Gehrig Replaces Pipp: The Start of a Legendary Streak

Wally Pipp had a headache. That single detail, possibly apocryphal, became the most famous excuse in baseball history for losing a job. On June 2, 1925, Yankees manager Miller Huggins started Lou Gehrig at first base in place of Pipp, who had been mired in a slump on a team that was underperforming badly. Gehrig went 3-for-5 with a double. Pipp never reclaimed the position. The headache story likely grew in the retelling. Pipp himself offered varying accounts over the years, and sportswriters of the era mentioned a general lineup shakeup by Huggins rather than a single medical complaint. What is clear is that Huggins was disgusted with his club’s performance and wanted younger, hungrier players. Gehrig, a 21-year-old former Columbia University football player built like a blacksmith, had been showing extraordinary power in batting practice and limited pinch-hitting appearances. Gehrig’s debut at first base launched a streak of 2,130 consecutive games that became baseball’s most iconic endurance record. He played through fractures, illness, and injuries that would have sidelined most athletes for weeks. His production was staggering: a .340 lifetime batting average, 493 home runs, and a record 23 grand slams. For most of the 1930s, he hit behind Babe Ruth in the most feared batting lineup ever assembled, and opposing managers sometimes walked Ruth intentionally to pitch to Gehrig, a strategy that rarely worked. Pipp was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 1926 and played three more solid seasons. He lived until 1965, long enough to hear his name invoked every time someone lost their job to an understudy. The lesson attached to his story has outlived its accuracy: never take a day off, because the person behind you might be Lou Gehrig.