (2002-2003)
Born: August 10 (August 1 in Backyard Hockey)
Nickname: "Spud"

An African-American boy who, at five years old, is the third-youngest of the Backyard Kids (only Dante Robinson and Luanne Lui are younger). He hates being seen as little and being bossed around by his older sister Sally Dobbs. Despite wanting to be seen as a "big kid" because they "don't cry", he's a bit of a crybaby anyway.

    Sally Dobbs 

Sally Dobbs

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sally_dobbs.png
Voiced by: Kiamalise Budak (1997-2001)
Born: November 11
Nickname: "The Boss"

An African-American girl who, at nine years old, is presumably the oldest of the Backyard Kids, although she admits she isn't the oldest. She's known for her mother-like bossy attitude towards others (hence her nickname), especially towards her younger brother Ronny Dobbs.

  • Big Sister Instinct: She is very protective of Ronny. Her defensive stats (such as pitching and fielding in baseball) are maxed out if they're on the same team.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Her last appearance was Hockey 2005.
  • Jack of All Stats: She's the best-balanced player in Baseball 2001 and 2003, with 7's in every stat.
  • Leitmotif: An clarinet song.
  • Sibling Team: Whereas Ronnie's stats go down if they're on the same team, her stats go up.
  • Team Mom: She's one of the older Backyard Kids, as well as arguably the most mature, which is why they call her "The Boss". Though not everyone likes this, with her younger brother Ronny being the biggest example.

    Stephanie Morgan 

Stephanie Morgan

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stephanie_morgan.png
Voiced by: Kathy Henson Gehrig (1997-2001), Emily Corkery (2002-2003)
Born: August 15
Nickname: "Bubbles"

A fast-talking African-American girl who is a born athlete. She loves to play shortstop in baseball, but her chattiness causes her to lose her train of thought often.

  • Ascended Fangirl: She says in the original Backyard Baseball that she wants to be in the hall of fame next to Cal Ripken Jr. In Baseball 2001, Ripken is one of the playable pros, so you can make this happen yourself. In fact, they happen to share the game's cover!◊
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Until the reboot starting with Backyard Sports Baseball 2015.
  • Exposition Fairy: In the first two games, she's one of the kids who give you hints about the game if you click on them enough. In her case, Stephanie explains about how the kids' personalities/bios hint at conditions that make them play better or worse, using the Webber twins as an example in Baseball and Billy Jean and Marky in Soccer (not mentioning she herself has one when she plays shortstop in Baseball).
  • Jack of All Stats: With generally above average stats in most games, she can essentially play any infield position to moderate effectiveness, though she really excels as shortstop and goalie.
  • Leitmotif: The classic "Baseball organ" that transitions into an original organ piece.
  • Motor Mouth: Not as much as Gretchen, but still noticeable (not counting her later voices). At the very least, her topics make more sense.

    Tony Delvecchio 

Tony Gianni Delvecchio

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tony_delvecchio.png
Voiced by: Kathy Henson (1997-2001), Ryan Drummond (2002-2003)
Born: July 16
Nickname: "Vec" (primarily), "Tony D", "TD", "Big T"

An Italian-American Greaser Delinquent boy who brags about his skills and has a sibling rivalry with his younger sister Angela Delvecchio.

    Vicki Kawaguchi 

Vicki Fumiko Kawaguchi

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vicki_kawaguchi.png
Voiced by: Kiamalise Budak (1997-2001), Lani Minella (2002-2003)
Nickname: "Swan", "Gooch", "Little Pipsqueak" (by her older brother Kenny)

A Japanese-American girl who loves ballet in the earlier games. She becomes an Otaku in later games, however. She's also the younger sister of Kenny Kawaguchi.

  • Leitmotif: A typical Tchaikovsky-style Ballet piece.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: After Humongous ceased involvement, Vicki became a rather edgy girl that played tricks to outsmart the other team. The original Vicki was rather polite, soft-spoken, and stayed away from that kind of gameplay.

    Atari Era 

Ace "Acer" Patterson

Arthur Chen

Jimmy "The Bully" Knuckles

Jimmy Winthorpe Knuckles

  • Big Bad: Of Sandlot Sluggers. He is the first villain in the franchise.
  • The Bully: He intimidates the kids in the neighborhood into quitting baseball.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: After being defeated, he stops bullying and befriends the Backyard Kids.
  • Defeat Means Playable: Completing the story mode in Sandlot Sluggers unlocks Jimmy and his team.

Joey "Broadway Joey" MacAdoo

Joey Richard MacAdoo

Samantha Pierce

Pros

    Baseball 

Alex Gonzalez

Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez

Voiced by: Dolores Rogers (2001)

Albert "Phat Albert" Pujols

Alfonso "Sor1" Soriano

Babe Ruth

Barry Bonds

Barry Larkin

Cal Ripken Jr.

Chipper Jones

  • Do Not Call Me "Paul": Much like in real life, in-universe Chipper Jones does not like being called "Larry".

Curt Schilling

David "Big Papi" Ortiz

Derek "DJ / Jetes" Jeter

Voiced by: Dolores Rogers (2007)

Frank "The Big Hurt" Thomas

Voiced by: Dex Manley

Juan Gonzalez

Ichiro "Ichi / Ichiban"

  • First-Name Basis: His last name is Suzuki, but it was never mentioned in these games for whatever reason.note 

Ivan Rodriguez

Jeff Bagwell

Jim Thome

Jimmy Rollins

Ken Griffey Jr.

Larry Walker

Mark McGwire

Mike "Supreme" Piazza

Mo Vaughn

Nomar Garciaparra

  • Sdrawkcab Name: He mentions that his given name is his father's name (Ramon) backwards.

Randy "The Big Unit" Johnson

Sammy Sosa

Shawn Green

Tony Gwynn

    Basketball 

Dwayne Wade

Kevin Garnett

Kobe Bryant (Basketball 2004)

LeBron James

Lisa Leslie

  • The Smurfette Principle: She's the only female basketball pro to appear in the game.
    • Averted in the original game, where Kevin Garnett is the only NBA star on the roster.

Paul Pierce

Shaquille O'Neal

Stephen Curry

Tim Duncan

    Football 

A.J. Hawk

Adrian Peterson

Ahman Green

Barry Sanders

Ben Roethlisberger

Bill Gramatica

Braylon Edwards

Brett Favre

  • Book Ends: One of his "Meet the Players" stories involves him feeding cookies to an alligator. His ending photo depicts him feeding a cookie to a plush alligator.

Brian Urlacher

Cade "Downtown" McNown

Champ Bailey

Chris Cooley

Darren McFadden

Daunte Culpepper

Donovan "Juke" McNabb

Drew Bledsoe

Eli Manning

Frank Gore

Jason Taylor

Jason Witten

Jeff "Red" Garcia

Jerry "Mr. Automatic" Rice

John Elway

Kurt Warner

LaDainian Tomlinson

Larry Fitzgerald

Larry Johnson

Lee Evans

Marcellus Wiley

Martin Gramatica

Marvin Harrison

Matt Hasselbeck

Michael Strahan

Michael "Ookie" Vick

Peyton "Perfect Peyton" Manning

Priest Holmes

Ray Lewis

Reggie "The Prezident" Bush

Rich "The Cannon" Gannon

Ricky Williams

Ronde Barber

Ronnie Brown

Shaun Alexander

Steve Young

Steven Jackson

T.J. Houshmandzadeh

Terrell Davis

Tom "Tommy" Brady

Tony Gonzalez

Tony Romo

Torry Holt

Vernon Gholston

Vince Young

    Hockey 

Brian Leetch

Joe Thornton

Martin Brodeur

Mike "Mo'" Modano

Nicklas Lidstrom

Steve "Stevie Y" Yzerman

    Skateboarding 

Andy MacDonald

    Soccer 

Bobby "Bobby" Convey

Brandi "Holly Wood" Chastain

Brian "Bake" McBride

Briana "Bri" Scurry

Carlos "El Pibe" Valderrama

Chris "Eliminator" Armas

Clint "Cleetus" Mathis

Cobi "CJ" Jones

Jason "Doc" Kreis

Jay "Heapers" Heaps

Landon "Landlova" Donovan

Mamadou "Big Mama" Diallo

Pablo "Pabs" Mastroeni

Preki

Tiffeny "Millie" Milbrett

Tony "Meatball" Meola

Others

    Commentators 

Abner Dubbleplay

Voiced by: Adam Watson
  • Punny Name: On Abner Doubleday and "double play".

Barry DeJay

Voiced by: Dex Manley

Buddy Cheque

Chuck Downfield

Voiced by: Clem Daniels (official voice), Dave Rivas (Football for GameCube)

  • Punny Name: On "chucking" the football "down the field".
  • Too Dumb to Live: According to Sunny, he's sacked himself twice, among other things.

The Commentator

Earl Grey

Voiced by: Dolores Rogers (Soccer and Soccer: MLS Edition), Lani Minella (Soccer 2004)

The second color commentator to join Sunny, this polite, soft-spoken Caucasian-English boy commentates on football matches. Oh, excuse us, we mean "soccer" matches. He appears in all three Backyard Soccer games.

Erik Stream

Jack Fouler

Ron

Sunny Day

Voiced by: Jen Taylor (1997-2001), Lani Minella (2002-2003), Samantha Kelly (2002-2009)

The voice of the Backyard Sports Leagues, this cheerful African-American girl is the announcer in every Backyard Sports game released in the 90s and 2000s.

  • Mad Libs Dialogue: Except in NFL Backyard Basics.
  • Nice Girl: She's a very cheerful girl who's never afraid to root for the player's team.
  • Punny Name: Not only on "sunny day", but Humongous' co-founder Shelley Day as well.
  • Vocal Evolution: She announced with a more laid-back persona in the original Baseball. Starting with Soccer, her voice gets noticeably higher-pitched the more excited she gets.

Taylor Quilty

Vinnie the Gooch

Voiced by: Dolores Rogers (Baseball and Baseball 2001), Lani Minella (Baseball 2003)

The first color commentator to join Sunny, this cool as ice Caucasian-American boy with a slightly raspy voice makes one-liners during baseball games. He appears in the first game, Baseball 2001, and Baseball 2003, as well as Backyard Sports Baseball 2015.

  • Ambiguous Syntax: This exchange:
    Sunny: Say hello, Vinnie!
    Vinnie: Hello, Vinnie!
    (Sunny stares at Vinnie blankly)
  • Cool Shades: He always wears big shades to establish his "cool" personality.
  • Hypocritical Humor: Vinnie may comment on Ken Griffey Jr. liking video games when the latter's at bat, asking who would want to waste their time playing them.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: He's always seen with a corn dog that gets finished by the end of a baseball game.

Wally

    Miscellaneous 

Aunt Edna

Beverly Backstop

Billy

Billy's Mom

Bubba

Budget Rent a Mule

Coach

Custom Kid

Nickname: "Spaz" and many others

A kid based on the generic kids seen in the Season Play mode that players can customize to their liking.

  • Character Customization: Their presence allows players to make their own kid athlete in the game. Players can change their name, gender, height/head shape, skin tone, hair color, nickname, and initial stats when making a team for Season Play.
  • Divergent Character Evolution: In some games, custom kids can have different personalities.
  • Magikarp Power: In some games, they have less powerful stats, but get better throughout the season.

Dobbaguchi Arena Mother

  • The Voice: Heard calling for dinner in Basketball.

Eric Lebeaux

  • Ascended Extra: Despite not being playable in Football, he's playable in the Football Demo.
  • Moveset Clone: According to hidden stats, of Annie Frazier in Backyard Baseball: aside from being right-handed, he plays more aggressively and can throw Fireballs accurately unlike her, but tires just as easily and runs slower by approximately 20%.

Esther French

Harold

Jay Green

  • Jackof All Stats: In Backyard Baseball, he and Leah Wayne are (almost) maxed out in all their stats.
  • Moveset Clone: A slightly weaker Pablo Sanchez in the original Backyard Baseball: notably, his swing spot is larger making him more prone to missing, and he is less aggressive. In 2001 and 2003 Pablo is a bit slower than him, but retains the latter's Slowball and Right Hook accuracy from 1997.

Leah Wayne

Mr. Clanky

Date of Construction: August 2
Nickname: "Automatic"

A robot who is usually used as a practice dummy.

  • Mid-Season Upgrade: Originally, he was made out of scrap parts. Ever since the GameCube version of Football, he's been rebuilt and now looks professionally made.
  • Robot Names: "Clanky" referring to him making a lot of noise when he plays or moves.
  • Secret Character: In most of the early games, he is unlockable by holding down the Shift key and clicking on the toy version of him that appears on the main menu screen. He's usually only playable in the pick-up game mode, though.
  • Talking Lightbulb: The lightbulb on his head lights up when he tries to "speak".

Mummy

New Kid

Sport

Super Clone

Thor Herring

Veronica Lee

  • Ascended Extra: See Eric Lebeaux, she's playable in the Football Demo.

Worker Drone "kid 0" -45

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