As local legend in central Texas has it, the area is haunted by the spirit of a boy from pioneer times who got separated from his fellow European settlers and was left to raise himself in the woods. He grew up on his own, becoming, in the tradition of Big Foot or Sasquatch, a Hairy Man.
To honor that legend, the minor league baseball team in Round Rock, Texas, considered adopting the nickname Hairy Men when they began play in 2000. They ended up instead going with the nickname Express, an homage to the fastball of one Nolan Ryan, who was part of the ownership group that had purchased the team.
The Express will wonder what might have been this season, playing one game as the Round Rock Hairy Men. The baseball team hopes to have a better fate than the legendary Hairy Man, who according to legend was trampled to death by a stagecoach.
The Hairy Men will take the field July 18 against the Iowa Cubs.
