Lou Gehrig

Born in Manhattan in 1903 to German immigrants, Gehrig joined the New York Yankees in 1923. Lou Gehrig was a first baseman for the New York Yankees during the 1920s and 1930s. Lou batted behind Babe Ruth, Gehrig was one of the greatest run producers of any baseball player in history, driving in over 150 runs in eight different seasons. His 184 RBIs in 1931 is still an American League record. Gehrig's consecutive games played streak of 2,130 stood for 61 years until broken by Cal Ripken of the Baltimore Orioles in 1995.

Gehrig was part of the famed 1920s lineup of Yankee sluggers known as "Murderer's Row." In May 1939, Gehrig took himself out of the lineup, ending his consecutive games played streak at 2,130. On July 4, 1939, Gehrig addressed a capacity crowd at Yankee Stadium to tell them that despite the "bad break" of his disease and forced retirement, he was still the "luckiest man on the face of the Earth." Less than two years later, Gehrig died peacefully at his home in the Bronx. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939 at the age of 36, only months after his retirement due to the debilitating effects of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, the condition otherwise known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease."

The 1932 World Series saw a match-up between the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs. The Yankees held the home field advantage and the Yankees swept the Cubs in four games. The series played a record thirteen future Hall of Famers. The story however was Gehrig. Lou Gehrig put together one of the greatest performances ever. Gehrig hit .529 with 3 homeruns, a .600 on base percentage and a 1.118 slugging percentage. He was so hot that before game 3 he got noticed for a strong batting practice display. Gehrig and Ruth put on a show; Ruth hit nine balls into the stand while Gehrig hit seven. Gehrig then went on to hit a homerun in the third inning in game 3, staying very hot. Lou hit a homerun as well in the first game of the World Series. The 1932 World Series was Gehrig’s show but it was stolen by Babe Ruth when he called his homerun by pointing to the stands. It is the series known as the “Called Shot”, but Lou Gehrig numbers were far more superior.

• June 15, 1923 : Born

• 1923: Debuts with New York Yankees

• 1927: American League MVP

• 1934: Triple Crown

• 1936: American League MVP

• 1939: Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame

• June 2, 1941: Passed away from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)