Historical Figure
Lou Gehrig
d. 1941
American baseball player (1903–1941)
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"Farewell to Baseball" — July 4, 1939
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Biography
Henry Louis Gehrig 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.
Timeline
The story of Lou Gehrig, told in moments.
Pinch-hits for Pee-Wee Wanninger and starts a consecutive games streak that will last 2,130 games. Fourteen straight seasons without missing a day. He plays through broken fingers, back spasms, and fevers. Nobody forces him. He just shows up.
Wins the Triple Crown, batting .363 with 49 home runs and 166 RBIs. He plays alongside Babe Ruth. Ruth gets the headlines. Gehrig gets the numbers. He doesn't seem to mind.
Gives his farewell speech at Yankee Stadium. "Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." He's been diagnosed with ALS. The disease will carry his name forever. He can barely stand at the microphone. 61,808 people listen.
Dies at his home in Riverdale, the Bronx. He was 37. Exactly 16 years to the day after his streak began.
In Their Own Words (3)
Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for 17 years, and I have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day?
Speech made on Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day at Yankee at Yankee Stadium (July 4, 1939), 1939
So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for.
Speech made on Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day at Yankee at Yankee Stadium (July 4, 1939), 1939
In the beginning I used to make one terrible play a game. Then I got so I'd make one a week and finally I'd pull a bad one about once a month. Now, I'm trying to keep it down to one a season.
Artifacts (13)
1926 New York Yankees Autographed Baseball
Ruth, Babe
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negative reviews from critics. Variety's Peter DeBruge called the film "a high-concept misfire" and wrote: "In practice, it's been a nearly impossible project to get made, passing through the hands of...
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