Lou gehrig life biography book
MLB Stats for Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig was the first athlete to appear on a box of Wheaties (pic below). Lou Gehrig was the first baseball player to have his uniform number retired. Lou Gehrig was the first first-baseman in the first All-Star Game ever played.
Lou gehrig life story Which became a problem for me, actually. Its jammed full of facts both about baseball and Lou Gehrig's and others life off the field. The secondary characters were a little too one-dimensional and left me wondering more about them Eleanor Gehrig seems to fit a kind of manic-pixie dream girl trope, for instance. He was already struggling against ALS without realizing it, which by the numbers seems astonishing.Lou Gehrig was the first ballplayer to appear in 2, consecutive games. Lou Gehrig was the first player to hit twenty-plus grand slams across his career -- we could EASILY write fifty more Gehrig firsts, easily, we won't, but we do hope you enjoy the following brief Lou Gehrig biography by Baseball Almanac:
Lou Gehrig on the back of a Wheaties Box | Wheaties Cereal |
LOU GEHRIG BIOGRAPHY
At no other time in baseball history, or any other sports history, has an athlete gone on to achieve the immortality that Lou Gehrig did while playing in the shadow of others.
But such was the case for "The Iron Horse", who put up awesome numbers while leading the Yankees to championships but had the misfortune to first be a teammate of Babe Ruth and later Joe DiMaggio.
Gehrig joined the New York Yankees in and two years later in the role of backup first baseman saw his first real action when Wally Pipp asked out of the lineup one day due to illness.
Gehrig seized the opportunity and began a consecutive games played streak that earned him his nickname and set the standard for sports durability that wasn't broken until 56 years later. The following season Gehrig blossomed into a great hitter with awesome power and together with Ruth terrorized pitchers for the next seven seasons.
In , Gehrig drove in over runs () for the first time, and the next season he went toe to toe with the "Bambino" for the homerun title before tailing off and finishing with 47 homers to Ruth's then record of Lou did top the Babe with RBI and was named League MVP.
The Yanks swept the Pirates in the World Series and won another World Title the next year with a sweep of the Cardinals as Gehrig slugged four homers.
From through , Gehrig averaged 38 home runs, RBIs and runs scored. In he set a still-standing A.L. record by driving home runs. In what turned out to be Babe Ruth's final season with the Yankees, , Gehrig won the Triple Crown with 49 HR, RBI and a average.
What a guy! I'm a 53 year plus Yankee MLB fan. They find it well worth the time and money, with a great account of one of baseball's biggest stars. I shed a tear as I saw the way one of my baseball heroes died.In he became the first turn of the century player to wallop four home runs in a game.
With Ruth gone, Gehrig continued to lead the Yankee offense, but in , DiMaggio joined the Yankees and stole some of Lou's thunder with a splendid rookie season. Together they lead the Yanks back to the World Series and the first of what was to be four consecutive World Championships.
The ballyhoo around the arrival of "The Yankee Clipper" took away from Gehrig's splendid season (49 HR, RBI, ) that garnered him his second MVP.
Lou uncharacteristically struggled during the campaign and only a closing burst (that featured little power) gave him respectable numbers. In New York's World Series win over the Cubs, he managed just four hits, all singles.
Gehrig's struggles continued the following spring and when he started the season awful at the plate and in the field it was obvious something was wrong.
Yankee manager Joe McCarthy stayed loyal to Lou and continued to pencil him into the starting lineup. Finally Gehrig spoke up and requested to be taken out, ending his consecutive games streak at
Gehrig was diagnosed with the fatal disease ALS and died less than two years later. However his durable and magnificent playing record reflects his greatness as a ballplayer and man to this day.
Gehrig finished with a lifetime average of , hits, home runs, 1, RBIs and 1, runs scored. He drove in over runs 13 times, over seven times. Gehrig hit a record 23 grand slams and smashed 10 World Series homers. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in and was voted the starting first baseman on Baseball's All-Century Team.
Lou Gehrig | New York Yankees Jersey (#4) | Image by Baseball Almanac
The New York Yankees retired Lou Gehrig's uniform number "#4", making him the first player in Major League history to be accorded that honor.
A great and powerful athlete, slowly losing his muscles one by one. Humble and talented player. He wasn't making it easy for his future biographer. Tell us what you like and we'll recommend books you'll love.Join Baseball Almanac as we take a look at some additional numbers of interest as they relate to one of the best players in baseball history:
2 - Lou Gehrig hit for the cycle on June 25, , and a second time on August 1, , the first left-handed Bronx Bomber with two cycles. Do you know what righty preceded The Iron Horse?
[Answer]
4 - Lou Gehrig was the first American League player to hit four home runs in a game, accomplishing the feat on June 3, , against the Philadelphia Athletics. The Iron Horse narrowly missed getting a fifth home run in the game when Athletics center fielder Al Simmons made a leaping catch of another fly ball at the center field fence.
After the game, manager Joe McCarthy told him, "Well, Lou, nobody can take today away from you." On the same day, however, John McGraw announced his retirement after thirty years of managing the New York Giants. McGraw, not Gehrig, got the main headlines in the sports sections the next day.
4-ALS - Lou Gehrig was honored on June 2, , during the inaugural Lou Gehrig Day, an effort by Major League Baseball to raise awareness and financial support to fight amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Every player, manager and coach will wear a special Lou Gehrig Day patch on their uniforms, and an optional red 4-ALS wristband.
6 - Lou Gehrig was ranked sixth in , by The Sporting News, when their editors ranked Baseball's Greatest Players.
7 - Lou Gehrig was a seven time All-Star, including the first American League first baseman ever selected to an All-Star Game (), then he continued to start six consecutive Midsummer Classic.
13 - Lou Gehrig had 13 consecutive seasons where he scored over runs, the first player in baseball history to reach that total, and a number unmatched until Hank Aaron joined him in and Alex Rodriguez tied his AL mark in
23 - Lou Gehrig had 23 career grand slams and when we started Baseball Almanac (in ), one of the first baseball feats pages we ever created was a Lou Gehrig Grand Slams log.
He might not be #1 in to Top 1, Career Grand Slams list any longer, but at the time we thought his mark was unbreakable.
- Lou Gehrig has a career wins above replacement (WAR) of , the highest of any first baseman in baseball history. How many other first baseman (min 1, games at first) have a career WAR above one-hundred?
Zero!
- Lou Gehrig became the first New York Yankees player to ever win the Triple Crown, hitting , driving in , and knocking 49 home runs.
Lou gehrig life biography book What Lou excelled at was team sports, and he became especially enamored at an American game known as baseball, that at the time of his birth was beginning to emerge as a modern game. Sadly today the treatment still only prolongs the inevitable as there is still no cure for the disease. Not the easiest to read a biography with a famously tragic ending, but I felt like I learned the kind of person Lou Gehrig was. Yet through it all, Lou dealt with it with dignity, strength, and optimism.His Triple Crown totals weren't just first overall in the American League, but first overall in all three in both the American and National League. And, his RBI are the most ever by any Triple Crown winner.
- Lou Gehrig drove in runs during the season setting an American League record for most RBIs in a season and most RBI's in a season by a left handed hitter - ever.
2, - Lou Gehrig entered a game as a pinch hitter on June 1, , substituting for shortstop Pee-Wee Wanninger.
The next day, June 2, Yankee manager Miller Huggins started Gehrig in place of regular first baseman Wally Pipp. Pipp was in a slump, as were the Yankees as a team, so Huggins made several lineup changes to boost their performance, replacing Pipp, Aaron Ward, and Wally Schang. Fourteen years later, Gehrig had played in a stunning 2, consecutive games - a record that stood until September 6, , when Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr.
broke it.
Lou Gehrig | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of (HOF)
Our Lou Gehrig quotes page is one of the most popular baseball quotes pages on the site. Not only can you read his farewell speech, you can listen to it as well!