8 hidden Sports Reference Easter eggs you didn't know existed (UPDATED)
If you visit this website of ours here, it’s probable that you’re also a user of the Sports Reference family of sites as well — Baseball-Refrerence.com, Pro-Football-Reference.com and the like. They’re amazing, comprehensive and useful to find all kinds of statistical information.
The New York Times dropped a great feature on the sites this week — did you know they rent space in a Philadelphia church? — and it included a reminder that there are some fun Easter eggs and hidden pages around the Sports Reference websites. So we decided to round as many as we can find here, with no doubt that we’re missing a few.
UPDATE: We’ve added in one below that just popped up involving Madison Bumgarner and his rodeo career.
1. Keith Hernandez’s mustache has its own page
It’s been around a while despite the fact that Hernandez’s mustache, er, retired a while back before making a comeback. It’s five inches wide and weighs 0.05 lbs, and is fourth all-time behind staches including Rollie Fingers’, Rod Beck’s and Wade Boggs’ facial hair.
2. So does Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
It’s also sponsored, which is pretty great, and there are a bunch of punny jokes about batters he’s similar to (e.g. J.T. Snow, Rob Deer).
3. If you type in “technical fouls” into Basketball-Reference’s search bar, Rasheed Wallace’s page comes up.
Ball don’t lie. Nor does Basketball-Reference.
4. Typing in “Roy Hobbs” into Baseball-Reference’s search bar sends you over to the IMDB page for the Robert Redford character from The Natural
5. Will Ferrell has his own page
Remember that time Ferrell played all nine positions in five Cactus League spring training games back in 2015? Baseball-Reference rewarded him with his own page and it’s a delight.
6. Oddibe McDowell’s page includes how much he owed on his water bill in 2011 and 2012
A reference to Deadspin, which tracked what McDowell owed for a series earlier this decade.
7. Pro-Football-Reference temporarily credited Vontae Davis with a half game when he retired last year
Davis, as you’ll recall, called it quits at halftime of the Bills’ Week 2 loss to the Chargers.