Lou Gehrig

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Lore & Background

A native of New York City and a student at Columbia University, Gehrig signed with the Yankees on April 29, 1923. He set several major-league records during his career, including the most career grand slams (23; since broken by Alex Rodriguez) and most consecutive games played (2,130), a record that stood for 56 years and was considered unbreakable until Cal Ripken Jr. surpassed it in 1995. Gehrig's consecutive game streak ended on May 2, 1939, when he voluntarily took himself out of the lineup, stunning both players and fans, after his performance in the field had become hampered by an undiagnosed ailment; it was subsequently confirmed to be amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an incurable neuromuscular illness that since then is sometimes referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease" in the United States. Gehrig never played again and retired in 1939 at age 36. Two weeks later, the ball club held a Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day on July 4, 1939, at the close of which he delivered his speech declaring himself the "luckiest man on the face of the earth" at Yankee Stadium. Two years later, Gehrig died of complications from ALS. In 1969, the Baseball Writers' Association of America voted Gehrig the greatest first baseman of all time, and he was the leading vote-getter on the MLB All-Century Team, chosen by fans in 1999. A monument in Gehrig's honor, originally dedicated by the Yankees on July 4, 1941, prominently features in Monument Park at the new Yankee Stadium. The Lou Gehrig Memorial Award is given annually to the MLB player who best exhibits Gehrig's integrity and character.

In Their Own Story

The air inside the original Yankee Stadium was thick with anticipation on that sweltering Fourth of July. Lou stood at the podium, gripping the microphone as forty thousand voices fell silent. He looked out over the sea of faces, his eyes scanning the familiar dugout where he had spent sixteen years. It was not a moment of triumph, but of profound gratitude, as he prepared to tell them why he felt he was the luckiest man on earth.

Reader's Guide

Gehrig was born June 19, 1903, at 1994 Second Avenue in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City. He was the second of four children of German immigrants Anna Christina Foch and Heinrich Wilhelm Gehrig. Gehrig's father was a sheet-metal worker by trade who was frequently unemployed due to alcoholism and epilepsy, and his mother, a maid, was the main breadwinner and disciplinarian in their family. Gehrig was the only one of the four siblings to live past childhood. He spoke German during his childhood, not learning English until the age of five. Gehrig attended PS 132 in Washington Heights, then went to Commerce High School, graduating in 1921. He first garnered national attention for his baseball ability while playing in a game at Cubs Park (now Wrigley Field) in Chicago on June 26, 1920, when he hit a grand slam completely out of the major league park. Gehrig studied engineering at Columbia University for two years, leaving to pursue professional baseball. He signed a contract with the Yankees on April 30, 1923. Gehrig made his major-league debut as a pinch hitter at age 19 on June 15, 1923. On June 2, 1925, he replaced Wally Pipp at first base and went on to appear in every game the Yankees played until April 30, 1939. In 1927, Gehrig put together one of the greatest seasons by any batter in history, hitting .373, with 218 hits, 47 home runs, a then-record 175 RBIs, a .474 on-base percentage and a .765 slugging percentage.

Did You Know?

• Gehrig weighed almost 14 pounds (6.4 kg) at birth.
• He hit a grand slam completely out of Wrigley Field at age 17.
• Gehrig struck out 17 batters in a college game for Columbia on April 18, 1923.
• He was the first MLB player to have his uniform number retired by a team.