History RedBaron / RealLife

* Vo Nguyen Giap, the redoubtable North Vietnamese general who led his soldiers to victory over Japan, France, and then the United States, was called "the Red Napoleon" for his military genius.

** The No-Fly Zone: the 2015 Denver Broncos defense that was led by its historically dominant secondary.

** The Grits Blitz, the 1970s Atlanta Falcons defense.

* In UsefulNotes/{{NASCAR}}
** Ask any fan about "The Intimidator" (UsefulNotes/DaleEarnhardt), "Little E" (Dale Earnhardt Jr.), "Million Dollar Bill" and "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville" Elliott, "Sliced Bread" (Joey Logano), "Fireball" (Glenn Roberts), "Smoke" (Tony Stewart), "Rowdy" (Kyle Busch), or "The King" (UsefulNotes/RichardPetty).

** Famed Spanish guerrilla leader Juan Martín Díaz (1775-1823) was better known as ''el Empecinado'', the "pitch-man", because of the black earth of his home. In 1814 a royal decree gave him permission to use Empecinado as his name instead of Díaz.

** Thomas "the Hitman" Hearns; K.O. specialist.

** Bernard Hopkins: B-Hop.

** "The Golden Bear" UsefulNotes/JackNicklaus. He was a big guy and often wore yellow or gold colored shirts, and was blond. Even though he slimmed down considerably by the late 1960s, the nickname stuck. It's now so closely identified with him that on [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]], "The Golden Bear" redirects to his page.

* In the UsefulNotes/CanadianFootballLeague, Michael "Pinball" Clemons. He became so well-known by that name that his article at [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]] uses Pinball, not Michael.

* Manfred von Richthofen, Red Baron. Those who actually knew the man would recount how approachable he was to those in the squadron he led, commenting that he was quite friendly and would joke around with his fellow pilots. It says a lot that his sworn enemies gave the man a burial with full military honors, [[WorthyOpponent out of sheer respect for his prowess and valor as a fellow Sky Warrior]]. It is even rumored that tears were shed at the funeral by those who lost friends to his red triplane's gunfire. Given that von Richthofen was only in his early twenties during his career and airplane technology was relatively new and yet he still managed to shoot down ''80 freaking planes'', it's no surprise why everyone in the war respected the guy. Which also makes his death somewhat ironic -- he wasn't killed by an enemy pilot, but by a lucky shot from a machine gunner on the ground (after being chased down there by an enemy pilot; while the circumstances are sketchy, the lethal rounds were confirmed to be infantry-grade, and penetrated at an angle that would have been extremely unlikely unless they were fired from the ground). He managed to make a controlled landing right before he bled out.

** Another Aussie swimmer, this one female: Ariarne Titmus, "The Terminator". [[labelnote:Explanation]] One of her other nicknames is [[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger Arnie]][[/labelnote]]

** Another Aussie swimmer, this one female: Ariarne Titmus, "The Terminator".

* Businesswoman [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leona_Helmsley Leona Helmsley]] was known as "The Queen of Mean", especially after she was convicted of being a tax cheat. More can be found on Wiki/TheOtherWiki.

** His son Umberto I was known as the "Good King" for a number of liberal reforms in the penal code (including the first abolition of the death penalty) and personally helping the victims of a number of natural disgraces (two volcanic eruptions, a devastating downpour and a ''[[ThePlague cholera]] outbreak'') and "Cannon King" for approving and praising [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bava-Beccaris_massacre the repression of Milan's famine-motivated riots with artillery]] (the latter caused [[BombThrowingAnarchist two attempts on his life from anarchists]], the second of which actually succeeded);

*** Michael Schumacher, during his Ferrari career, was widely known as the Red Baron, in fact.

** Rounding it out is Admiral Yi Sun-Sin of Korea, who was dubbed "The Martial Lord [[UndyingLoyalty of Loyalty]]" for his consistent defense of the nation against the Japanese invasion, despite the DecadentCourt demoting him multiple times out of jealousy. Even Tōgō did not dare to compare himself with Yi.

** Brazilian soccer player Givanildo Vieira de Souza got the nickname "[[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk Hulk]]" during his playing days in Japan. He embraced said nickname and wears it on the back of his shirt. He kept it when he moved to Portuguese champions Porto, and when they played Arsenal FC in the Champions League, this led to cheerful chants from the Arsenal faithful of, [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments "He's going green in a minute! He's going green in a minute!"]]

** Men's singles figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu is sometimes referred to as "(Japan's) Ice Prince" in the media. While his youthful looks and boyish (but impeccable) manners certainly fall into the PrincelyYoungMan model, the title comes more from his status as [[TheDreaded reigning champion of his field.]] He earned the title after 19 broken world records, two consecutive Olympic gold medals, 12 international gold medals in total (having never gotten off the podium - that is, being in the top three best male singles' skater at all competitions he participated in - since November 2014), becoming the only male singles's skater to accomplish the Super Slam (winning all major competitions in both his junior and senior levels), being granted international awards (unrelated to skating) and the status of hometown hero to his native Sendai in addition to becoming a Japanese public figure. The Other Wiki has a more up-to-date [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuzuru_Hanyu list of his achievements,]] since he is still on top form and showing no sign of retiring soon. His fans also refer to him as the "goat", or "G.O.A.T." (greatest of all time), though it's not a title exclusive to Hanyu. He's been called a "training demon" as well, referring to his ferocity in practice and dedication to the sport.

* UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher gained the title "The Iron Lady" after a strong anti-Communist speech. ''Red Star'' (the newspaper of the UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets) gave her that name, and it wasn't intended as a compliment. She was not yet PM at this point.

** David Pocock, Australian flanker, acquired the nickname 'the Jackal' at the 2015 World Cup for his talent at snaffling the ball for turnovers.

** Bill "Superfoot" Wallace is a Shorin Ryu Black Belt who almost destroyed his right leg doing Judo. Forced to improve his remaining leg when he entered Karate, he developed kicks that were clocked in excess of 60 MPH. He was so skilled with his left leg that he used it like a boxer would use a jab, hence his nickname. He retired from Kickboxing undefeated with 23 fights and 13 K.O's.
** Don Wilson, called by STAR System Ratings the greatest Kickboxer of all time, was nicknamed "The Dragon". His Kung Fu style, appropriately is Pai Lum, White Dragon Kung Fu.

* Many gangsters involved in organized crime usually are known by their monikers, especially (but not limited to) those involved with [[TheMafia "La Cosa Nostra."]] Famous examples include: Al Capone or "Scarface", Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, John Gotti AKA "The Teflon Don" or "The Dapper Don", Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia or the "Lord High Executioner", Vincent "Chin" Gigante, Jimmy "Whitey" Bulger, Arnold "The Brain" Rothstein or "The Big Bankroll", Enoch "Nucky" Johnson, Carmine Galante AKA "Lilo", Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, Jimmy "The Gent" Burke, Frank Costello AKA "The Prime Minister", "Crazy" Joe Gallo....you get the idea.
** Ironically, Al Capone despised being called Scarface and his friends called him "Snorky." [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Really.]]

** Some foreign players are nicknamed after their native country, like "The Polish Hammer" Marcin Gortat, "Air Congo" Serge Ibaka, "[=AK47=]" Andrei Kirilenko (and yes, [[JustForPun he played with the number 47]]), "Captain Canada"/"Hair Canada" Steve Nash - the latter being another pun on the original Air Canada, Vince Carter (when he was playing in Toronto), or "The Greek Freak", UsefulNotes/GiannisAntetokounmpo.

** Recent rival, New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, is called "King" Henrik.

*** Michael Schumacher, during his Ferrari career, was widely knows as the Red Baron, in fact.

*** [[VideoGame/TecmoBowl "Tecmo"]] Bo Jackson.

** Tito Ortiz: The Huntington Beach Bad Boy.