Alabama or England: Football and Apples Edition

Tom Putt

• Alabama (Football Guy)

• England (Apple Variety)

Answer explanation

Named after the clergyman in Devon who developed the variety, according to Robert Hogg's Fruit Manual (1884). Not to be confused with punter and erstwhile quarterback Tom Tupa, who is not from Alabama. (Image via USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection)

Arthur Turner

• Alabama

• England

Answer explanation

The Royal Horticultural Society exhibited many apples from their garden in Wisley at their 1934 Fruit Conference. Arthur Turner was a variety they highlighted as "recommended for garden or general cultivation". (Image via Pomona Fruits)

Lake Gurley

• Alabama

• England

Answer explanation

A graduate of Mortimer Jordan HS (Kimberly, AL) currently playing linebacker for Division II University of West Alabama. Still wouldn't be surprised if there were a Wordsworth poem about him. (Image via UWA Athletics)

Joeby Crab

• Alabama

• England

Answer explanation

An heirloom cider variety from Herefordshire. The astringency that makes it valuable in cider production also renders it relatively useless for fresh eating. (Image from Herefordshire Pomona via Biodiversity Heritage Library)

Sam Dour

• Alabama

• England

Answer explanation

If you spoonerize his name you get a reasonable description of a Joeby Crab apple, but McKenzie High School thought Sam Dour was pretty sweet. He played there as a fullback, then served as their head coach for 18 years over two tenures. (Image via McKenzie Athletics on Facebook)

Wilkin Formby

• Alabama

• England

Answer explanation

Easily the most British player name I encountered while building this quiz, perhaps because he shares a surname with raunchy English songwriter George Formby, OBE. A tackle from Northridge HS (Tuscaloosa, AL), the football Formby enrolled at University of Alabama in January of 2023. (Image via @wilkinformby on Twitter)

Toby Pee

• Alabama

• England

Answer explanation

Despite being billed at 5'11" and 180 pounds, Toby Pee rushed for just under 5,500 yards in his career at Sardis HS (Boaz, AL). Pee signed with Jacksonville State after a 2012 senior year in which he earned First Team All-State honors by totaling 2,447 total yards and 37 touchdowns. (Photo via Hudl)

Nelson Codlin

• Alabama

• England

Answer explanation

"Codlin" or "codling" implies that the variety was suitable for coddling, a low-temperature cooking technique more commonly associated with eggs. Other codlins with plausibly Alabaman-sounding names include Keswick Codlin and Carlisle Codlin. (Image from Karen Meadows via Waterfurlong Gardens)

Fluff Bothwell

• Alabama

• England

Answer explanation

Da'Marion Bothwell's mother nicknamed him "Fluff" based on his baby fat. As a junior at Oneonta HS, Bothwell ran for 3,112 yards and 41 touchdowns, earning a spot on the Alabama Sports Writers Association's 2022 "Super 12" as one of the top football players in the state regardless of division. (Photo via Marvin Gentry, AL.com)

Glebe Gold

• Alabama

• England

Answer explanation

Bred as a cross of Yellow Ingestrie and Cellini by James Walker of Ham in Richmond (then part of Surrey, now part of southwest London). Ham? In Richmond? I thought this quiz was about Alabama, not Virginia!