This is a list of eponyms in sports, i.e. sports terms named after people.

American football

  • Peanut Punch: In the National Football League a defensive act of knocking the ball out of the offensive players hold. Named after Charles Tillman nicknamed Peanut and is the player most associated with this move.
  • Rooney Rule: a National Football League policy that requires league teams to interview ethnic-minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operation jobs. Named after Dan Rooney, the former owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and chairman of the NFL's diversity committee when the policy was created in 2003.

Artistic gymnastics

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  • Alvarez (horizontal bar) – double salto fwd. str. with or t., after Guillermo Alvarez (US)
  • Amanar (vault) – Yurchenko family vault, roundoff on and 2 twists off, after Simona Amânar (Romania)
  • Araújo (balance beam (dismount)) – salto forward stretched with 2 twist, after Heine Araújo (Brazil)
  • Belyavskiy (parallel bars) – double front salto dismount in piked position, after David Belyavskiy (Russia)
  • Blanik (vault) – handspring forward on – double piked salto forward off, after Polish artistic gymnast Leszek Blanik (Poland)
  • Borden (balance beam) – straddled piked jump from a side position or split jump done on balance beam with or turn, after Amanda Borden (US)
  • Dos Santos (floor exercise) – Arabian double pike ( turn to double front somersault in piked position), after Daiane dos Santos (Brazil)
  • Dos Santos 2 (floor exercise) – Arabian double layout ( turn to double front somersault laid out position), after Daiane dos Santos (Brazil)
  • Dowell (floor exercise) - front double piked salto Brenna Dowell (US)
  • Downie (Uneven bars) - stalder backward on high bar with counter pike – reverse hecht over high bar to hang, after Rebecca Downie (Great Britain)
  • Drăgulescu (vault) – handspring double front tucked somersault with turn, after Marian Drăgulescu (Romania)
  • Drăgulescu piked (vault) – officially named the Ri Se Gwang 2 originated by Ri Se Gwang of North Korea; use of Drăgulescu piked when referring to this skill is often preferred in practice because of how well-known the regular Drăgulescu is; one of only five vaults with top official D-score of 6.0; variant of the Drăgulescu where only difference is saltos done in piked position, after Marian Drăgulescu (România) and Ri Se Gwang of North Korea
  • Erceg (balance beam (mount)) – round off Arabian front tuck onto the end of the beam, after Tina Erceg (Croatia)
  • Fan (uneven bars (dismount)) - from L-grip swing backwards, (180 degree) turn to double salto Fan Yilin (China)
  • Ferrari (floor exercise) – a ring tour jete with turn and a landing on both feet, after Vanessa Ferrari (Italy)
  • Fontaine (uneven bars dismount) – double somersaulting dismount is a back tuck with twist into a front tuck, after Larissa Fontaine (US)
  • Galante (balance beam) – 1 turns with leg held in split position, after Paola Galante (Italy)
  • Garrison (floor exercise) – cat leap forward with bent legs and 1 turn, after Kelly Garrison (US)
  • Garrison (balance beam) – free shoulder roll forward to stand or tuck stand without hand support, after Kelly Garrison (US)
  • Garrison 2 (balance beam) – from an extended tuck sit, Valdez swing over backward through horizontal with one-arm support, after Kelly Garrison (US)
  • Garrison 3 (balance beam) – round-off, tucked full mount, after Kelly Garrison (US)
  • Gatson 1 (parallel bars) – swing bwd. with 1/1 t. hop to handstand, after Jason Gatson (US)
  • Gienger salto (horizontal bar) – after Eberhard Gienger (Germany)
  • Gienger salto (uneven bars) – after Eberhard Gienger (Germany)
  • Ginsberg (parallel bars) – giant swing fw. to hdst., added to Code of Points in 1989 and removed in 2000, after Brian Ginsberg (US)
  • Kim (floor exercise) – double tucked back salto, after Nellie Kim (USSR)
  • Kim-Shirai or Shirai-Kim (vault) – round-off—back-handspring (Yurchenko) triple full layout, after Kim Hee Hoon (South Korea) and Kenzo Shirai (Japan)
  • Khorkina (uneven bars) – back uprise and straddle flight over high bar with turn to hang, after Svetlana Khorkina (Russia)
  • Khorkina 2 (uneven bars) – low bar inner front support, clear hip circle to handstand turn in flight to high bar hang, after Svetlana Khorkina (Russia)
  • Khorkina (balance beam) – gainer back-handspring with full twist before hand support, after Svetlana Khorkina (Russia)
  • Khorkina 2 (balance beam (dismount)) – gainer 2-twisting back layout dismount to side or at the end of beam, after Svetlana Khorkina (Russia)
  • Khorkina 3 (balance beam (dismount)) – gainer triple-twisting back layout dismount to side or at the end of beam, after Svetlana Khorkina (Russia)
  • Khorkina-Chow or Chow-Khorkina (uneven bars) – Stalder 1 pirouette, after Svetlana Khorkina (Russia, also first performed by Amy Chow (US))
  • Khorkina (floor exercise) – hop with 1 turns to front lying support, after Svetlana Khorkina (Russia)
  • Khorkina (vault) – round-off, back-handspring with turn on, turn into back pike off, after Svetlana Khorkina (Russia)
  • Khorkina 2 (vault) – round-off, back-handspring with turn on, 1-twisting front tuck off, after Svetlana Khorkina (Russia)
  • Kolman (horizontal bar) – a full-twisting Kovacs with two back somersaults and one full twist over the bar, after Alojz Kolman (Slovenia)
  • Komova (uneven bars) – clear pike circle backward through handstand with flight and turn (180°) to hang on high bar, after Viktoria Komova (Russia)
  • Komova 2 (uneven bars) – clear pike circle backwards through handstand with flight to hang on high bar, after Viktoria Komova (Russia)
  • Kononenko (uneven bars) – counter straddle hecht with turn to hang on high bar in mixed L-grip, after Natalia Kononenko (Ukraine)
  • Kotchetkova (balance beam) – full-twisting back-handspring, after Dina Kotchetkova (Russia)
  • Korbut flip (balance beam) – standing back somersault to swing down on beam, after Olga Korbut (USSR)
  • Korbut flip (uneven bars) – standing on the high bar, does back flip, then catches the bar, after Olga Korbut (USSR)
  • Kovacs (horizontal bar) – double back somersault over bar, after Péter Kovács (Hungary)
  • Tsukahara (vault) – involving a or turn onto the vault and back salto off, after Mitsuo Tsukahara (Japan)
  • Tweddle (uneven bars) – sole circle backward to counter straddle hecht turn to hang on high bar in mixed L-grip, after Beth Tweddle (Great Britain)
  • Urzică (parallel bars) – salto forwards to full turn to upper arm hang rated, after Marius Urzică (Romania)
  • van Leeuwen (uneven bars) – in the low bar, piked sole circle through handstand with flight to hang on high bar with twist during flight phase, after Laura van Leeuwen (Netherlands)
  • Wang Huiying (vault) – front handspring layout Barani, after Wang Huiying (China)
  • Wells (parallel bars) – giant swing backwards with inlocation forward, after Trent Wells (US)
  • Panenka penalty kick – after Antonín Panenka (Czech Republic)

Athletics

  • Fosbury flop – a high jump style, named after Dick Fosbury (US)
  • Volzing – a now illegal pole vault technique, named after David Volz (US)

Baseball

  • Maddux (statistic) – named after Greg Maddux (US)
  • Mendoza Line – named after Mario Mendoza (US)
  • Ohtani rule – A change to pitcher substitutions regarding the Designated Hitter position, named after Shohei Ohtani (Japan)
  • Pat Venditte rule – A change to the baseball rule book clarifying how a switch pitcher declares which arm they will throw with, named after Pat Venditte (US)
  • Pesky's pole – named after Johnny Pesky (US)
  • Steve Blass disease – a term applied to talented players who seem to inexplicably lose their ability to accurately throw a baseball, named after Steve Blass (US)
  • Tal's Hill – named after Tal Smith (US)
  • Tommy John surgery – named after Tommy John (US)

Basketball

  • Bird rights – named after Larry Bird, this is a rule in the NBA collective bargaining agreement related to a team's salary cap and ability to sign its own veteran players.
  • Elam Ending – a method for ending games once a specified target score is reached, named after its creator, Nick Elam.
  • Hack-a-Shaq – the strategy of committing intentional fouls (originally a clock management strategy) for the purpose of lowering opponents' scoring, named after Shaquille O'Neal.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu

  • Brabo choke – arm triangle choke, named after Leonardo Vieira's email address
  • D'Arce choke – arm triangle choke, named after Joe D'Arce
  • Ezequiel choke – chokehold which compresses the opponent's trachea or carotid arteries, named after Ezequiel Paraguassu
  • Kimura lock – armlock, named after Masahiko Kimura
  • Saint Preux choke – choke, also known as the Von Flue choke, named after Ovince Saint Preux
  • Von Flue choke – choke, also known as the Saint Preux choke, named after Jason Von Flue

Boxing

  • Ali shuffle – named after Muhammad Ali (US)
  • Marquess of Queensberry Rules – named after John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry (Great Britain)

Cricket

  • Bosie (alternative name for a googly) – after Bernard Bosanquet (England)
  • Kolpak – a Slovak team handball player whose victory in the European Court of Justice opened the door to numerous non-English players in English county cricket, term also used in both codes of rugby, after Maroš Kolpak (Slovakia)
  • Mankading – after Vinoo Mankad (India)
  • Marillier shot – after Dougie Marillier (Zimbabwe)
  • Dilscoop – after Tillekaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka), A cricket batting stroke, also known as a "ramp shot", developed by Sri Lankan right-handed batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan during the ICC World Twenty20 held during June 2009 in England.
  • Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method – is generally accepted to be the most accurate method of setting a target score in a limited overs cricket match interrupted by weather or other circumstances. Originally the Duckworth–Lewis method, after Frank Duckworth (England) and Tony Lewis (Wales); after the two retired, Steven Stern (Australia) became the custodian of the calculation, and his name was added to the title in 2014.
  • Nat-meg - after Natalie Sciver. It is an inventive shot against yorkers.

Croquet

  • Duffer tice – a tice positioned, usually a yard or so North, and a touch East, of Hoop 6, laid on the second turn of the game, named after the Irish croquet player Duff Mathews (Ireland)
  • Peel – to send a ball other than the striker's ball through its target hoop, named after Walter Peel (England)
  • Solomon grip – the grip used by and named after John Solomon (England)

Figure skating

  • Axel jump – after Axel Paulsen (Norway)
  • Besti squat – after Natalia Bestemianova (Russia) <!-- named after move she did in 1988. She never represented Russia in competition, but she was born in Moscow -->
  • Biellmann spin – after Denise Biellmann (Switzerland)
  • Charlotte spiral – after Charlotte Oelschlagel (Germany)
  • Ina Bauer – after Ina Bauer (Germany)
  • Kerrigan spiral – after Nancy Kerrigan (US)
  • Lutz jump – after Alois Lutz (Austria)
  • Salchow jump, – after Ulrich Salchow (Sweden)
  • Loop jump – in some countries (Germany and Poland, for example) this jump is called a Rittberger, after Werner Rittberger (Germany)
  • 'Tano Lutz – after Brian Boitano (US)
  • Walley jump – after Nate Walley (US)
  • Kayla Catch – after Kayla Doig (Australia)
  • Rippon Lutz – after Adam Rippon (US)

Golf

  • Stimpmeter - a device to measure the speed of putting greens, named after Edward S. Stimpson, Sr.

Ice hockey

  • The Datsyuk – after a particular move by Pavel Datsyuk (Russia), where a player fakes a shot by holding the puck further back, and waits for the goaltender to be out of position before shooting.
  • The Forsberg - after a particular move by Peter Forsberg where a player (after deking,) holds their stick with one hand and taps the puck in on the far side of the net.
  • Gordie Howe hat trick –after Gordie Howe (Canada), where a player is credited with a Goal, Assist, and Fight in the same game.
  • Lemieux cycle – after Mario Lemieux (Canada), where a player gets five goals in five ways in the same game. (Even-Strength, Powerplay, Penalty kill, Penalty shot, Empty Net.)
  • Rob Ray Rule – after Rob Ray (Canada) where players must keep their jersey tied down to their pants. Ray would take off his jersey and shoulder pads in order to be more difficult to grab during a fight.
  • Savard spin-o-rama (or Savardian spin-o-rama) – originally named after Serge Savard (Canada), but made famous by Denis Savard (Canada), Where a player with the puck skating towards a defending player begins to turn one way, then quickly performs a 360° spin to trick the defender and continues forward.
  • The Brodeur Rule– due to his ability to play the puck outside of his crease, named after Martin Brodeur. (Canada) A trapezoid behind the goal line where a goaltender is allowed to play the puck. Stopping goalies from playing pucks in the corners.
  • The Sean Avery Rule – after Sean Avery (Canada), the rule makes it illegal for a player to stand in front of a goalie and wave his or her stick in the netminder's face in an unsportsman like way.
  • The Gretzky Rule - after Wayne Gretzky (Canada), this rule implemented between 1985 and 1992 introduced offsetting penalties to prevent players like Gretzky from using the extra space on 4-on-4 plays to score more often.
  • Gretzky's office - the area behind the net, from where Wayne Gretzky would often set up goals.

Lacrosse

  • Air Gait - a maneuver in which a player scores by jumping from behind the goal crease, dunking the ball over the top goal crossbar, and landing on the opposite side of the crease, after Gary Gait (Canada)

Long Distance Running

  • Young Shuffle - Named after Cliff Young, the "Young Shuffle" has been adopted by some ultramarathon runners because it expends less energy. Cliff Young (athlete) (Australia)

Motorsport

  • Gurney flap and Gurney Bubble – named after Dan Gurney (United States)

Pickleball

  • Erne – A volley hit near the net by a player positioned outside the court or in the process of leaping outside the court. Named for Erne Perry, the first person known to have used the shot in mainstream competitive play.
  • Joey – A return shot, after an opposing player hits an around-the-post (ATP) shot, that involves hitting the ball directly back at the player that made the initial ATP shot. Named for Joe Valenti
  • Nasty Nelson – A serve that intentionally hits the non-receiving opposing player closest to the net, rewarding the point to the server. Named for Timothy Nelson.
  • Zane Navratil serve – A serve that involves swiping the ball against the paddle, when tossing the ball in preparation for striking the ball, in order to impart spin on the ball. Also called the chainsaw serve.

Rhythmic gymnastics

  • The Shugurova – tipping / spinning a rolling hoop with the feet during a leap, after Galina Shugurova (Soviet Union, Russia)
  • The Timochenko – after Alexandra Timoshenko (Soviet Union, Ukraine)
  • The Ralenkova – Rotation on the back, legs close, without support of the hand, after Anelia Ralenkova (Bulgaria)
  • The Zaripova – Split leap with ring or with back bend of the trunk, take-off and landing on the same leg, after Amina Zaripova (Russia)
  • The Kabaeva I – Ring leap with both legs, after Alina Kabaeva (Russia)
  • The Kabaeva II – Backscale Pivots; Front split trunk bent back below horizontal from standing position or from the position on the floor, after Alina Kabaeva (Russia)
  • The Kabaeva III – Balance with support on the chest, after Alina Kabaeva (Russia)
  • The Kabaeva IV – Split with hand support; also with jump preparation, after Alina Kabaeva (Russia)
  • The Cid Tostado – starting on one knee, leg forward, ball held with the foot. large roll of the ball on both legs, after Almudena Cid Tostado (Spain)
  • The Tchachina I – Switch leap with changing legs, after Irina Tchachina (Russia)
  • The Tchachina II – Reverse illusion turns, after Irina Tchachina (Russia)
  • The Tchachina III – Split balance from standing to kneeling position without hand support on the free leg or trunk side at horizontal, after Irina Tchachina (Russia)
  • The Utyasheva – backsplit to backscale to backsplit pivot with help, after Lyasan Utiasheva (Russia)
  • The Gizikova I – Front split balance with support passing the free leg into back split balance with support, after Zarina Gizikova (Russia)
  • The Gizikova II – Front split rotation with support with a passage of the free leg into back split with support or vice versa, after Zarina Gizikova (Russia)
  • The Kanaeva I – Ring Pivots (ring pivot spiral also known as "Kanaeva Pivot", quadruple/triple ring turn, quadruple queen pivot) – after Evgenia Kanaeva (Russia)
  • The Kanaeva II – Switch Turn, after Evgenia Kanaeva (Russia)
  • The Kanaeva III – Rotation on the stomach, legs in split, without support of the hand, after Evgenia Kanaeva (Russia)
  • The Zhukova – Cossack leap, straight leg to the side high up, whole foot higher than head with support and turn, after Inna Zhukova (Belarus)
  • The Kondakova – Pivot turn revolutions (pivot turn with forward free leg to half free leg position), after Daria Kondakova (Russia)
  • The Dmitrieva – Pivot connecting turns (attitude turns + ring pivot turn with help) – after Daria Dmitrieva (Russia)
  • The Raffaeli – Side split pivot without help, trunk side at horizontal on relevé with free leg bent – after Sofia Raffaeli (Italy)
  • The Staniouta – cossack turn starting on floor + connecting penché turn, after Melitina Staniouta (Belarus)
  • The Kudry I – back bend to roll over apparatus catch, after Yana Kudryavtseva (Russia)
  • The Kudry II – Spinning ball on the tip of the finger while doing front walkover, after Yana Kudryavtseva (Russia)
  • The Kudry III – Chaine turn wrapped in ribbon serpentine with one arm on the back, after Yana Kudryavtseva (Russia)
  • The Kudry IV – Dive jump with asymmetric movements of the clubs: during the jump, a high bounce of the club from the floor and passing to the roll to catch this club. Large circle with the other club, after Yana Kudryavtseva (Russia)
  • The Kudry V – Spinning ball on the tip of the thumb while doing a side split balance without support, after Yana Kudryavtseva (Russia)
  • The Kramarenko – Backscale Pivots; free leg bent 30 degrees from standing position or from the position on the floor, after Lala Kramarenko (Russia)
  • The Ashram – back-bend turn on floor with help, after Linoy Ashram (Israel)
  • The Trubnikova – side split without support, trunk side at horizontal, passing to front split, trunk bent back below horizontal, after Daria Trubnikova (Russia)
  • The Agiurgiuculese (Ag Jump) – turning split leap with ring of the back leg, take off and landing on the same leg (jete en tournant), after Alexandra Agiurgiuculese (Italy)
  • The Bessonova – Stag Leap, take off from one or two feet with turn of the body with ring, also with back bent of the trunk, after Anna Bessonova (Ukraine)
  • The Elkatib – Front split with or without help. Also trunk back at the horizontal position, after Alia Yassin Elkatib (Egypt)
  • The Garayeva – From back split on flat foot, trunk bend forward passing to Backscale Pivots, after Aliya Garayeva (Azerbaijan)
  • The Sakura Penché – body bent at the horizontal or below, rotation on flat foot with ring, after Sakura Hayakawa (Japan)
  • Mamun's ball roll – From a sitting position, transit into a dynamic balance (arm stand), with ball rolling from trunk to feet and catch, after Margarita Mamun (Russia)

Rugby league

  • Sonny-Billed – to have a hard driving tackle performed on someone, named after Sonny Bill Williams (New Zealand) who consistently performed these tackles
  • Hopoate – named after John Hopoate (Tonga)

Skiing

  • Gundersen method – in Nordic combined, the point time differential set up between the ski jumping and cross-country skiing portions of the event, after skier Gunder Gundersen (Norway)

Speed climbing

  • The Tomoa Skip – moving directly from the third hold to the fifth hold, skipping the fourth. This technique is named after Tomoa Narasaki, who invented the movement.

Speed Skating

  • To do a Bradbury – to win a contest or race as the one standing, after Australian short track speed skater Steven Bradbury (Australia) won his 1000m gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics when all other contestants crashed out on the final lap. Can apply to multiple sports or situations.

Tennis

  • Henman Hill (officially Aorangi Terrace; many other nicknames) – after Tim Henman (Great Britain)

Trampoline Gymnastics

  • The Miller – triple-twisting double straight back, after Wayne Miller (US)

Ultimate (Frisbee)

  • Callahan – after Henry Callahan (US)

U.S. college sports

  • Russell Rule – a variation of the Rooney Rule adopted in 2020 by the West Coast Conference, with the WCC version named for Bill Russell.

Weightlifting

  • The van Dam Lift – after Rob Van Dam (US)

Wrestling

  • Karelin lift – after Alexander Karelin (USSR, Russia)
  • John Smith single – after John Smith (American wrestler) (US)
  • Gable grip – after Dan Gable (US)

See also

  • Gymnastics elements named after Simone Biles

References