Many have heard of Lou Gehrig's disease - this is a very dangerous pathology of the nervous system. But at the same time, few people know who Lou Gehrig himself is. Meanwhile, this American baseball player lived a bright and eventful life and achieved great success in sports.
Early biography
Lou Gehrig's full name is Henry Louis Gehrig. He was born in New York in 1903 to a family of German immigrants Christina Foch and Heinrich Gehrig. The father of the future baseball player suffered from alcoholism and epilepsy, so the main breadwinner in the family was his mother, who worked as a servant.
Gehrig's childhood was spent in Manhattan, where he graduated from a regular high school, after which he continued his education at the New York School of Commerce. And already at this time he showed himself as a promising athlete.
In 1921 he became a student at Columbia University. However, the student Gehrig devoted most of his time not to study, but to sports - during this period he played not only baseball, but also American football.
Lou Gehrig from 1923 to 1939
In 1923 Lou Gehrig dropped out of college and signed with the New York Yankees, a team that played in the so-called Major League Baseball (MLB). However, the start of his professional career turned out to be rather mediocre: in just 13 games, he had 9 RBI (RBI - the number of points earned by the team as a result of the batter's actions) and 1 home run (a home run means a very successful batter hitting the ball, as a result which the attacker manages to run through all the bases and get into the "house"). And the AVG indicator (this is the coefficient of efficiency of hitting the ball after pitchers) was 423.
In 1924, Gehrig played only 10 matches for the Yankees (while gaining only 5 RBIs). Since it was not possible at first to gain a foothold in the club, Lou Gehrig also played for the Hartford Senators, a team of the Minor (lower in status than MLB) baseball league, that season.
In this difficult year for himself, Gehrig was thinking about leaving baseball. One day the Yankees scout Paul Crichell came to Hartford and found Gehrig drunk and depressed. However, Paul in the conversation was able to say the right words, and Lou again perked up.
In the New York Yankees match on June 1, 1925, Gehrig replaced Paul Wanninger as shortstop. And on June 2, he was included in the main squad and went to first base instead of Wally Pipp.
Over the next 14 years, Lou did not miss a single Yankees game, playing 2,130 non-stop games (and until the mid-nineties, this record remained unsurpassed). It was for his phenomenal performance that he received the nickname "Iron Horse" from the fans.
By 1927, many had already realized that Gehrig was a baseball superstar. In 155 games that season, he achieved 175 RBIs, 47 home runs and 373 AVGs. And that was enough to become MLB's top scorer.
In 1931, Gehrig was able to score the highest number of RBIs in a season among first basemen in MLB history. The next year, on June 3, 1932, Lou set another record - he made four home runs in one game (the Yankees' rival in this case was the Philadelphia Athletics).
In 1933, a significant event took place in the personal life of a baseball player - he married a girl named Eleanor Twitchell. They lived together until Lou's death. They had no children.
In 1934, Gehrig received the so-called Triple Crown, that is, he became the best player in all three key indicators - RBI, home runs and AVG.
In 1938, the performance of Lou Gehrig's game, compared to previous seasons, decreased markedly. And in 1939, it became clear that the reason for the inexpressive game was clearly not only his fatigue and age (Gehrig was 35 at that time, which is quite a lot for a professional athlete). For several games played until the end of April, he was able to bring his asset in just 1 RBI.
On May 2, the New York Yankees were scheduled to play the Detroit Tigers. Before the start of the match, Gehrig approached the head coach of the team and said that today he will sit on the bench.
This meant that Gehrig's 2,130-game streak was interrupted. The announcer at the stadium, of course, also announced this, and in response, the audience gave a long standing ovation to the athlete. Alas, this is where his baseball career actually ended.
A terrible diagnosis and the last years of life
Every day the baseball player experienced more and more health problems. Finally, in June 2019, he was examined at one of the clinics. Based on the results of this examination, medical doctors gave Gerig a severe diagnosis - degenerative amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This disease involves the gradual destruction of motor neurons and muscle atrophy in the body.
The news that Gehrig was terminally ill came as a shock to all baseball fans. And in general, we must admit: the fact that in North America amyotrophic lateral sclerosis began to be called Lou Gehrig's disease is evidence of the enormous popularity that the athlete enjoyed at the time.
On July 4, 1939, on the Independence Day of the United States, a farewell ceremony was held with Gehrig, about 62 thousand people came to it. In his speech at this ceremony, the famous baseball player said that he considered himself "the happiest person."
A few months later, Lou Gehrig was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In addition, the Yankees have officially removed the number four uniform worn by the baseball player from circulation (that is, this number will forever remain with him).
In October 1939, New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia invited Gehrig to join the city's parole board, and he agreed. On January 2, 1940, he officially began his new job.
Gehrig took a very responsible attitude towards his duties within the framework of the commission. He even personally visited New York City penitentiaries. At the same time, the former baseball player insisted that his visits to these institutions not be covered by the press.
Some help during this period was provided by his wife Eleanor - she guided his hand when he needed to sign official papers.
Death
At some point, Gehrig's physical condition deteriorated so much that he could no longer continue to work, and left the pardon commission.
The legendary baseball player died about a month after that - on June 2, 1941. When his death became known, flags were lowered at all sites in the American Major League of Baseball.
Films about Lou Gehrig
Already in 1942, the film "Pride of the Yankees" was filmed about the life of Lou Gehrig, in which the leading role was played by the wonderful film actor Gary Cooper. As a result, this tape received as many as eleven Oscar nominations.
Another noteworthy film about the life of Lou Gehrig appeared in 1978. It was named "A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig". His script was based on the autobiographical book by Eleanor Gehrig, published two years earlier. In this book, the baseball player's wife elaborated on her relationship with him. It is interesting that Eleanor, despite the fact that she lived for 80 years (1904-1984), never married again after Lou Gehrig's death, and always remembered him with warmth and respect.
