Just heard that Alan Ball passed away at the age of 61. He was the youngest of the World Cup Final '66 heroes. Ball played for Blackpool, Everton, Arsenal, and Southampton. His nickname was Nijinski, and I thought it was interesting to give a macho footballer the nickname of perhaps the greatest male ballet dancer in history. Then I discovered that his mates called him that because he ran at top speed the entire match. THEN I discovered that there was also an English horse named Nijinski. What ballet dancer? The only person I ever heard say anything negative about Alan Ball was my first father-in-law, who always referred to him as "that dirty little shirt puller." RIP Alan Ball, 72 England caps
