Lou Gehrig Research Paper

“IT’S OUTTA HERE! ANOTHER ONE IN!” These might have been some of the exclamations yelled through the radio while Lou Gehrig was playing his favorite game, baseball. During the 1920s, Gehrig displayed his love for baseball through his phenomenal batting average and experience on first base. This passion for the game landed him a spot on the Yankees roster, fulfilling his childhood dream of playing in the MLB (Lincoln). Throughout his time with the Yankees, he amazed baseball fans over the world and set an unbelievable record by playing 2,130 consecutive games. His 14-year career was cut short when he was quickly diagnosed with a disease called ALS, commonly called “Lou Gehrig’s Disease” in today’s world (Hood). Lou Gehrig, otherwise known

It was not until late 1930s when Gehrig’s statistics began to show a sharp decline. He eventually removed himself from the lineup in 1939 when he found himself struggling to do simple tasks such as tying his shoelaces. With his family’s support, he decided to investigate on this sudden burst of trouble at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota (Aldrich). It was within this clinic that Lou was officially diagnosed with ALS, a terminal disease that strips the body’s muscles of nerve cells. After hearing of this heartbreaking news, Gehrig decided to remove himself from the Yankees’ lineup and completely retire from the game. Later that same year, the Yankees decided to dedicate a day for Gehrig to honor him for all that he did for their program and the Major League Baseball program. The MLB also gave thanks to him by breaking their rules and admitting him into the Hall of Fame prior to his passing (Aldrich). This event occurred on July fourth at the Yankees’ stadium and Lou clinched this moment to release a “goodbye” speech to his fans: "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth. And I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for"