Rumors

By that time, Monroe had collected a plethora of nicknames: “Einstein,” “Thomas Edison” (for all the moves he invented) and “Money” (which came from Gaines) were just a few of them. Among the long list of nicknames, there are two that stand out. The first is “Earl The Pearl,” which is the one that hit the mainstream. According to Monroe, the genesis of “The Pearl” came from a sportswriter for the Winston-Salem Journal named Luix Overbea, who referred to a string of many high-scoring games as “Earl’s pearls.” That eventually was reworked to “Earl The Pearl.”

The Athletic