1903-1941 · American baseball first baseman who played for the New York Yankees
About Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis Gehrig (1903-1941) was born in New York City to German immigrant parents and played football and baseball at Columbia University before joining the New York Yankees in 1923. A first baseman, he played 2,130 consecutive games between 1925 and 1939, won the Triple Crown in 1934, and finished with a lifetime batting average of .340. Diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in June 1939, he retired, served on the New York City Parole Commission, and died at his home in the Bronx on 2 June 1941.
Lou Gehrig's farewell speech was delivered at Yankee Stadium on 4 July 1939, Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day, between the games of a doubleheader against the Washington Senators. Two months earlier Gehrig, whose strength had been failing for a season, had taken himself out of the lineup in Detroit, ending his streak of 2,130 consecutive games.