I met Muskrat sometime after the Great War--I'm guessing maybe 1919 or so. They sold his contract to our team for a steamer trunk and some baseball mitts. "Raw Deal," we used to call him.
Well, we called him "Muskrat," too, so I guess he had two nicknames. There was alot of nicknames being thrown around in those days.
Clyde Brown gave Muskrat his nickname. The "Muskrat" nickname. It was on account of Muskrat being smaller than ol' Beaver Johnson. You remember Beaver Johnson, don'tcha? That's right--he played for Cincinnati. Well, Beav Johnson and Muskrat Garrison looked kinda similar, you could say, 'cept Beav was about a foot taller and maybe 60 pounds heavier than Muskrat was.
So, one day, Clyde calls Muskrat "Muskrat." Then he tells us that beavers are larger than muskrats, although they share some basic habitat and biological similarities. So, since Muskrat was similar to Beaver but smaller--well, shoot! He was gonna be Muskrat!
Clyde Brown gave alot of rodent-related nicknames. Of course, he named Muskrat "Muskrat," but he also gave Beaver his nickname. And then he later gave Rat Hines, Squirrelly Walters, Prairie Dog Sampson and Mouse Mankewicz their nicknames.
Now that I think about it, that Clyde Brown was sorta a strange fellow.
