I Still Dream of Swinging A Bat
Another day, another work out. Again, following my doctor’s advice, I increased my work out gradually from yesterday, and did no weight lifting. I walked 35 minutes on the treadmill, covering 1.63 miles and burning 325 calories.
I haven’t forgotten that baseball is a part of Stepping up To the Plate. Swinging a bat, fielding a grounder, and filling my mouth full of bubble gum is still a long range goal of my getting fit program. And I still have been studying my baseball history. I actually found several not well known facts about baseball’s minor leagues in 1962. Two athletes who became champions in other sports actually led their league in at least one statistic.
J.C. Snead led the Class D Western Carolina League in both runs scored (75) and home runs (9). Snead is the nephew of golf legend Sam Snead, and became a pro golfer himself in 1964. As a golfer he hit the long ball good enough to score eight wins on the PGA tour, and another four on the Champions Tour.
Dave DeBusschere led the South Atlantic League in Winning Percentage in 1962. Pitching for Savannah/Lynchburg, Debusschere finished the season with a 10-1 record. However, DeBusschere is far better known for his basketball career. He played in the NBA from 1962-1974 (yes he did play in two professional sports), and was well known for his defense and rebounding. He played with Willis Reed, Earl Monroe, Walt Frazier, and another “two sport star” on the1970 New York Knicks, arguably the Knicks greatest team. The other two sports star was Bill Bradley, later a U.S. Senator and a Presidential candidate. DeBusschere was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983, and died of a heart attack in 2003.
Thanks to Wikipedia and the Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball for the information on Snead and DeBusschere. And thank you for stopping by.
Hi Ron! It’s great that you are taking care of yourself. I try to follow your blog everyday. I am also starting my weight loss regime. Good luck , and listen to your Doc; it is frustrating to go so slow, but just keep thinking of how much further you’ll be in the long-run:>)
Marshall-I have really been pleased with all the emails and comments I have received from Twitter followers. This has been a great source of motivation for me. Keep me posted on how you are doing.