Lou Gehrig

Lore & Background

Lou Gehrig Day is now recognized in the MLB on June 2, which is the date that Gehrig became the Yankees' starting first baseman and also the date he died. Due to Pete Frates' efforts in creating Lou Gehrig Day, Frates is honored in the 'ALS and Baseball' exhibit in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, which also includes Lou Gehrig and Catfish Hunter.

Early life

Lou Gehrig was born on June 19, 1903, in East Harlem, New York City, weighing nearly 14 pounds. He was the second of four children of German immigrants Heinrich Wilhelm Gehrig and Anna Christina Foch. His father, a sheet-metal worker, was often unemployed due to alcoholism and epilepsy, while his mother worked as a maid and was the family's main provider. Gehrig spoke German as a child and did not learn English until age five.

He helped his mother with chores like folding laundry. Two of his sisters died from whooping cough and measles, and a brother died in infancy. He attended PS 132 and Commerce High School, graduating in 1921. In 1920, playing for Commerce High at Cubs Park in Chicago, he hit a grand slam out of the major league park, an unprecedented feat for a 17-year-old.

College career

Gehrig studied engineering at Columbia University for two years but left due to academic difficulty. He had earned a football scholarship and later joined the baseball team. Before his first semester, New York Giants manager John McGraw advised him to play summer professional baseball under the assumed name Henry Lewis, which cost him his collegiate sports eligibility for his freshman year.

In 1922, he played fullback for Columbia's football team, and in 1923 he played first base and pitched for the baseball team. On April 18, 1923, the same day Yankee Stadium opened, Gehrig struck out 17 batters for Columbia, setting a team record. Yankees scout Paul Krichell, impressed by Gehrig's powerful left-handed hitting, saw him as "the next Babe Ruth." Gehrig was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

Minor leagues

Gehrig signed with the Yankees on April 30, 1923, and returned to the minor league Hartford Senators for parts of two seasons, 1923 and 1924. In 193 games, he batted .344 and hit 61 home runs. Except for his time in Hartford, Gehrig played his entire baseball career—sandlot, high school, college, and professional—with teams based in New York City. He joined the Yankees midway through the 1923 season, making his major-league debut as a pinch hitter on June 15, 1923.

Initially stuck behind first baseman Wally Pipp, Gehrig saw limited playing time. On June 2, 1925, Pipp sat out with a headache, and Gehrig replaced him, eventually playing every game until April 30, 1939. In 1925, Gehrig batted .295 with 20 home runs and 68 RBIs.