His nickname has been reported as coming from his beer-drinking days in his hometown of Meridian, Mississippi, where beer is referred to as "oil." However, in a September 2012 interview, he said that wasn\'t strictly true; it was actually "rot-gut whiskey" from the neighborhood moonshiner. \n', '

Boyd attended Jackson State University. He was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 16th round of the 1980 amateur draft, and made his debut in the 1982 season. He pitched 10 years in the majors before blood clots in his right arm ended his career. According to the Inside Baseball portion of the April 27, 1987 Sports Illustrated, Boyd listed Haiti in the \'87 Red Sox yearbook as his favorite vacation destination.\n', '

In a 10-season career, Boyd collected a 78-77 record with 799 strikeouts and a 4.04 ERA in 1389.2 innings.\n', '

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