WHY are cramps called 'Charlie horses' in the US?

Answer 1

There are two schools of thought when it comes to the term "Charlie horse".

The first one is of American origin and claims that the term originated in Chicago way back in the 1890's. It seems that the local baseball team, the Chicago White Sox had a groundskeeper that went by the name Charlie. Charlie owned a horse that would pull rollers across the field in order to try and keep it level and to prevent bad hop grounders from skipping up and injuring the players. Well, one day, poor old Charlie's horse came up lame and the term stuck and was used when a ballplayer went down with a leg injury.

The second one is attributed to the constables of jolly ol' England. Apparently they were nicknamed "Charlie"s and because they were on their feet an awful lot walking the beats and chasing down the less desirables, they were often prone to getting leg cramps. Hence, the cramps became known as "riding Charlie's horse" and term endured even when it came stateside.

Answer 2

originally Charlie horses were the cramps you got when somone hit you really hard and the muscle spasmed and cramped. the the term generalized and jsut a muscle cramp came to be known as a "charlie horse"

but the term came from this guy named charlie who had a horse, and it would always kick people and then they would get a cramp and hence the term "charlie horse"

Answer 3

I've always heard it had something to do with a horse named Charley but look at the source below and there are many other guesses where it might have orginated.

Answer 4

people say its becuz you feel like you are getting kicked by a horse. why they call it charley? i have no clue!