Lou Gehrig 2,130 Consecutive Games Played

Lore & Background

Gehrig's streak started as a pinch-hitter. The next day he started at first base in place of slumping Wally Pipp and stayed there for fourteen years. On July 14, 1934, Gehrig, suffering from an attack of lumbago, was listed in the Yankee lineup at shortstop. He batted in the top of the first inning to preserve the streak, singled, and was promptly removed from the game. Gehrig's streak was ended by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease that would take his life. His physical abilities rapidly declining, Gehrig told manager Joe McCarthy to take him out of the lineup on May 2, 1939. He never played again, dying in 1941.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Yankee Stadium on that May afternoon in 1939 felt heavier than usual, charged with a collective dread the fans couldn't quite name. Lou Gehrig walked toward the plate, his bat feeling like lead and his gait betraying a weakness that had been creeping up for months. When Joe McCarthy signaled him to leave the game, the stadium didn't roar; it held its breath in a silence so profound it drowned out the crowd noise.

Reader's Guide

A consecutive game playing streak is extended if the player plays one half inning on defense, or completes a time at bat by reaching base or being put out. A pinch running appearance only shall not extend the streak. If a player is ejected before complying, the streak continues.

Did You Know?

• Before Gehrig, the record was held by Everett Scott (1,307 consecutive games), a shortstop with the Red Sox and Yankees whose streak ended in 1925, less than a month before Gehrig's began.
• Scott broke the record held by George Pinkney: 577 consecutive games from 1885 to 1890.
• Gehrig's streak is considered one of baseball's unbreakable records, though Ripken's 2,632-game streak now holds the mark.