19. MC Hammer & Reggie Jackson

Stanley Burell, professionally known as MC Hammer is a one-hit-wonder popularly known for the song U Can’t Touch This. To his credit, that one song was one of the most famous songs during the ’90s, receiving multiple accolades and a nomination for a Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1991. Before all the fame and wealth came his way, Stanley grew up financially challenged in Oakland. At 11 years old, he was hired as a batboy by Oakland Athletics’ owner Charles Finley.

While spending his formative years working at the Oakland Coliseum, Stanley got to hang around with some of baseball’s greats – particularly, Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson. Seeing the young rapper’s uncanny resemblance to Hank “The Hammer” Aaron, a fellow baseball Hall of Famer, Reggie dubbed him Little Hammer. The name stuck and he continued on to rise up the ranks from a batboy. Stanley eventually tried his hand at becoming a professional baseball player himself but it ultimately led nowhere and eventually opted to pursue a career as a rapper instead.

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