What's with #859, anyway?

In the AFM, each rider is assigned a number. Numbers go from 1 to 999. 1 through 10 are assigned to last year's championship riders. 11-99 are reserved for long-time members of the club and are fairly coveted. The rest of us get the 3-digit numbers, and most first-year riders are randomly assigned something in the 800s or 900s. After the first year, you can request lower numbers if you want.

As a first-year rider, I wanted a number with a little meaning, so I picked one not assigned already and that I could live with for my racing career. #859 it was.

What's the origin? My 3 favorite Baltimore Orioles: Cal Ripken (#8), Brooks Robinson (#5) and Brady Anderson (#9). Now a purist might wonder at the inclusion of Brady with the other two all-time greats, and I might be inclined to agree, but he played with a sort of reckless abandon that appealed to me. And #854 was already taken.

You'll need to look up who #4 is.

Cheers...