Mr. Stallard's life wasn't all that noteworthy other than that one pitch, but his name has some significance for me. You see, growing up (and even today, if I'm honest), I was always conscious of having a girl's name for a last name.* (It could have been worse; I once knew a guy named Rick Lisa.) Even more than some jackass asking me if I had a brother named Dick ("Yes, as a matter of fact I do!" "Really?" "No!"), I always worried that having a girl's name for a last name would somehow make me less . . . manly. So even though Tracy as a first name is probably more often a girl's name, I was always prepared to trot out Tracy Stallard as an example of a man -- a professional athlete, no less -- with the first name Tracy.** So imagine my relief when Tracy McGrady came along and became such a star. I thought for sure that every mother in America would want to name her firstborn son Tracy. "Tracy is a girl's name? Are you crazy? Haven't you ever heard of Tracy McGrady? Sheesh."
P. S. My wife has run into her own trouble concerning our last name. "What's the name?" "Tracy -- Julie Tracy." "Okay, Tracy..."
* Maybe that explains my obsession with unusual names, hence my Name of the Day feature.
** Turns out Tracy is actually Mr. Stallard's middle name. Same with Tracy Kidder. Shhh!
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