On June 19, 1903 a Yankee legend by the name of Henry Louis Gehrig was born. Although stricken by poverty and his dad's battle with alcoholism, Gehrig's parents fought to give their son the education he deserved. His athletic prowess was noted at an early age by his parents. Gehrig was a gifted athlete in both football and baseball. His parents devotion to his school work and his athletics enabled Gehrig to enroll at Columbia University, playing both baseball and football. "Columbia Lou" quickly became a fan favorite.
Shortly after he started college, the Yankees began to notice Gehrig's talents as a baseball player . In April 1923, the Yankees signed Gehrig, who was just nineteen years old at the time, to a major league contract. Upon signing this contract he would earn $1,500, which helped his struggling parents in more ways than they could have ever imagined.
Sent in to replace the first baseman, June 15,1923 was Gehrig's introduction as a professional athlete for the New York Yankees. He went on to play 2,130 games consecutively, which broke a Major League record. (Gehrig's record was eventually surpassed by Cal Ripken Jr.) That is no ordinary feat,however. At that time, Gehrig did not just hold the record for consecutive games played in the MLB; throughout his career, he scored 100 runs each, thirteen seasons in a row. Through his leadership, the Yankees won six World Series Championships. Meanwhile Gehrig would earn the Triple Crown, break another Major League record, and became the first player to ever hit four home runs in one game in 1931.
Due to his diligent work ethic and the ability to play through any road block, Yankee fans nicknamed Gehrig "The Iron Horse." Also unlike many players in the major leagues todaywho are outspoken and very confident, Gehrig was much more reserved. He kept to himself more so than his other teammates. This did not fare well with some of them, especially Babe Ruth.
However, no one knew that Gehrig's last record-breaking season would occur in 1937. Just one year later in 1938, he started to have difficulty completing the most basic tasks such as tying his shoes. Although he still played through all of the pain, Gehrig had a below-average season. When the following season approached, Gehrig realized that he could no longer play baseball. After visiting many doctors, he was diagnosed with ALS (now known as Lou Gehrig's disease). On April 30, at the age of 35, Gehrig played in what would be his last game.
July 4, 1939 was the day that Gehrig would make his famous, inspirational speech in front of thousands of fans at Yankee Stadium. Wearing his old uniform, Gehrig couldn't help but fight back tears while addressing his teammates, managers, and everyone who supported his amazing career.
Many did not know that originally Gehrig did not want to give the speech, but with no script and no teleprompter here is Lou Gehrig's tearful, yet thankful goodbye speech:
Gehrig passed away on July 2nd, 1941 at the age of 37.
This is an example of how one man can go from living in poverty to becoming a Hall of Famer, while becoming an inspiration to millions of people.
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