Lou Gehrig
June 19, 1903 — June 2, 1941 — New York, USA
Lou Gehrig was an American baseball first baseman for the New York Yankees whose record of 2,130 consecutive games played earned him the nickname "the Iron Horse," and whose farewell speech on July 4, 1939 — delivered after his diagnosis with ALS — became one of the most celebrated in the history of American sport.
Columbia Man to Yankee Star
Born Henry Louis Gehrig on June 19, 1903, in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, Gehrig was the child of German immigrants and grew up in a working-class household. His athletic talent was obvious early — he excelled at football and baseball at the High School of Commerce and drew attention from major-league scouts while playing for Columbia University. The Yankees signed him in 1923 and he joined the lineup permanently in 1925. Playing in the shadow of Babe Ruth, Gehrig nonetheless established himself as one of the most productive hitters in baseball: a .340 lifetime average, 493 home runs, and a pair of Triple Crown seasons, including the 1934 campaign in which he led the American League in every traditional offensive category.
The Consecutive Games Streak
On June 1, 1925, Gehrig pinch-hit and the next day started at first base. He would not miss a game for the next fourteen seasons. The streak reached 2,130 consecutive games, surpassing Everett Scott's previous mark in 1932 and not being broken until Cal Ripken Jr. passed it in 1995. Gehrig played through broken fingers, back spasms, and beaning incidents that left him concussed. The 1927 Yankees — often called the greatest team ever assembled — featured Gehrig and Ruth combining for 107 home runs in a lineup so potent it was called "Murderers' Row." Gehrig himself batted .373 with 47 home runs and 175 RBIs that season.
Did You Know?
Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak had an unplanned beginning: on June 1, 1925, manager Miller Huggins put him in as a pinch-hitter for shortstop Pee Wee Wanninger. The next day, regular first baseman Wally Pipp asked for a day off due to a headache, and Gehrig took his spot. Pipp never reclaimed his starting position — and "getting a case of Wally Pipp" became a baseball expression for being permanently replaced.
ALS and the Farewell Speech
In the spring of 1939 Gehrig noticed his coordination and strength deteriorating. He benched himself on May 2 — ending the streak at his own insistence. The Mayo Clinic delivered the diagnosis: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive motor neuron disease. On July 4, 1939, Yankee Stadium held a ceremony in his honor, and Gehrig addressed the crowd with a speech that began: "Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." He was elected to the Hall of Fame that same year, with the five-year waiting period waived. The disease has since commonly been called Lou Gehrig's disease.
Legacy
Lou Gehrig died on June 2, 1941, just two weeks before his 38th birthday. His uniform number 4 was the first number retired by any Major League Baseball team. More than eight decades later, Gehrig consistently ranks among the top five players in baseball history in surveys of historians and veterans. The ALS Association has carried his name into the modern era, and his "luckiest man" speech is regularly cited as a model of grace under pressure — a statement of gratitude delivered at the moment of greatest personal loss.