On July 4, 1939 Lou Gehrig stepped to the microphone at Yankee Stadium. He would lose a terminal battle to ALS, now known as Lou Gehrig's disease, less than two years later. Many in the crowd had no idea that this would be the last time he would make a public appearance. These were his words:
"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert?Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky.
When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies - that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with
you in squabbles with her own daughter - that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body - it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that's the finest I know.
So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."
Lou Gehrig was known as the 'Iron Horse'. Long before Cal Ripken Jr. became known for his incredible streak of 2632 consecutive games played, it was Gehrig that held the record at 2130 for 56 years. It was his illness that forced Gehrig to finally sit. His toughness was legendary, but may have over shadowed how great he really was as a player.
Gehrig played from 1923-1939 and was a seven time All-Star, his final seven years. That was only because the All-Star Game did not begin until 1933. In 1927, '28, '32 and '36-'38 Gehrig's Yankees were World Series Champions. He was a two time AL MVP and won the triple crown in 1934. He was the home run champion three times and once hit four home runs in one game. He was also inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1939. This honor is normally bestowed after a five year waiting period. The man was loved.
Lou Gehrig's career was all time great. He had a .340 for his career batting average and an on-base percentage of .447 and a .632 slugging percentage. 2,721 hits, 493 home runs and 1,995 RBI were incredible numbers at the tail end of the dead ball era. Those alone were phenomenal, and the fact that his career was cut short, makes the numbers even more astonishing.
Gehrig is on the short list of who is the greatest hitter of all time, along with Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Jimmie Foxx and Joe DiMaggio. These are the guys that displayed that rare combination of power and average. Sure, there are other greats like Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb, Tony Gwynn, Mike Schmidt and Willie Mays. But, those guys' average or power were not as high as the others. Gehrig also had that championship hardware to sport that very few can rival.
In the end there is a lot that we can all learn from Lou Gehrig's speech from 75 years ago. The man had every right to complain. He was at the top of the country's most popular game. He lived right and was dedicated to health and fitness. Gehrig was even almost casted as Tarzan in the movie. All the world as his oyster and it was being ripped from his grasp by an incurable disease. It would have easy for him to say 'why me?' and nobody could have blamed him. Instead, he chose to point out all the great things that he was witnessing during his illness.
This July 4th, there has been a reminder put forth by Gehrig's 75th anniversary speech. Americans are truly the lucky ones. We were given a lot of opportunities by the blood and sweat from our fore fathers. Though not everything is always how we wish it to be, we truly are the luckiest people on the face of the earth.