GSNHOF Nominee - Baskerville Holmes

It's been a while since I posted a Great Name nominee on this site. Sometimes school and work get in the way, but rest assured, I will get some Great Names up while school is on hold due to winter vacation. So without further adieu, Baskerville Holmes. A name that would make Robert Downey Jr. proud. But a story which is pretty sad (and warning, it gets a little graphic at the end).

Names like these are really the reason I blog. Here you have a mother who reallllllllly liked Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writing. So much so that she gave her son the name Baskerville to go with her birth last name of Holmes, creating Baskerville Holmes. Don't that just roll of the tongue? The name also gets bonus points for being particularly nice for starting with the first five letters of the sport Baskerville played (get it? Basketville, Basketball? Nice, right?).

As for Baskerville Holmes himself, his is a sad 1986 NBA Draft story 11 years later. Everyone knows Len Bias, the Celtics draft pick who was a surefire all star but then died tragically before he ever played a single NBA game. Well, Baskerville, a high school high jump all star, was surefire in his own right. His college days at Memphis culminated with a Final Four appearance during his senior year (which has since been revoked due to violations). He was then drafted by the Bucks, but never played for them, instead playing some time overseas before becoming a truck driver and gaining 100 pounds.

Already a pretty down life compared to what could have been, Baskerville's life ended on March, 18 1997. He got in an argument with his girlfriend before shooting her, and then called her brother over to explain the situation to him. Go Memphis Tigers has a description of what happened after that:

Baskerville Holmes opened the door to his house in Frayser and, frantic, thrust the telephone at his girlfriend's brother, Gerald Franklin.
"Talk to the lady," he said.
Franklin put the phone to his ear.
"Hello," a woman said, "911, can I help you please?"
Franklin then saw his sister, Tanya Crossford, lying against the wall, blood pouring down her face.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do this," said Holmes, pacing now.
Franklin desperately tried to clear the blood from his sister's throat. While he was doing this, he heard a bang.
Holmes, 32, had shot himself in the head. Police ruled it a murder-suicide.

College Basketball great turned murder-suicide - A tragic tale if there ever was one. So it is with a heavy heart that I nominate Baskerville Holmes for the Great Sports Name Hall of Fame. His name was truly excellent; it's just a shame that things turned out like they did for the guy.

To see the best sports names of all time, visit the Truly Great Names page.
To see some good sports names that were voted out, visit the Good Names page.
To see the current voting ballot, visit the Ballot page.