Lou Gehrig

The Iron Horse: Lou Gehrig, Yankee legend and symbol of strength.

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Henry Louis Gehrig ( ; born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig; June 19, 1903 – June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. Gehrig was renowned for his prowess as a hitter and for his durability, which earned him the nickname "the Iron Horse", and he is regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Gehrig was an All-Star seven consecutive times, a Triple Crown winner once, an American League (AL) Most Valuable Player twice and a member of six World Series champion teams. He had a career .340 batting average, .632 slugging average, and a .447 on-base average. He hit 493 home runs and had 1,995 runs batted in (RBIs). He is also one of 21 players to hit four home runs in a single game. In 1939, Gehrig was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and was the first MLB player to have his uniform number retired by a team when his number 4 was retired by the Yankees.

Quick Facts

Position: First baseman
Bats: Left
Born: 19 June 1903
Birthplace: Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Died: 2 June 1941
Place of death: The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Debut league: MLB
Debut date: June 15

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 in 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.

Reader's Guide

Gehrig was born June 19, 1903, at 1994 Second Avenue in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City; he weighed almost 14 lb at birth. He was the second of four children of German immigrants Anna Christina Foch (1881–1954) and Heinrich Wilhelm Gehrig (1867–1946). 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's mother Christina was born in 1881 in Wilster, Schleswig-Holstein, a province of pre-World War I Germany near the Danish border. She emigrated to the United States in 1899. His father Heinrich was born in 1867 in Adelsheim, Baden (now part of Baden-Württemberg), and came to the U.S. in October 1888. Heinrich originally spent some time in Chicago, but later settled in New York, where he met Christina, who was 14 years his junior. Both parents were Lutheran. They married in 1900. Gehrig was the only one of the four siblings to live past childhood. His two sisters died at early ages from whooping cough and measles; a brother also died in infancy. From a young age, Gehrig helped his mother with work, doing tasks such as folding laundry and picking up supplies from local stores. Gehrig spoke German during his childhood, not learning English until the age of five. In 1910, he lived with his parents at 2266 Amsterdam Avenue in Washington Heights. Ten years later, the family resided at 2079 8th Avenue in Manhattan. He was known as "Lou" so he would not be confused with his namesake father, who was known as Henry. 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. His Commerce High School team was playing a local team from Lane Tech High School in front of a crowd of more than 10,000 spectators. With his team leading 8–6 in the top of the ninth inning, Gehrig hit a grand slam completely out of the major league park, which was an unheard-of feat for a 17-year-old. Gehrig studied engineering at Columbia University for two years. Finding the schoolwork difficult, he left Columbia to pursue a career in professional baseball.