Louis Henry Gehrig

Lou Gehrig was one of the best baseball players ever. His life was almost perfect, except for the fact that he was diagnosed with an incurable disease. The worst part about it was that he didn’t even know he had it.

In Manhattan, New York, on June 19, 1903 a miracle was brought into the world. Christina and Heinrich Gehrig were so proud of their 4th-born son. Since they were immigrants from Germany, some of their other children died during their time on the ship. Gehrig was very lucky he didn’t have to experience that hardship. When his family immigrated to the states, he changed his name from Henry Louis Gehrig to Louis (Lou) Henry Gehrig. He lived his life as any normal American child.

When he got the chance to go to college in 1921, he went to Columbia University on a football scholarship. The New York Giants team manager insisted that Gehrig play baseball under a false name so no one would know it was him. Lou was discovered and banned from playing any sports his freshman year for the illegal action he took. Lou’s love of the game was enourmous. In 1922 Gehrig returned to play fullback and first base on his college teams. A baseball scout named Paul Krichell asked Lou to play first base for the New York Yankees. The scout also offered a $1500 signing bonus.

Gehrig left his college team to play in the minors. He was called to play with the Yankees in 1925. He hit .423 in 26 at bats. He played professional ball for about 14 years and set many records.

Nickname - Iron man,
Home runs - 493,
Runs batted in - 1990,
Batting average - .340,
Grand Slams - 23,
Most RBI’s in one season - 184,
100 RBI Consecutive seasons - 13,
Hits in one season - 200,
# Of MVPs - 2,
Lifetime slugging percentage - .632,
Consecutive games - 2130,

As you can see, Lou Gehrig’s life was pretty good except for the fact that in 1938 his career was getting worse and worse by the second because of a deadly disease. He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which today is called Lou Gehrigs disease. This disease causes the body to slowly become paralyzed until you can’t move. Eventually you die. Gehrig would never play baseball again. Against the odds, Gehrig still wanted to play and his coach let him. Pitches that he usually would hit homeruns on, he would miss the ball and strike out on. When he was in the field he would miss every ball that came his way and sometimes even collapsed. Finally, Gehrig retired from baseball and started working in the community. A New York sportswriter brought up the idea that on July 4, 1939 everyone should recognize Lou Gehrig. 62,000 people attended the ceremony.

Finally on July 2, 1941 Gehrig died of his horrible disease. Gehrig is remembered as one of the best baseball player to ever live. More than that, Gehrig is remembered for his kind heart and winning attitude and for that, Lou Gehrig is my hero.