I live just a few miles from Van Meter, Iowa. That’s the birthplace and boyhood home (and museum site) of one of the 
greatest baseball players in history, fireballing pitcher Bob Feller, The Heater from Van Meter, who died at age 92 Wednesday night. Joe DiMaggio called his curve ball “not human.” Ted Williams, the greatest hitter in the game, said he feared no pitcher, but when his Red Sox were scheduled to face Feller and the Cleveland Indians, Williams would chant Bob Feller’s name for two or three days before the game, like a mantra, to get himself psyched up to face the iconic pitcher.
I generally don’t like to use sports analogies on this blog because this health information is for all people, not just jocks and fans. But this is special for a couple reasons:
1) Feller was a physical specimen. Not a body builder or someone with an elite physique. Rather, feller excelled throughout a 20-year career where he threw baseballs harder and faster than anyone in the game; fastballs that were clocked at nearly 107 mph (compared to today’s high range of 97-99 mph). He pitched a complete game–a full nine innings–300 times. Today, hardly any pitcher throws nine innings. 6 or 7 is about it for a starter. Gotta preserve the arm. In other words, Feller had a physical endurance and career longevity that was nothing short of astounding. People recall him taking the mound when we was 70 and 80 years old and still slinging it across the plate with some major zip.
2) Feller grew up on a farm. He was around hay, corn, pollen, hogs and all the bacterial and allergenic exposure that goes with the farm life, and, as research shows, can significantly define your immune system for the rest of your life. The Hygiene Hypothesis . Feller said his arm really wasn’t sore during his career. He didn’t ice it. “Ice is for cold drinks,” he said.
I would wager that Feller’s immune system–shaped by exposure to immune-shaping microbes on the farm–may have played a big role in his success and long life; balanced to the point of evading any major joint and muscle inflammation, and helping him live to a ripe old age without major illness (that is, until he succumbed to complications from leukemia), and, at least in part, enabling his physical durability for all those years.
That’s just my theory. Genes may also have played a big role. Who knows. If I’m wrong, please God, don’t let a Feller fastball strike me down!
I live just a few miles from Van Meter, Iowa. That’s the birthplace and boyhood home (and museum site) of one of the
greatest baseball players in history, fireballing pitcher Bob Feller, The Heater from Van Meter, who died at age 92 Wednesday night. Joe DiMaggio called his curve ball “not human.” Ted Williams, the greatest hitter in the game, said he feared no pitcher, but when his Red Sox were scheduled to face Feller and the Cleveland Indians, Williams would chant Bob Feller’s name for two or three days before the game, like a mantra, to get himself psyched up to face the iconic pitcher.
I generally don’t like to use sports analogies on this blog because this health information is for all people, not just jocks and fans. But this is special for a couple reasons:
1) Feller was a physical specimen. Not a body builder or someone with an elite physique. Rather, feller excelled throughout a 20-year career where he threw baseballs harder and faster than anyone in the game; fastballs that were clocked at nearly 107 mph (compared to today’s high range of 97-99 mph). He pitched a complete game–a full nine innings–300 times. Today, hardly any pitcher throws nine innings. 6 or 7 is about it for a starter. Gotta preserve the arm. In other words, Feller had a physical endurance and career longevity that was nothing short of astounding. People recall him taking the mound when we was 70 and 80 years old and still slinging it across the plate with some major zip.
2) Feller grew up on a farm. He was around hay, corn, pollen, hogs and all the bacterial and allergenic exposure that goes with the farm life, and, as research shows, can significantly define your immune system for the rest of your life. The Hygiene Hypothesis . Feller said his arm really wasn’t sore during his career. He didn’t ice it. “Ice is for cold drinks,” he said.
I would wager that Feller’s immune system–shaped by exposure to immune-shaping microbes on the farm–may have played a big role in his success and long life; balanced to the point of evading any major joint and muscle inflammation, and helping him live to a ripe old age without major illness (that is, until he succumbed to complications from leukemia), and, at least in part, enabling his physical durability for all those years.
That’s just my theory. Genes may also have played a big role. Who knows. If I’m wrong, please God, don’t let a Feller fastball strike me down!