Athletes - Lou Gehrig

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	Athletes - Lou Gehrig

Henry Louis Gehrig (June 19, 1903 — June 2, 1941) was a Major League first baseman who played his entire career for the New York Yankees. Alongside teammate Babe Ruth, he contributed to one of the greatest teams in baseball history, the 1927 Yankees.

Gehrig was known as "The Iron Horse" for his durability. Between 1925 and 1939, he played in 2,130 consecutive games, a span of 14 years. The streak was broken after Gehrig became disabled with a fatal neuromuscular disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, that later became known as "Lou Gehrig's disease". His streak, once believed to be one of baseball's few unbreakable records, stood until shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles played in his 2,131st consecutive game on September 6, 1995.

Other nicknames given to Gehrig included "Columbia Lou", "Biscuit Pants" and "Larrupin' Lou."

Late in his career, Gehrig's hands were x-rayed, which showed that he had suffered 17 distinct fractures - some old, some new. It is a testament to his toughness; considering how battered his hands alone were, it is likely Gehrig's body was in poor shape throughout his career.

Life before professional baseball

Lou Gehrig was born in New York City, New York, the son of German immigrants Heinrich Gehrig and Christina Fack. His father was unemployed due to chronic illness (epilepsy), so his mother was the breadwinner and disciplinarian. Both parents considered baseball to be a schoolyard game; his mother steered young Lou toward a career in architecture because an uncle in Germany was a financially successful architect.

Gehrig attended Columbia University, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Gehrig could not play intercollegiate baseball because he played baseball for a summer professional league during his freshman year. At the time, he was unaware that that jeopardized his eligibility to play any collegiate sport, but Gehrig was ruled eligible to play on the Lions' football team and was a standout fullback.

Gehrig first garnered national attention for his baseball talents while playing in a game at Cubs Park (now Wrigley Field) on June 26, 1920. Gehrig's New York School of Commerce team was playing a team from Chicago's Lane Tech High School. With the score tied 8-8 in the eighth inning, Gehrig hit a grand slam completely out of the ballpark to win the game.

As Gehrig's baseball exploits became the subject of more and more stories in newspapers, his mother began to see that her son might be able to make money as a baseball player. When both mother (double pneumonia) and father (epilepsy) became ill just as Gehrig was deciding whether to sign with the Yankees or stay at Columbia and graduate, he chose the Yankees and used most of his signing bonus to pay off their enormous medical bills. With the rest, he sent them on their very first vacation.

The Pride of the Yankees

Gehrig joined the Yankees midway through the 1923 season and made his debut on June 15, 1923 as a pinch hitter. Over his first two seasons Gehrig saw limited playing time, mostly as a pinch hitter — he played in only 23 games and was not on the Yankees' 1923 World Series roster. In 1925, he batted 437 times for a very respectable .295 batting average with 20 home runs and 68 RBIs.

1926 was Gehrig's breakout season. He batted .313 with 47 doubles, an American League leading 20 triples, 16 home runs, and 112 RBIs. In the 1926 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Gehrig hit .348 with two doubles and 4 RBI's. Still, the Cardinals won a seven-game Series, winning four games to three.

Gehrig established himself as a bonafide star in his own right despite playing in the omnipresent shadow of Babe Ruth. Gehrig's batting average was over .300 every season until 1938, his last full season. He had five seasons with more than 40 home runs and led the American League in RBIs five times; his 184 RBIs in 1931 is a league record that stands to this day.

Ruth and Gehrig

From 1923 to 1934, the Yankees had what many consider the best offensive tandem in the history of baseball: George Herman "Babe" Ruth, Jr. and Henry Louis Gehrig. Long after their deaths, the duo still holds records for combined hitting between two teammates.

Both men were prominent figures in America's growing German community. Outside of their prolific hitting there were few, if any, similarities between the two men. Ruth had been raised in an orphanage (sent there by his father, who couldn't control him) was very outspoken, arrogant, brash, and loved the lavish lifestyle his fame and money brought him.

By stark contrast, Gehrig was a quiet man who doted on his parents. It was not uncommon for his wife or his parents to accompany him on road trips with the team. While Ruth would spend his free time at clubs socializing, Gehrig typically remained in the team's hotel. Gehrig even went so far as to deny interviews to reporters he knew cheated on their wives, believing that any man who was unfaithful to his wife was beneath contempt.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Lou Gehrig ]

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Athletes - Lou Gehrig

Life before professional baseball

The Pride of the Yankees

Ruth and Gehrig

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