The Mad Russian Did It, So Can I

I had a great work out yesterday, 45 minutes of cardio and a full session of lifting, upper body, lower body, and the abdominal machine.  I lifted 9.650 pounds in seven arm routines; I lifted 8,250 pounds in three leg routines; and, I did 1,800 pounds on the abdominal machine.  That gave me a total of 19,700 pounds.  I walked 2.41 miles on the treadmill and burned 557 calories. 

 

I also had a good day eating yesterday, with baked chicken being the main course of my supper.  I plan on working out again tonight, the seventh day in a row of work outs, and will try to watch my snack intake as I am watching the Duke vs. North Carolina basketball game.

 

I haven’t mentioned any esoteric statistics from the Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball lately, but I still have been frequenting that volume far too often.  Last night I was looking at the year 1940:

 

-there were 45 minor leagues in 1940, including the independent Mexican League.  There were a total of 312 teams playing minor league baseball.

 

-the St. Louis Cardinals had 31 farm teams, while the Philadelphia Athletics and the Chicago Cubs had only 4 farm teams each.

 

-the Scranton Red of the Class A Eastern League outdrew the major league Philadelphia Phillies 232,266 to 207,177.

 

-the Norfolk, NE Yankees had the widest pennant winning margin in the minor league, finishing 16 ½ games ahead of the Sioux Falls Canaries in the Class D Western League.

 

-Negro League baseball great Cool Papa Bell played for Torreon of the Mexican League, and led the league in batting average with a “cool” .437.  Bell also had 167 hits, 79 runs batted in, and 12 home runs to lead the league in those categories too.

 

-Los Angeles Angel outfielder Lou Novikoff was NOT the Pacific Coast League MVP despite leading the league with a .363 batting average, leading the league in runs scored with 147, leading the league with 259 hits, driving in a league leading 171 runs, and out-slugging every other PCL hitter with 41 home runs.  Until I saw these stats I had never heard of Novikoff.  Doing a Google search, I found he played with the Chicago Cubs during the war years, and finished his baseball career in 1946 with the Philadelphia Phillies.  He was known as the Mad Russian, and played softball as Lou Nova as late as 1968.  He died in 1970 at the age of 55.

 

Old-timers like Lou were able to play ball into the 1960’s, so my crazy scheme of playing baseball again is only a little whacky.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

 

~ by Ron Meyer on February 12, 2009.