70 YEARS AGO

Lou Gehrig, whom I consider to be the greatest first baseman of all-time, gave his famous speech on Lou Gehrig's Day at Yankees Stadum two years before he would pass due to ALS...



Gehrig was one of my heroes growing up even though he died nearly 40 years before I was born. I did a book report on him in elementary school and was amazed how much of a pure athlete he was and yet how he managed to play in relative obscurity in New York due to the overwhelming shadow of Babe Ruth. The Babe was bigger than baseball and Gehrig accepted it. Gehrig was a great teammate who played every game, 2130 consecutively till ALS took him out. He would have hit well over 700 career homeruns and driven in 2500 plus runs if he didn't go down with the disease. Gehrig is a legend who was born and bred in New York and eventually passed there. I'm no Yankees fan but I am a huge Lou Gehrig fan and just wanted to recognize him on this 4th of July weekend when he gave his famous speech in front of a packed New York crowd, fighting back tears. Much like when I hear Martin Luther King's speech I get the chills just hearing Gehrig speak. Gehrig is an icon too who will live forever.