List of Backyard Kids

The Backyard Kids are fictional characters in Humongous Entertainment's Backyard Sports series of video games, ranging from 7 to 12 years of age. They live in the Junior Sports Neighborhood, as stated in the first five Backyard Sports games. Below is the list of the 19 Backyard kids that appeared in every Backyard Sports game to date (not counting the Sandlot Sluggers spinoff):
* Achmed "Axeman" Khan is portrayed as an easygoing and collected kid whose #1 hobby is playing the heavy metal guitar. His technical skills do not stop at music, as he is also a natural athlete who appears to play sports with effortless ease. He enjoys having Arthur, Kenny, and Joey over to his house on weekends.
* Angela "Sugar Pop" Delvecchio could easily be underestimated by her diminutive size, but she is a tough, aggressive and confident team player. She’s the only girl among five siblings in her family, and does not enjoy playing alongside her older brother Tony, preferring to pave her own way. She is frequently heard poking fun of her brother’s lack of athletic ability. She has an injury on her right ankle, disallowing her to run fast, although people thought at first that she had "two left feet."
* Annie "Flipper" Frazier is a serene and content nature-lover who can be recognized by the signature green stocking JOE RULES cap she always wears. She is one of the least competitive of the Backyard Kids, and mostly enjoys playing sports for the sake of being outdoors. This doesn’t mean her athletic abilities should be underestimated, though.
* Ashley Raelynn “Little Smokey” and Sidney Marie "Little Smokey" Webber are identical twin sisters who always play better when they are put on the same team. Their father is a self-made multi-millionaire and constantly spoils his daughters by buying them whatever they ask for, even though he doesn't approve of Ashley's boyfriend Carlos. The twins love tennis, fashion and pampering their own twin Labrador Retrievers.†
* Dante "Stretch" Robinson is a ball of energy. His metabolism runs high, so food is always on his mind. He loves to goof off with his best friend, Reese, who keeps him constantly entertained.
* Dmitri Ivan "Paste" Petrovich loves calculations, and enjoys sports because of their relationship to math and physics. He spends much of his free time inventing all kinds of contraptions with his dad. A painful slide in a baseball game took him out of 13 games. He has an amazing memory, mainly due to his "simple mnemonic system."†
* Ernie "Funnybones" Steele loves to tell jokes and do imitations. He’s also quite adept at performing magic tricks. Ernie has been “growing like a weed” and can be a little awkward and lanky, but if he learned to tap into his hidden athleticism more, he could dominate on the field. He's 5 and a half feet tall, but he's only 10 years old.
* Jorge "Bonkers" Garcia’s full name is Jorge Raoul Luis Garcia III. He comes from money and has no problem coming across as snooty or expressing his opinion on anything, as shown in Backyard Hockey (the first thing he says to you is always "I'm Jorge Garcia, and I have more money than you.") Jorge definitely does not enjoy getting dirty, and is not happy playing positions involving more laborious work (such as catcher or lineman). However, he shines when it comes to positions involving precision and calculations.†
* Kiesha Monet "Flash" Phillips is taller, stronger, and bigger than most of her peers, and is a dominating presence in any game. She is full of life and positive energy, and likes to tell jokes.†
* Lisa "Mad Dog" Crocket is never one to smile, and comes off as apathetic and anti-social, with a very dry sense of humor. She tends to mumble rather than talk, but expresses admiration for people who are book-smart, like Dmitri. When it comes to athletics, she has power that comes from near perfect technique. However, she is not at all agile or nimble.
* Maria "Pinky" Luna is a cheery, tireless social butterfly who must be a part of everything. Her family owns an authentic Mexican restaurant called “La Luna Lleno,” to which she loves to invite her friends. Her strengths on the field are speed and energy. Until Baseball 2007, she loved pink dresses and ponies. She always played better whenever the colors of her team were pink. Now, she still loves pink, but is willing to play in other colors.
* Marky "Cootie" Dubois is a bit of a “country bumpkin” who can be a little naïve and gullible at times. He was home schooled and isn’t too street-smart, but is a good natured kid who reaches out to the other kids. He can be somewhat gawky on the field but plays hard and knows how to hustle. Before Billy Jean Blackwood was discontinued (see below list), he had a crush on her. Before Backyard Baseball 2007, he never wore shoes or socks, and loved to play with pigs in the mud. He loves bringing his pet frog to games, and his new shoes and socks are quite rugged.
* Pablo Ramon "Secret Weapon" Sanchez is not only the best player of the backyard kids, but he is the best person. On top of regularly leading the league in home runs, OPS, walks he always led the league in pep talks. Pablo never shied away from taking a leadership role and offering words of encouragement when necessary.+
* Pete "Wheelie" Wheeler may not seem like the brightest bulb, and is always passing out due to lack of sleep. However he is widely regarded as the fastest kid around, making him pretty popular to any team. He just tends to space out every once in a while.
* Reese "Big Toe" Worthington is the class clown and energetic prankster who loves to be in the spotlight. Although he might get on some of the other kids’ nerves, his best friend Dante loves his jokes. Reese may not be the most impressive in terms of athletic ability, but he does tend to pull off some very impressive lucky plays every now and then. He used to have a huge collection of action figures and video games. He also has asthma and is seen using an inhaler in early games. Reese is based on original designer Richard Moe, who has asthma and was nicknamed "Big Toe" in grade school.
* Ricky Alexander "Fella" Johnson is one of the tallest backyard kids, and tends to be a bit quiet and shy. He has very low self-esteem, as especially shown in Backyard Baseball 2001, where he often breaks through the fourth wall by, after saying things, adding, "If that's okay if you." His favorite hobby is drawing, and his favorite sport by far is American football (though it used to be soccer). His dad is a part time football coach, so Ricky grew up learning the game. Had the Backyard's greatest left hook.
* Tony Gianni "Vec" Delvecchio is described as the “motivational speaker without an audience,” who likes to think he’s in charge when he really isn’t. He frequently boasts about his abilities, which are in reality quite average. His tough New York Bronx accent still sounds quite intimidating to the other teams, though.†
* Vicki Fumiko "Swan" Kawaguchi is aggressive and highly intelligent, and is probably the craftiest of the backyard kids. When playing on a team she tends to magnify her opponents’ weaknesses while improving her own teammates’ strengths. She loves discussing tactics of how to outsmart the other team. She also takes ballet lessons. Until Backyard Baseball 2007, she wore a pink tutu and was not as aggressive.†
Below is a list of Backyard Kids that are, as of 2009, discontinued:
* Amir "Sticks" Khan is Achmed's younger brother. He plays drums in Achmed's imaginary band. He always looks up to Achmed and tries to play as good as him. He makes a cameo appearance in Baseball 2007 as a custom character in the season story mode. In Backyard Soccer he said that he was going to play bass guitar in Achmed's band.
* Billy Jean "Crazy Legs" Blackwood is a tall red-headed Southern girl who adores fashion. She dreams of going to Paris, France someday, though she never does. Marky Dubois, who she despises, had a crush on her.
* Gretchen "Jabberjaw" Hasselhoff is a girl who is not popular with the other kids because she talks way too fast and is very hyperactive. In Backyard Baseball 2005, she had a cellphone she carried around with her. She makes a cameo appearance in Baseball 2007 as a custom character in the season story mode.
* Jocinda "MVP" Smith is said to be one of the best players in the league (that's why she is called "MVP"). She has four brothers and they have their own basketball court, as seen in the Backyard Basketball games.
* Kenny "K-Man" Kawaguchi is Vicki’s older brother. His main attraction is that he is in a wheelchair. He has his own radio station, KNNY, which he programs with Barry DeJay. He is the only handicapped player on the series. He has a high tendency to strike out, that is why he got the nickname "K-Man". He is mentioned by Vicki in Backyard Football 2008.
* Kimmy Rae "Twinkie Toes" Eckman is a girl who is obsessed with candy. Her mom spoils her by buying her all the candy she wants. She has her own baseball/soccer field, Eckman Acres, and after a game there, everyone gets dessert. She is best friends with Jocinda Smith, who lives two blocks away from her. Maria Luna despises her because she breaks her pink pony piñatas. According to Backyard Baseball and Backyard Baseball 2001, Kimmy says that vegetables are okay.
* Luanne "Lulu" Lui was said to be the fastest kid in the league. She used to always have her teddy bear with her, but now it is turned into a backpack, though she still loves it. She is the youngest player in the league.
* Mikey Rhett "Nugget" Thomas has a really bad cold, and is hampered by this, as he is one of the slowest in the league. He likes to play with rocks and has other bizarre habits. His middle name is a reference to Rhett Mathis, the music composer for the series and original programmer on the first game. He lives with his grandparents because both his parents died in a fire.
* Ronny Henry "Spud" Dobbs is a young kid who is always trying to be better than he is. He thinks he is not playing well because his older sister Sally is bossing him around.
* Sally "The Boss" Dobbs is Ronny's older sister who is four years older than he is. She is always bossing people around, and always says that she is older than all the other kids in the league (in reality, Tony is older than she is, as Rich Gannon said in Backyard Football 2002 that Tony is one of the oldest in the league, and Tony's birthday comes before Sally's). Quite all-around.
* Stephanie "Bubbles" Morgan is obsessed with baseball and chewing bubble gum. She has her baseball mitt on in every game, and wears a baseball cap when she plays soccer and basketball. She likes to criticize the other players for their lack of skill. In some games, she says that her father was once a minor-league baseball player, but had to retire due to getting chin slits from running the bases. She makes a cameo appearance in Baseball 2007 as a custom character in the season story mode.
Below is a list of Backyard Kids that debuted in 2006:
* Arthur “A.C.” Chen a thoughtful, intelligent and relaxed character who frequently hints of a martial arts background as well as some previous “zen training.” Arthur is the type of kid who gets along with just about anyone, but particularly enjoys the company of Achmed Khan.
* Joey Richard “Joey Mac, Broadway Joey” MacAdoo is a popular and confident kid who is 100% focused on sports. He’s always ready for a pickup game and is a natural leader, although sometimes he wants to win a little too badly. His dream is to someday become a professional athlete.†
* Samantha “Sam, Ripgirl” Pearce is the “tomboy surfer” who is always relaxed and confident. She’s a natural athlete who’s always willing to try anything new.
It has been noted by parents of players of the Backyard games that many of the characters fit stereotypes; for example, Dmitri is the classic "geek," Samantha is the "surfer chick," Pete is a "birdbrain", Pablo Sanchez is the amazing player of Hispanic descent and Lisa Crocket is the stereotypical antisocial type. These stereotypes have caused a little bit of controversy among parents, but many find the stereotypes humorous despite the fact that chances are their children do not understand them.
Also, there is good and bad chemistry with some players. Ashley and Sidney Webber will not have good stats if together, while vice-versa with Ronny and Sally Dobbs.
†= These veteran kids have appeared in Backyard Sports: Sandlot Sluggers and Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush.
Additional Characters
In addition to the Backyard Kids themselves, there are other kids who appear in the Backyard games' season mode in order to fill spots on opposing teams. However, these additional kids are neither Backyard Kids nor the various pro stars that have appeared in the games from Backyard Football (1999) onwards. They are just "generic" kids who share similar physical attributes such as face shape, hair color and hair style (much like the options available when creating a custom player).
The generics made their first appearance in season mode of Super Pablo Sanchez (1992) with only a small number of kids. However, additional generics have been added in later games and as a result, over 200 generic kids have appeared from Super Pablo Sanchez (1992) through Backyard Basketball (2001), with some names continuing into later games. Since Backyard Baseball (1997) onward, even more new names have appeared. However, most (but not all) of these names tend to be very silly and/or childish, and appear in only one of the games. There are two Backyard Kids added in Sandlot Sluggers/Rookie Rush:
* Jimmy Winthrope “The Bully” Knuckles is the captain of the Bullies. He and the other bullies can only be beaten if the other nine captains come together to form an All-Star team. He later appears in Rookie Rush as the captain of the Meadowbrook Monsters.
* Ace "Acer" Patterson is a top-notch football player with a football-loyal family. He is captain of the team "The Invincibles" He was introduced in Rookie Rush and can be played the first time when the player teams up with the other Backyard Kids to defeat Ace and The Invincibles.
The commentator who through the console/PC Backyard Sports games has been Sunny Day (voiced by Jen Taylor, Lani Minella and Samantha Kelly) (discontinued from Backyard Baseball 2007 and Backyard Basketball 2007), the over-enthusiastic play-by-play announcer. She has had various partners for all the different games, who include:
*Baseball: Vinnie the Gooch (voiced by Dolores Rogers and Lani Minella) (originally), Abner Dubbleplay (voiced by Adam Watson) (a joke on Abner Doubleday and double play), and Jack Fouler (voiced by Jim Curtis and Rhonda Soikowski).
*Football: Chuck Downfield (voiced by Klem Daniels and Dave Rivas) (his name comes from a play on words, such as someone throwing the ball down the field in football)
*Basketball: Barry DeJay (voiced by Dex Manley) (a play on "bury the J," as seen in Backyard Basketball)
*Soccer: Earl Grey (voiced by Dolores Rogers and Lani Minella) (a reference to a kind of tea).
*Hockey: Buddy Cheque (voiced by Dex Manley) (a play on body check in hockey)
*Skateboarding: Erik Stream (voiced by Michelle Thorson) (a play on air extreme)
In Backyard Baseball 2007 and Backyard Basketball 2007, there is an unidentified male commentator (voiced by Adam Watson). Sunny Day has returned as the commentator as of Backyard Football 2008 and Backyard Baseball 2009 and Backyard And the Mass of Clouds. In Sandlot Sluggers, There are two new commentators named Ron and Wally.
Clanky is a robot and the founder of the league.

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