Nitti Gritty
The nickname-sake of Flyers' goalie Antero Nittymaki, and also the man that he has painted on the side of his goalie mask, committed suicide on this day in 1943.
The man in question is the Prohibiton-era gangster, Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti, one of Al Capone's smartest and most trusted lieutenants. When Capone went to jail for tax evasion in 1930, Nitti became the de facto boss of the Chicago Mafia on the street, a position he held until 1943 when, facing a long prison term for extortion, he shot himself by the train tracks near his home in Riverside, Illionis.
As an underboss to the most famous mobster of all time, Nitti has experienced quite an afterlife in American pop culture - as a recurring character in the 50's television series The Untouchables, in the 1975 movie Capone, where he was played by Sylvester Stallone, in Brian De Palma's movie version of The Untouchables, and in the 2002 movie Road to Perdition, in which Stanley Tucci portrayed him as a sober-headed but savage right-hand man to Capone, part Tom Hagen and part Sonny Corleone. He has also been referenced in numerous rap songs ("we stormed the city, shootin shit up like Frank Nitti...") and now, of course, he lives on in perhaps his strangest manifestation yet, emblazoned on the helmet of a Finnish hockey goaltender due to a nickname bestowed by former Flyers coach (and evident classic mafia enthusiast) Ken Hitchcock.
The man in question is the Prohibiton-era gangster, Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti, one of Al Capone's smartest and most trusted lieutenants. When Capone went to jail for tax evasion in 1930, Nitti became the de facto boss of the Chicago Mafia on the street, a position he held until 1943 when, facing a long prison term for extortion, he shot himself by the train tracks near his home in Riverside, Illionis.
As an underboss to the most famous mobster of all time, Nitti has experienced quite an afterlife in American pop culture - as a recurring character in the 50's television series The Untouchables, in the 1975 movie Capone, where he was played by Sylvester Stallone, in Brian De Palma's movie version of The Untouchables, and in the 2002 movie Road to Perdition, in which Stanley Tucci portrayed him as a sober-headed but savage right-hand man to Capone, part Tom Hagen and part Sonny Corleone. He has also been referenced in numerous rap songs ("we stormed the city, shootin shit up like Frank Nitti...") and now, of course, he lives on in perhaps his strangest manifestation yet, emblazoned on the helmet of a Finnish hockey goaltender due to a nickname bestowed by former Flyers coach (and evident classic mafia enthusiast) Ken Hitchcock.
3 Comments:
Or it could just be coincidence that his nickname is that of a classic mobster. Hockey nicknames aren't paragons of creativity, and usually are just variations of a guy's name. That seems to be the case here.
Not the case here, Andrew - Ken Hitchcock actually called Nittymaki "Frank Nitti" and in Philly now he is affectionately known as "Frank."
The obvious shortening of Nittymaki's name is to Nitty.
Hitchcock was the guy who took it to the next level by calling him Frank. Thus attaching him to the mobster.
Post a Comment
<< Home