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- CNN Sports - How one speech forever connected Lou Gehrig, baseball and this fatal disease
- ESPN Sports Century - Gehrig legacy one of irony
- PBS - American Experience - Lou Gehrig
- Phi Delta Theta - Lou Gehrig
- University at Buffalo - Neuroscience and Behavior - Lou Gehrig, Rawhide, and 1938
- The MY HERO Project - Biography of Lou Gehrig
- National Baseball Hall of Fame - Biography of Lou Gehrig
- Official Site of Lou Gehrig
- Baseball Almanac - MLB Stats for Lou Gehrig
- Society for American Baseball Research - Biography of Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig (born June 19, 1903,New York, New York, U.S.—died June 2, 1941, New York City) was one of the most durable players in American professionalbaseball and one of its great hitters. From June 1, 1925, to May 2, 1939, Gehrig, playing first base for theNew York Yankees, appeared in 2,130 consecutive games, a record that stood until it was broken on September 6, 1995, byCal Ripken, Jr., of theBaltimore Orioles. A quiet, gentle man, Gehrig was somewhat overshadowed by his colourful teammateBabe Ruth, whom he followed in the Yankees’ batting order.
GehrigattendedColumbia University before joining the Yankees organization. In each of seven major league seasons, he batted in 150 or more runs, and in 1931 he established the American League record of 184 runs in a season. On June 3, 1932, he hit four consecutive home runs in one game, becoming the first player of the 20th century to do so. In 1934 he achieved the “Triple Crown” of baseball, leading his league in batting average (.363), home runs (49), and runs batted in (RBIs; 165). He hit 49 home runs again in 1936.
In 1939, Gehrig was diagnosed with a rarenervous system disorder,amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); this disease has come to be known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. On May 2, he took himself out of the Yankees’ lineup, and he never played baseball again. He left baseball with a career batting average of .340, with 493 home runs and 1,990 runs batted in, all during regular season play. In sevenWorld Series (34 games), he batted .361, hit 10 home runs, and drove in 35 runs.
- In full:
- Henry Louis Gehrig
- Original name:
- Ludwig Heinrich Gehrig
- Byname:
- the Iron Horse
- Died:
- June 2, 1941,New York City (aged 37)
- Awards And Honors:
- Baseball Hall of Fame (1939)
- Most Valuable Player (1936)
- Most Valuable Player (1927)
- two-time MVP
- seven-time All-Star
- Baseball Hall of Fame (inducted in 1939)
- Triple Crown
- 6 World Series championships
- 1x batting champion
- College:
- Columbia University (New York, NY)
- Height/Weight:
- 6 ft 0 inches, 200 lb (183 cm, 90 kg)
- Batting Hand:
- left
- Throwing Hand:
- left
- Debut Date:
- June 15, 1923
- Last Game:
- April 30, 1939
- Jersey Number:
- 4 (1929-1939, New York Yankees)
- Position:
- first baseman
- At Bats:
- 8,001
- Batting Average:
- 0.34
- Hits:
- 2,721
- Home Runs:
- 493
- On-Base Percentage:
- 0.447
- On-Base Plus Slugging:
- 1.08
- Runs:
- 1,888
- Runs Batted In:
- 1,995
- Slugging Percentage:
- 0.632
- Stolen Bases:
- 102
- On the Web:
- ESPN Sports Century - Gehrig legacy one of irony (Feb. 13, 2026)
On July 4, 1939, Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day was held in his honour. It was at this event that Gehrig made the memorable speech featured in the film version of his life,The Pride of the Yankees (1942), in which he claimed to be “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” The one-year waiting period after retirement for election into theBaseball Hall of Fame waswaived for Gehrig, and he entered the Hall of Fame in late 1939.