Lou Gehrig - Lou Gehrig's Disease

Lou Gehrig’s later glory came from humble beginnings. He was born on June 19, 1903 in New York City. The son of German immigrants, Gehrig was the only one of four children to survive. His mother, Christina, worked tirelessly, cooking, cleaning houses and taking in laundry to make ends meet. His father, Heinrich, often had trouble finding work and had poor health.

Christina was adamant that Gehrig receive a good education, so in 1921 he went to Columbia on a football scholarship to pursue a degree in engineering. Before his first semester began, New York Giants manager John McGraw advised him to play summer professional baseball under an assumed name, Henry Lewis. “Everyone does it,” McGraw explained, even though the illegal ball playing could have jeopardized Gehrig’s collegiate sports career. Lou Gehrig was discovered after playing a dozen games for Hartford in the Eastern League. As a result, he was banned from intercollegiate sports during his freshman year.

Gehrig returned to sports as a fullback at Columbia during the 1922 football season, and then pitched and played first base for the Columbia Nine in 1923. When baseball scout Paul Krichell saw the Columbia baseball team play, Lou Gehrig’s hitting skills impressed him so much that he signed Gehrig to the Yankees in 1923 with a $1,500 bonus. Lou Gehrig left Columbia and returned to the Hartford team, where he hit .304 that season. When he was called up to the majors in September, he hit .423 in 26 at-bats.

Yankee manager Miller Huggins petitioned McGraw to permit Gehrig to replace the ailing Wally Pipp on the Yanks’ roster for the World Series. McGraw, always looking for an edge, exercised his prerogative and refused. The Yankees won the World Series that year anyway. After a full season at Hartford, where Gehrig hit .369, he became a Yankee for good in 1925. Once he replaced Wally Pipp at first base, Gehrig didn’t leave the playing field for over 13 years.

Lou Gehrig’s consecutive game streak of 2,130 games (a record that stood until Cal Ripken, Jr. broke it in 1995) did not come easily. He played well every day despite a broken thumb, a broken toe and back spasms. Later in his career Gehrig’s hands were X-rayed, and doctors were able to spot 17 different fractures that had “healed” while Gehrig continued to play. Despite having pain from lumbago one day, he was listed as the shortstop and leadoff hitter. He singled and was promptly replaced but kept the streak intact. His endurance and strength earned him the nickname “Iron Horse.”

After batting .295 in 1925, the next year Gehrig hit .313 and led the league with 20 triples. This was the first of 12 consecutive years he would top .300. The Yankees won the pennant and Gehrig hit .348 in the World Series, but the Yankees lost to Rogers Hornsby’s Cardinals in seven games.

Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig began to dominate the baseball headlines in 1927 in a way two players had never done before. That year Ruth hit 60 homers, breaking his old record of 59, and Gehrig clouted 47, more than anyone other than Ruth had ever hit. As late as August 10th, Gehrig had more homers than the Babe, but Ruth’s closing kick was spectacular. Together they out-homered every team in baseball except one.

The Yankees chased away all competition, winning the flag by 19 games over the A’s and sweeping the Pirates in the World Series. Ruth was not eligible for the Most Valuable Player Award, because he had won it before, so it went to Gehrig. In 1928, the pair tied for the RBI lead with 142 and put on quite a show in the World Series. Despite being walked six times, Lou Gehrig hit .545.

Ruth’s dominance as a power hitter was slipping, and Gehrig began to take his place. On June 3, 1932, Gehrig became the fist American Leaguer to hit four home runs in a game. After Gehrig’s third homer to right field in a game against Philadelphia, an irritated Connie Mack removed pitcher George Earnshaw and demanded that Earnshaw stay with him to watch relief pitcher Roy Mahaffey pitch to Gehrig. Gehrig’s fourth homer was to left field and only a great catch by Al Simmons kept Gehrig from hitting his fifth homer of the day.

The Yankees missed the post-season three years in a row (1933-1935). During an off-season barnstorming trip to Japan, the civil relationship between the two slugging stars boiled over, apparently over a comment that Gehrig’s mother had made about how Ruth’s daughter dressed. Ruth got word to Gehrig that he never wanted to speak to him off the field again, and the two never traded words until “Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day” six years later.

To read more about Lou Gehrig visit the official site at www.lougehrig.com