(deadspin.com)Holy alleged eugenics, Boston! A sister of Boston's resident best athlete (sorry, JaJuan Johnson) is getting married to its resident Greek god (sorry, Niko Koutouvides), if this story is true, anyway.
(jewishjournal.com)The Youkilis family name has an unusual history from his entry on Wikipedia. His Jewish great-great-great-grandfather, a native of 19th-century Romania, moved to Greece at the age of 16 to avoid conscription at the hands of the notoriously anti-Semitic Cossacks. He became homesick, however, and returned to Romania after a couple of years, although he changed his surname from “Weiner” to the Greek name, “Youkilis”, to avoid army and jail. Some researchers make use of distinctive surnames to identify distinct ethnic populations, the Youkilis surename was definitely a curveball for Kevin.
“People have come up to me and starting speaking Greek to me and I don’t speak it,” Youkilis said. “I feel bad. Ever since I was in Lowell (Class A), people have thought I was Greek. People shout at me, ‘I’m Greek, you’re Greek.’ But I’m not.”
Youkilis is the son of a Romanian Jewish jewelry wholesaler, who Youkilis has described as a
“well-known third baseman in the Jewish Community Center fast-pitch softball league.”
He's a Greek God? Someone didn't tell some people in liberal Boston
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