Lou gehrig speech
- •
Lou Gehrig
Hall of Fame baseball player Lou Gehrig was born in New York City in 1903. A standout football and baseball player, Gehrig signed his first contract with the New York Yankees in April 1923. Over the next 15 years he led the team to six World Series titles and set the mark for most consecutive games played. He retired in 1939 after getting diagnosed with ALS. Gehrig passed away from the disease in 1941.
Early Years
Henry Louis Gehrig was born in the Yorkville section of Manhattan in New York City, on June 19, 1903. His parents, Heinrich and Christina Gehrig, were German immigrants who’d moved to their new country just a few years before their son’s birth.
The only one of the four Gehrig children to survive infancy, Lou faced a childhood that was shaped by poverty. His father struggled to stay sober and keep a job, while his mother, a strong woman who was intent on creating a better life for her son, worked constantly, cleaning houses and cooking meals for wealthy New Yorkers.
A devoted parent, Christina pushed hard for her son to get a good education
- •
About Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis “Lou” Gehrig (June 19, 1903 – June 2, 1941), nicknamed “The Iron Horse” for his durability, played his entire 17-year baseball career (1923-1939) at first base for the New York Yankees. He played the game when baseball was filled with infamously rough and colorful characters, yet he displayed an uncommon modesty and honor both on and off the field. Gehrig is remembered for his prowess as a hitter and his consecutive games-played record, which went unbroken until 1995. But Gehrig’s dignity, courage, perseverance, and gratitude—during times of fame and times of personal tragedy—are what set him apart as an American hero.
Today Gehrig is best remembered for his emotional farewell from baseball at age 36, when he was stricken with ALS, now often called Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He gave a speech to a packed Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939, which famously included the lines “…today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth.” (Video of Lou Gehrig's farewell speech.) ALS claimed his life just two years later.
Over a 15-season span from 1925 t
- •
Lou Gehrig
American baseball player (1903–1941)
"Gehrig" redirects here. For other people with the surname, see Gehrig (surname).
Baseball player
| Lou Gehrig | |
|---|---|
Gehrig with the New York Yankees in 1923 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born:(1903-06-19)June 19, 1903 Yorkville, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| Died: June 2, 1941(1941-06-02) (aged 37) Riverdale, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
| June 15, 1923, for the New York Yankees | |
| April 30, 1939, for the New York Yankees | |
| Batting average | .340 |
| Hits | 2,721 |
| Home runs | 493 |
| Runs batted in | 1,995 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| |
| Induction | 1939 |
| El
Copyright ©froughy.pages.dev 2025 | |