“Sweat Pea”?
Yes! Black athletes are famous for having nicknames. Some of them are quirky, some of them are weird.
Cartoon character Popeye the Sailor Man (toot-toot!)had a nephew named Sweet Pea.
Sweet Pea was aways depicted as a todder in a onesie, maybe crawling around while holding his baby bottle. He never grew up.
I think at least once, Sweet Pea may have hit somebody with that bottle, holding the bottle by the nipple and swinging it.Using it like a Bolo.
As a youngster, Whitaker was known to friends and family as “Pete” and when he began to emerge as a top amateur, fans in his hometown of Norfolk used to serenade him with chants of “Sweet Pete.” This was misinterpreted by a local sportswriter as “Sweet Pea.” When this erroneous report came out in the local newspaper, the new nickname stuck
I went to see Pernell Whitaker fight Poli Diaz in ‘91 at Scope in Norfolk, VA. Right behind me was the Norfolk State cheering section chanting and rocking the place with “Sweet Pea, Hoo Hoo, Ha Ha, Sweet Pea! Hoo Hoo, Ha Ha ...” all through the fight. It was great!