Snakes on a Field

SI Staff | Aug 18, 2006

Snakes on a Field /

Snakes on a Field

Samuel L. Jackson

We couldn't resist this corporate tie-in: With Samuel L. Jackson's <i>Snakes On A Plane</i> coming out this weekend, we decided to look at what happens when the worlds of sports and snakes collide -- and not just in the literal sense.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The D'backs proved slippery in beating the Yankees in 2001, Arizona's fourth season in existence.

Kameron Loe

Loe sometimes brings "Angel," a 7-foot boa constrictor, into the Rangers clubhouse.

1997 U.S. Open

An official removes a snake from the course at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

X-Ray vision

"I can't believe I ate the whole thing."

Ken "The Snake" Stabler

The former Alabama and Oakland great earned his moniker by scrambling away from defenders and displaying a knack for sneaking passes in between bodies.

Billy The Marlin

The Florida Marlins mascot is helped off the field by Ron Magill of the Miami Metro Zoo after Billy displayed a Burmese python before a game between the San Diego Padres and the Marlins in August 2003.

Errict Rhett

The former Florida Gators and Tampa Bay Bucs running back shows off his snake -- and his tattoes.

Amelie Mauresmo

Mauresmo reacts as she is introduced to "Hercules," a non-venomous carpet python snake by keeper Nichael Taylor at an outside court at Melbourne Park in January 2005. Mauresmo had just won her third round match against Ana Ivanovic at the Australian Open.

Jake "The Snake" Plummer

The former Arizona State and current Broncos quarterback is tall and sinewy and, like Stabler, very elusive.

Maurice Brantley

The super welterweight posed with a snake around his neck before his weigh-in for a fight against Shibata Flores at the Mandalay Bay in September 2002.

Marion Jones

The sprinter met a giant python at Australia's Zoo in company with famous crocodile hunter Steve Irwin in August 2001.

Evel Knievel

America's favorite daredevil tried -- and failed -- to jump his motorcycle across the Snake River in 1974. Though he crashed, he escaped with only minor injuries.

Beer Snake!

Who says cricket fans don't know how to party? These fans chugged beer snake-style at an Australia-Pakistan match in January 2005 in Perth, Australia.

Purple Cobras

In Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Ben Stiller played White Goodman, the owner of Globo Gym and would-be dodgeball tournament champion if Vince Vaughn's Average Joe's had not gotten in the way.

Dave Bliss

Plenty of slippery coaches have graced the college ranks, but perhaps none more so than Bliss. The former Baylor coach asked a member of his staff to spread rumors that Patrick Dennehy, a player of his who had been murdered, had been dealing drugs. The truth was that the coach had arranged for the player to get tens of thousands of illicit dollars for tuition and housing and wanted to cover it up.

Drew Rosenhaus/Scott Boras

Are agents a necessary evil? MLB and NFL front offices often dread any dealings with these guys.

Nicole Vaidisova

This Czech tennis pro got to hold one at the Australian Open this January.

Tommy Hearns

If Samuel L. Jackson had Tommy "Motor City Cobra" Hearns on his flight, the passengers would've had nothing to worry about. No more snakes hanging from the overhead luggage bins, Hearns would right hook them straight back to their cage.

Moe Drabowski

A legendary man in MLB history, Drabowski (second from left) was known not only for pitching for eight major league teams, but also the hilarious pranks he pulled on teammates. Nicknamed "The Snake Man" for hiding the reptiles in his teammates lockers, Moe would've been the perfect villain behind a "Snakes on a Plane"-type fiasco.

Donald Curry

This former welterweight and junior middleweight champion was known as the "Lone Star Cobra."

Don "The Snake" Prudhomme

The sixth-winningest driver in NHRA history has been racing for more than four decades.

Dave Parker

He would swirl his bat and then pop out of his stance to attack pitches, thus earning the nickname "Cobra.

Geoff Ogilvy

The 2005 U.S. Open champion is an advocate for Cobra golf clubs.

Carolina Cobras

The now-defunct Cobras played in the Arena Football League from 2000 to '04.

Arizona Rattlers

The Rattlers have won two ArenaBowl championships, in 1994 and '97, with former Cowboys quarterback Danny White as the head coach.

Detroit Vipers

This IHL club was founded in 1994, but folded in 2001 along with the rest of the league.

Tawney Kitaen

Seen here with ex-husband Chuck Finley, Kitaen forever will be known as the Whitesnake video vixen.

Published Aug 18, 2006

SI STAFF