Member Since: 1998

Welcome to "The Real McCoy"

There has been quite a bit of noise made about just where "The Real McCoy" originated, well there are quite a few variations about where this "catch phrase" started and I will run through a short list of some of the more common misconceptions, enjoy!

1. Around the 1890's there was a famous brand of whisky brewed by Mackay, Glasgow may have brewed a fine whisky and may even have promoted it as "The Real Mackay" but it's not derived from this fine blend.

2. There is another story about two or more branches of Scots Mackay family that argued for years over whom was their rightful leader, some say the leader of one side, Lord Reay was to become known as The Reay Mackay which along the years got changed to "The Real McCoy, again wrong.

3. Still others believe the phrase originates from a well known inventor Elijah McCoy who made a successful little doohickey for lubricating engines and motors, thus receiving the name after many inferior copies surfaced, again wrong.

4. I've heard that it actually derives from old William McCoy who ran Rum during the old Al Capone days (prohibition), they say he used to go north to Canada where you could get good quality rum and sold it as "real" rum as opposed to all the "home brew" of the time, clever, but no.

5. This one goes back to when I was a boy, it's very exciting as a youngster but out to lunch. To this day some believe the phrase comes from a man by the name of McCoy who would sell nitroglycerin to bank robbers and safecrackers who found it much faster than conventional ways of cracking a safe! (I envision a guy who looks like the Lone ranger with a stethoscope)

6. Some say that "McCoy" is simply a corruption of "Macao" which was and still is I imagine a source of a pure and sought after class of heroin, again wrong.

7. Joseph McCoy (1837-1915), became mayor of Abilene, Kansas as it developed into a sizeable town. He called himself 'The Real McCoy'.

8. After Kid McCoy (Norman Selby,1873-1940), American welterweight boxing champion. The story goes,and there are various versions of it that back in the day many lesser fighters were going around using this mans name and a drunk challenged Selby to prove that he was McCoy and not one of the many lesser boxers trading under the same name. After Noran finished his drink he got up and knocked the drunk to the floor with just one smack of his mighty mitts, when the poor soul finally came to he had to admit that 'Yes, that is the real McCoy alright', this is "The Real McCoy" and also the reasoning that goes behind every single one of my plays. You will never find me punching above my weight or reaching on a play! Like many McCoys that have gone before me we put 110% effort into everything we do, I welcome you to The Real McCoy and I hope to establish a long profitable relationship together!