Lou+Gehrig

Lou Gehrig

=flat Lou Gehrigs Basic Info= Henry Louis Gerhig was born on june 19th, 1903 in New York, New York. Lou Gerhig was one of four children to survive infancy. Gerhig was a 14 pound baby boy. His parents Christina and Heinrich Gerhig were German immigrants. They lived in a very poor part of New York. Growing up Gerhig went to Manhattens high school of commerce where he played baseball.While playing baseball in high school, his team was lucky enough to play the best team in Chicago in Wrigley field. Gerhig hit a ninth inning home run to give his team the victory. This win would make headlines in the New York papers. Coming out of high school, Gerhig was already a star in his home state. Gerhig attended Columbia University where he studied engineering. After college, Gerhig signed a contract to play first base for the New York Yankees in 1925. He had an amazing career before he was diagnosed with "Amyotropic Lateral Sclorosis" also known as Lou Gerhig disease in 1939. He died on June 2nd, 1941 because of the disease. Lou Gerhig was not only a great baseball player but he was also a good person. Gerhig joined New Yorks Parole Board to help the trouble youth in the city. He did a lot for the city of New York and around the community.

. This is a poster of Lou Gerhig. The 4 stands for his jersey number and the pictures are moments from his career.

=Lou Gehrigs Stats and Records=

Lou Gehrig played for the New York Yankees between 1923 and 1939. He was nicknamed the "iron horse" for his aggresive play and record setting career. Gehrig set a record for playing 2,130 consecutive games before being broken by Cal Ripken Jr in 1995. He also holds the record for most grand slams in a career which is 23. In 1926 Gerhig led the league with 20 triples. He was the first American Leaguer to hit four home runs in a game. In 1927 Lou Gerhig, Babe Ruth and the rest of the New York Yankees won the World Series. Babe Ruth wasnt eligible for MVP (because he had already won it before) so it went to Lou Gerhig. Gerhig was named American League MVP twice in 1927 and 1936. Together Lou Gerhig and babe Ruth dominated the baseball scene. He wore the jersey number 4 and it was the 1st jersey number retired in American Professional sports. Gerhig hit a career batting average of .340. In his first 26 at bats in the Majors, Gerhig hit an astonishing batting average of .423. Lou Gerhig was inducted into the Major League Baseball hall of fame.

This is Lou Gerhig in his Columbia University jersey.

=Lou Gehrigs Disease=

Even though Lou Gehrig was a great baseball player and set many records, there was something wrong with him. Lou Gehrig has a disease called "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclorosis" (ALS). Nowadays the disease is called the "Lou Gehrig Disease". The Disease causes the nerve cells in parts of the brain and the spinal cord to gradually die. Eventually people that have the disease lose their ability to move their muscles and limbs to move, eat, speak, and even breathe. The disease is not curable, but doctors have found out that the treatments they do for the disease will make the people with the disease live longer then the others that don't do the treatments.

Every year about 5,000 Americans are newly diagnosed with (ALS), and 20,000 Americans already have the disease. The disease became a worldwide spread to the United States in the year 1939. Fourteen people get the disease everyday. The ages that mainly get the disease is the ages between 40 to 70 years old. The people that are suffering with the disease only have about 3 to 5 years to live with the disease. This disease seems very harsh, and Lou Gehrig is one of the greatest baseball players to play with the disease. This is Lou Gehrig and Babe ruth during their Yankees game.

**Lou Gehrigs Farewell Speach**
Lou Gehrig also had something else wrong with him too, but this wasn't a very major thing though, Lou Gehrig always had something wrong with his hands, he always had fractures in his hands, but he didn't care about the pain, he would play through the pain and play with his fractures. Lou Gehrig made up his mind that it was time for him to put up the baseball mitt and the bat for good, so he made a Farewell speech for his fans explaining everything. The first part of the speech talked about confirming that he did have a break, and also said that he basically loved his fans and always will.

"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."

The second part of his speech has a bunch of questions to be answered, he wants you to answer them, and also says all these things about being a lucky man and listing all the things that he has done during his baseball career. Naming off people, managers, and the builder of baseball. Don't forget he also talked about how lucky he was too.

"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."

The third part of his speech is talking about his rivals the New York Giants giving him a gift. Also when the boys in white coats remember him with a trophy, which means a trophy given to him. Talks about his mother-in-law helping him out through situations. And finally talking about his mom and dad doing everything that they can do to make sure he had a good life, with his wife also behind him every step of the way.

"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 the white coats remember you with a 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."

The most important thing of the whole speech is the last line of the whole thing, talks about how he can live for. Even if he has to face the ups and the downs of life.

"So I close in saying that i might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for."

This is Lou Gerhig batting and yes he probably just hit a grand slam.

=Historical Significance=

I think this topic is significant for the 1920s because baseball was starting to blossom at the time. People need a person to look up to and Lou Gehrig was one of the people that most people would look up to. He was a good role model for everyone, even for the little kids. I think the 1920s would be different without Lou Gehrig because the things he did on the baseball diamond not most people can do. So yeah if Lou Gehrig never existed then great records would have never been made and players from today wouldn't have to try and break them so they would be on top.

=Bibliography=