Novikoff, Lou, 1915-1970.

Louie Alexander Novikoff (Louis Alexandrovich Novikoff) was a life-long softball player who batted his way into major league baseball during the Second World War.

One of twelve children, Lou Novikoff was born 12 October 1915 in Glendale, Arizona to Russian immigrants Alexander Ivanovich Novikoff and Julia Simonva Zadorkin. He attended Kern County High School. He pitched in a professional softball league in Southern California before becoming an outfielder in the minor leagues. Before his ascent to the majors Novikoff won batting titles in four minor leagues: Three-I, Texas, Pacific Coast, and the American Association. The Sporting News named him the "No. 1 Minor League Player of 1939." Although Novikoff was a powerful hitter and a favorite of the Chicago fans, his major league career was short-lived and plagued with controversy and contract disputes. He played for the Chicago Cubs (1941-1944), returned to the minor leagues (1945), played for the Philadelphia Phillies (1946), and returned to the minor leagues again until 1951. Throughout his baseball career Novikoff worked in oil fields and the steel industry during the off-season. At the close of his baseball career he worked as a longshoreman in California and pitched for the Long Beach Nitehawks for many more years. In 1965 he was inducted into the Softball Hall of Fame by the International Softball Congress. While playing softball Novikoff sometimes went by the name Lou Neva or Lou Nova. Novikoff's eccentricities and powerful hitting earned him nicknames such as "The Mad Russian," "The Soviet Slugger," "The Moscow Mauler," and "The Clouting Cossack." Lou Novikoff was married first to Esther Volkoff and later to Tanya Koseroff (Tatiana Moisevna Kosirev). Lou Novikoff died 30 September 1970 in Southgate, California.

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