The 1920’s ushered in a lot of new things, including talent. One of these talents was Lou Gehrig, one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He started off small, but quickly rose to the top, known by almost everyone in the nation. But Gehrig suffered one of the rarest degenerative diseases, now known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was able to bond the nation over his determination and kindness. Gehrig brought much to the plate during his fourteen-year career, something not many other baseball players have been able to accomplish.
Lou Gehrig was born on June 19, 1903, in the small town of Yorkville in New York City (Hickok). His dad, Heinrich Gehrig, was an alcoholic who struggled to keep a job (“Lou Gehrig”). Gehrig’s mother, Christina Gehrig,
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On June 2, 1925, Lou Gehrig officially took over first base from an ailing Wally Pipp (Hickok). This was the beginning of his fourteen-year tenure in Major League Baseball. His breakout year was in 1926, where he hit .313 and led the league with twenty triples (“Biography”). It was the first of twelve consecutive seasons hitting more than .300. The following year, he hit .373 with forty-seven home runs and 175 runs batted in (Hickok). He earned most valuable player (MVP) that same year (Hickok). Gehrig got MVP honors again in 1936 when he hit .354 along with a league-leading forty-nine home runs and 152 RBI’s (Hickok). When it came to the World Series, Lou Gehrig always stepped up. In 1928 against the St. Louis Cardinals, Gehrig had four home runs and nine RBI’s with a .545 average (“Biography”; Hickok). Additionally, Gehrig racked up three home runs, nine runs scored, eight RBI’s, and a .529 average (Hickok). In thirty-four World Series games, Gehrig had thirty-five RBI’s, thirty runs scored, eight doubles, three triples, ten home runs, and an average of .361
Gehrig’s speech to the 60,000 fans sitting before him was short but convincing. He wanted to convince his fans that in his eyes this wasn’t a defeat. He proclaimed that he considered himself, “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” Language was used to manipulate his fans into seeing the good and not the bad in this tragic situation. Instead of speaking of his illness, Gehrig reminded his fans of all the amazing people he has been able to meet and play for, his loving family, and his record setting career. He starts of the middle two paragraphs of his speech by stating, “Sure, I’m lucky,” and continues on with remarks about the great men of baseball he has had the opportunity to work with. He continues on at the end of the speech with sarcasm, implying to the audience th...
At this time in baseball history, the Chicago White Sox had the best player in the game on their team. Joe Jackson was simply known as a future Hall of Famer and the best to ever play at this time (Chadwick 35). He proved this by hitting .351 all season which led the Majors as well as hitting .356 his whole lifetime as a player which is still one of the highest averages today (Chadwick 36). However, the White Sox were no one man show they also had the top two pitchers in the league in Eddie Cicotte and Lefty Williams (Chadwick 35). By 1919, the White Sox had already made the World Series two times in a row. They had won the 1917 World Series, but lost in a heartbreaker in the 1918 World Series (Chadwick 35). It...
Baseball has been Americas sport and pastime since the moment it was first created. Dating all the way back to 1839 when the sport first became known as “baseball” there have been many memorable moments throughout its past. One of the most memorable moments in baseball history occurred on September 6th 1995 when Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played streak. This record is arguably one of the most challenging records to break due to all the uncontrollable factors that are present in the game of baseball and individual players lives.
For this rhetorical analysis paper I chose one of my favorite, and most famous, sports speeches of all time, Lou Gehrig’s farewell to baseball address. Lou Gehrig was a famous baseball player in the 1920’s and 30’s. Lou didn’t really need to use a attention getting introduction, he was well known and loved by so many that people piled into Yankee Stadium to watch and listen to him give this speech. Although he didn’t need an attention getter, he began his speech with one of the greatest baseball quotes of all time, “Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” (Gehrig, 1939) Every single time I hear or read that opening line it sends chills down my spine and stops me for a moment to reflect on everything that is going on in my own life.
The first fact that he mentioned was that he played baseball for seventeen years. Next, Gehrig mentions that he “never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.” Gehrig was able to concede that yes, he was diagnosed with ALS, and yes he received a bad break, but on the bright side, he refuted by mentioning that he still has an awful a lot to live for. Gehrig also begins to use emotional diction to augment his words to make it more powerful; he first mentions, “Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them [the grand men] for even one day?” This questions allows your personal feelings and thoughts to think about the question, and then you start to agree. Next, he continues the speech by mentioning famous people, “Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have Known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow.” Each question presented, influenced the reader’s thought to agree, to rationalize that yes, it is amazing that you were able to meet people that are reputable, in high areas. Gehrig was able to express his pathos
Jackie Robinson’s ability to successfully integrate his sport set the stage for many others to advocate for an end to segregation in their respective environments. His period of trials and triumphs were significant to changing American perception of the Civil Rights revolution. By becoming the first African-American baseball player to play in the major leagues, he brought down an old misconception that black athletes were inferior to white athletes. Successively, his example would inspire those advocating for their civil rights, he lived out a message of nonviolence similar to the one Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived out. Despite the constant prejudice he faced in his sport, he was able to keep himself composed and never retaliate.
714 career home runs, had 2,209 career RBI's, and 2,873 total hits, all in only
April fifteenth 1947, Jackie Robinson was the first African American player to step foot in the MLB. This broke the color barrier and opened the door for all ethnicities in the MLB. If it was not for Jackie many people of all races would have never been given a chance. Today the MLB is filled with many different races. This would not have been possible without Jackie Robinson. Fifty years later, Jackie's amazing career was honored by the MLB by retiring the number "42". No other number has ever been retired in the MLB. Jackie's number now symbolizes equality for everyone in America. No matter what skin color, Jackie showed anyone can achieve their dream. Although he faced constant racial discrimination, he continued to show what it means to be part of a team (History.com Staff). Jackie could not stay in the same hotels, or eat at the same places as his teammates. He did not let this interfere with baseball. He still showed up to practices and games, and he did not let his race be a factor. He never made excuses and found a way to have a successful career. Jackie made many great accomplishments and helped turned the MLB to a multi-racial
Lou Gehrig was the only one out of his siblings to survive childhood. He was an all round athlete by playing sports such as basketball, football, swimming, skating, and baseball. (A)
“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).
One game he fell hard on his left shoulder and he was never able to pitch another game. He began playing in the outfield and little did he know he would be one of the best athletes to ever play in the outfield, from his outstanding catches to his amazing speed. After he he got hurt with his shoulder injury, he feared he would never be able to play the game of baseball ever again. He then became an excellent hitter and his minor league career was going very well for his future. After playing about three and a half years in the minors, he then was called up to the Major Leagues to come and play for the St. Louis Cardinals at left field. He finished his Minor League career with a .379 batting average in 87 games, 26 home runs and 94 RBIs. Stan was taking off in the Majors and becoming a team leader and starting to get more and more well known. He finished his rookie year with only 47 at bats, 8 runs, 20 hits, one home run, seven RBIs and an amazing .426 batting average. He finished 1942 with with 467 at bats, 87 runs, 147 hits, 10 home runs, 72 RBIs and a .315 batting average. 1943 was his best season he ever had. He finished 43 with 617 at bats, 108 runs, 220 hits, 13 home runs, 81 RBIs and a .357 batting average. Stan led the Cardinals to the World Series in 1942, 43, 44 and 46 which they won in 42, 44, and 46. Stan played the Hall of Famer Ted Williams in the World Series of 1946 against the New York Yankees. That was the last World Series Stan would play in for the rest of his baseball career. In 1945 Stan was drafted into the military of the final months of World War II. He joined the United States Navy and remained there four fourteen months. In 1946 he continued his Major League career on discharge. This is when he earned his nickname “Stan The Man” from the Los Angeles Dodgers fans. 1947 is when Jackie Robinson became the first African American to ever play Major League
This is an emotionally driven illustrative true story about the life and tragic death of the baseball great Lou Gehrig. His teammates and fans due to his record 2,130 games as a New York Yankee affectionately knew Gehrig as the “Iron Horse”. Gehrig put up numerous other records in the early twentieth century, including three of the top six RBI seasons in baseball history and the most career grand slams. However, what he is most known for is his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease as it is known here in the United States and Canada. Diagnosed with the disease in 1939, only then did Gehrig retire from baseball with an emotional speech the book details as urged on by the Yankee faithful. In his speech, Gehrig said, “Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.” The reason the hall of fame first baseman was able to say this was due to the overwhelming support he received from the community. In an effort to pay back the city, he worked for the municipal department until June 1939 when he lost his battle with ALS, much to the agony of New Yorkers and baseball fans worldwide.
On July 4th, 1939, the New York Yankees honored a legend and a hero, Lou Gehrig, who was asked to give a speech to the fans at Old Yankee Stadium. He gave his “Farewell to Baseball Address,” Lou Gehrig shows how honored he was to have played baseball with many great teammates by using thankful speeches for his teammates and associates and to put at ease all of his baseball fans who were worried about his deadly disease. To show his illustrious life and career are not to be overshadowed by the recent events. To show the audience all the great accomplishments that overshadow this minor setback.
He was traded to the Boston Braves on February 26, 1935. He only played a partial year before he retired on June 2, 1935 because his fielding skills declined sharply. He ended his 22 year career with 714 homeruns, 2,873 hits, 506 doubles, 2,174 runs, 2,213 RBI, a .342 batting average, a .474 on-base percentage, and a .690 slugging percentage. Other achievements included leading the league in slugging percentage 13 times, home runs 12 times, bases on balls 11 times, on-base percentage 10 times, runs scored 8 times and runs batted in 6 times. He set lofty records that took years to surpass. He still sits in the top 10 of many of these statistics today. “It wasn’t that he hit more home runs than anybody else,” said 1976 Spink Award winner Red Smith, “he hit them better, higher, farther, with more theatrical timing and more flamboyant flourish.” In 1936 Babe Ruth was one of the first five people inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
For example, he hit the first pinch hit home run in the world series (Scharnhorst, 2002). He quit school after eighth grade and played for the Yankees. And quite a bit of people say that he is one of the best players to play the game (Barnes, 2004). He changed how the game was played, and did really well in the process. He was outstanding, so in 1972 was introduced into the Hall of Fame. This was a huge accomplishment because, “Some of the most amazing performances in baseball history have been by players who never even came close to earning a place in the National Baseball Hall of Fame” (Rose, 2004). He outstandingly caught the first no-hit, no run, no man reach first game in the world series ( Rose, 2004).