List of Backyard Kids

Backyard Kids with kid-sized Albert Pujols. From left to right: Samantha, Pablo, Ernie, Albert Pujols, Joey, Vicki

The Backyard Kids are fictional characters in Humongous Inc.'s Backyard Sports series of video games, ranging from 9 to 12 years of age. They live in the Junior Sports Neighborhood, as stated in the first five Backyard Sports games. Below is the latest list of the 22 Backyard kids, nicknames and bios currents as of July 2007:

Achmed "Axeman, Rockmed" 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.

Angela "Sugar Pop, Gelly" 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.

Annie "Flipper, Fraiz" Frazier is a serene and content nature-lover who can be recognized by the signature green stocking 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.

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.

Ashley Raelynn “Little Smokey Ash” and Sidney "Little Smokey Sid" Webber are 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. The twins love tennis, fashion and pampering their own twin Labrador retrievers.

Dante "Stretch, D-lish" 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 "Paste, Petridish" 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.

Ernie "Funnybones, Big E, Big Easy" 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 gangly at times, but if he learned to tap into his hidden athleticism more, he could dominate on the field.

Joey “Joey Mac” 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.

Jorge "Bonkers, Georgie-Boy" 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. 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 "Flash, Shuga" 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 is best friends with happy-go-lucky Maria Luna.

Lisa "Mad Dog" Crockett 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, Mooney" 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.

Marky "Cootie, Skippy" 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 Billyjean Blackwood was discontinued (see below list), he had a crush on her.

Pablo "Secret Weapon, Pabs" Sanchez is the “quiet hero” of the backyard kids. He’s one of the shortest and smallest of the kids, but he never ceases to amaze on the field. He excels at every sport, and never stops working hard and giving his all. He always speaks Spanish, but in certain games, like Backyard Baseball 2003, he will speak English if you hold Shift and click his picture in a team photo. He claims to be a beginner in Spanish.

Pete "Wheelie, Wheels" Wheeler may not seem like the brightest bulb, and is always yawning 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, Reesie" 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.

Ricky Alexander "Fella, Jo Jo" Johnson is one of the tallest backyard kids, and tends to be a bit quiet and shy. His favorite hobby is drawing, and his favorite sport by far is football. His dad is a part time football coach, so Ricky grew up learning the game.

Samantha “Sam” or “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.

Tony "Vec, TD, Tony D" 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 "Swan, Gooch" 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. Until Baseball 2007, she loved ballet.

Below is a list of older, discontinued backyard kids:

Ronny "Spud" Dobbs
Sally "The Boss" Dobbs
Mikey "Nugget" Thomas
Kenny "K-Man" Kawaguchi (Vicki’s older brother)
Kimmy "Twinkle Toes" Eckman
Billy Jean "Crazy Legs" Blackwood
Stephanie "Bubbles" Morgan (she makes a cameo appearance in Baseball 2007 as a custom character in the season story mode)
Luanne "Lulu" Lui
Gretchen "Jabberjaw" Hasselhoff(she makes a cameo appearance in Baseball 2007 as a custom character in the season story mode)
Jocinda "MVP" Smith
Amir "Sticks" Khan (Achmed's younger brother)(he makes a cameo appearance in Baseball 2007 as a custom character in the season story mode)

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", and Lisa Crockett 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.

There are some characters who have appeared in the Backyard Sports series of games, like Thor Herring "Lemon Boy", who often has full stats (10/10 in everything) except in Backyard Football 2006. However, they are not Backyard Kids, because they did not have their first appearance in Backyard Baseball (1997). They 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, and are often unlockable players.

It is important to mention the commentators in the games. 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 on), 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) and Abner Dubbleplay (voiced by Adam Watson) (a joke on Abner Doubleday and double play)
Football: Chuck Downfield (voiced by Klem Daniels and Dave Rivas)
Basketball: Barry Dejay (voiced by Dex Manley)
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 {a play on air extreme)