I was at the Ticat store at Limeridge yesterday and they now have Earl "The Pearl" Winfield shirts. A head shot of Earl with "The Pearl" written below the picture.
Go and check it out. Very kool!
Hmmm..... I can't remember that nickname being used with him during his days here. I've always associated it with the NBA player Earl "the Pearl" Munroe. Can anyone remember from Winfield's days with us?
Yes, and yes. Praise Be His Name.
I remember him being called Earl "The Whirl" Winfield. One of the greatest Tiger-Cats in team history to never win the Grey Cup.
Fixed it for you.
It was always "Pearl" never heard him called "Whirl"
I remember Bob Irving trying to force the nickname “The Pearl” on CFN broadcasts, but it always made me wince, and I didn’t think it gained wide traction. Even today it sounds to me like something Rod Black would come up with. In my mind, pearls are associated with frail elderly women. I know the intention of the name is to imply rarity or value, but I never thought it was suitable for a football player. And apart from rhyming with his given name, there was nothing meaningful about it that was specific to him: it didn’t describe anything distinctive about his appearance, personality or style of play, unlike genuinely great nicknames.
That being said, I still remember making the decision to get #1 crested on my blank TIcats home jersey after the big labour day performance in '88. 
Great player, deserved a better nickname.
He almost didn't need a nickname. What name could be better for a football player than "Winfield"? Maybe "Touchdown" or "Sack Machine" or something. Or perhaps "Champion".
Just imagine having a “Winfield” a “Champion” a “Rocky” and a “Knight” all in the same receiving corps. 
I think that was a few years after DeWayne Jett played WR for us.
I recall "Whirl" as well being the nickname, with many of the non-imaginative going with the Earl Campbell reference to Pearl.