Notable Misspelled Jerseys

Angels starter Zack Greinke pitched the first four innings of a game on Sept. 30, 2012 with his last name misspelled on the back of his jersey. Once the Angels staff became aware of the mistake, they had Greinke change jerseys before going out to pitch the fifth. "I didn't notice. I didn't care, either," Greinke said with a smile after the game. "But they wanted me to change it." Greinke said it was "probably partially my fault." Rather than putting on the jersey hanging in the front of his locker Sunday, Greinke reached into his locker for his second jersey -- and that proved to be the one with the misspelling. His ERA was much better after the change, as the Rangers scored all four of their runs in the game off of "Grienke". "That's right," Greinke said. "We'd have won much easier if it wasn't for him." Of course, Greinke isn't the first sports figure to be humiliated by misspellings. Here's a look at some others who have endured the same misfortune.

Manchester United's midfielder Anderson took the field with the name "ANDESRON" displayed across the back of his uniform during a defeat to Everton on Aug. 20, 2012.

The Nuggets forward took the court with the "L" and "D" in Chandler swapped on his jersey on March 14, 2011.

Just a few weeks prior to Chandler's mispelled jersey, the Washington Wizards' Andray Blatche played with the name "BALTCHE" displayed across his back on Feb. 23, 2011 in a game against the Sixers; surprising for a player who has been with the team since he was drafted in 2005.

The Orioles welcomed Duchscherer to spring training (and the team) Feb. 17, 2011 with a misspelled jersey that omits the second 'C'. Meeting Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, however, likely more than made up for the spelling error.

Buffalo Sabres' center Rob Niedermayer unknowingly played with his name misspelled on his sweater in at least three games in January 2011. Isn't "I before E, except after C" a mnemonic rule of thumb for spelling?

Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams made six Pro Bowls and has a common last name, so you'd figure the team could spell his name right for a home game against the Packers on Nov. 21, 2010. The 31-3 loss, however, was probably more embarrassing.

Also on Nov. 21, 2010, West Virginia's Danny Jennings suffered the same fate as Kevin Williams, taking the floor against Minnesota with "JENINNGS" on the back of his jersey. Perhaps even more bizarre is that most would not consider names like Williams and Jennings unusual or difficult to spell to begin with, let alone on the same day.

Sportswriters and fans alike had a field day after the Giants-Astros game on April 7, 2010, during which Eugenio Velez made his season debut wearing a jersey with San Francisco spelled incorrectly. Quipped The AP: "Maybe they left his shirt in "San Fran-cic-so."

As if playing only 13 minutes a game with the Hawks wasn't bad enough, Zaza Pachulia had the "C" placed in front of the "A" on his jersey for a home game against the Bobcats on March 19, 2010.

Kentucky coach John Calipari was eager to tweet out a behind-the-scenes look at his team's photo shoot for SLAM Magazine in Feb. 2010. Perhaps he failed to notice the blatant error on star John Wall's jersey. Calipari has since taken down the photo from his Twitter account.

Former Redskins running back Ladell Betts wore a jersey with an unnecessary "i" when his team faced the Ravens in a preseason game on Aug. 13, 2009.

The high-altitude in Colorado must have gotten to the Rockies' tailor to have somehow misspelled left fielder Seth Smith's last name in May 2009.

In a game against the Marlins on April 17, 2009, the Washington Nationals sent their two best hitters, Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman, onto the field wearing "Natinals" jerseys for three innings.

Clay Council became a household name when, at 71 years old, became Josh Hamilton's pitcher at the slugger's 2008 record-setting All-Star Home Run Derby, when he clocked 28 homers in the opening round. Unfortunately, Council had to do it all with his name spelled incorrectly.

Pistons swingman Rip Hamilton actually received an upgrade to his name with this one back in March 2008. "Hamiltion" sounds very Terminator-esque, no?

After winning the 2007 National Invitational Tournament, the Mountaineers were congratulated with West V-I-R-G-I-N-A shirts. Awkward.

After Ryan Jorgensen hit a first-inning grand slam against the Marlins on Aug. 26, 2007, a teammate pointed out that his name was misspelled on his jersey, with an "O" instead of "E" near the end. Proving to be not on the superstitious side, Jorgensen changed to a jersey with the proper spelling within two innings. He proceeded to go hitless in his next three at-bats, and the game would turn out to be his last as a Red after he was soon suspended 50 games for a drug violation.

Jeff Francoeur, wearing a jersey with the "e" and "u" in his name switched, went 0-for-4 with the Braves in a game against the Giants on Aug. 16, 2007.

As if kickers don't have enough trouble getting respect, Matt Harmon had to wear a misspelled Navy jersey during a 2006 game in Stanford.

Eliezer Alfonzo made his big league debut on June 3, 2006 with his name spelled with an "s," instead of a "z." He crushed a two-run shot in the sixth inning that ultimately won the game against the Mets, which may have explained why his jersey was still misspelled in the Giants' next game the following day.

Somebody decided the Toys "Я" Us spelling for Giants defensive tackle Fred Robbins was a better way to go in a home game against the Cowboys on Dec. 4, 2005.

Aaron Harang took the mound with the first "I" missing in "C-I-N-C-I-N-N-A-T-I" across his chest in a 5-1 loss to the Cardinals on April 12, 2005.

Maybe he should just stick with Birdman, because it seems the league has trouble spelling Andersen, as evident in the 2004 Dunk Contest.

Clippers big man Chris Kaman has had his name misspelled twice, and not in the same way. First he was forced to wear a jersey with an extra "M" in Dec. 2003, and then the NBA tried selling his No. 35 jersey with an "e" in place of the second "a." (The league has since corrected its latest mistake.) Dude can't catch a break.

Minor league journeyman Adam Riggs had only a brief stint with the Angels in 2003, but it was just long enough that he got stuck with this jersey in a home game against the Tigers on Aug. 16. Riggs didn't realize the mistake until his hysterical teammates sat him down in the dugout between innings and broke the news to him.

NHL legend Wayne Gretzky took an entirely new last name when his Rangers lost to the rival Islanders, 5-3, on Oct. 30, 1997.

Joe Carter wore this jersey with the "n" and second "t" in "Toronto" reversed for six innings during a game in Texas on July 14, 1994.

Former Hawks big man Jon Koncak is perhaps best remembered for the six-year, $13 million contract he received from the Hawks in 1989 -- an unprecedented total for a reserve. Having earned the nickname "Jon Contract," one would think his jersey would have been misspelled differently in '93.

In 1960, the White Sox became the first major sports team to put player names on the backs of uniforms. Unfortunately, they were also the first to do so incorrectly. During a road trip to New York, Kluszewski appeared with both a backwards "z" and an "x" instead of "k" in his name.