The 75th Anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s Farewell Speech

On July 4th, 1939, New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig stood before a capacity crowd at Yankee Stadium and delivered perhaps the most famous speech in baseball history.  Gehrig, nicknamed “The Iron Horse” for his durability, had pulled himself out of the lineup on May 2nd, after playing in 2130 consecutive games, feeling he could no longer play due to ongoing fatigue and loss of strength.  In June, Gehrig was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a degenerative nerve disease with no cure, then or now.  Gehrig retired as a player on June 21st, at age 36.

The Yankees proclaimed July 4th as “Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day” with a ceremony in between games of that day’s doubleheader.  Gehrig was visibly moved by the tributes paid to him by teammates past and present, Yankees employees, politicians, and others.  Gehrig stepped to the microphone and delivered his speech:

During his career, which ran from 1923 to 1939, Lou Gehrig put up some unbelievable numbers.  In 1927, he hit .373 with 47 home runs, 173 RBIs, 52 doubles, 447 total bases, and a slugging percentage of .765. In 1931, he hit .341 with 46 home runs and 185 RBIs.  In 1934, he hit 49 home runs with 166 RBIs and a .373 batting average. Although Cal Ripken Jr. broke his consecutive games played record, he’s still second in that statistic, and he still has very high marks for his career in several categories including fifth in on base percentage (.447) third in slugging percentage (.632), and third in OPS  (on base + slugging 1.080).  Gehrig died June 2nd, 1941.

Since the time of Gehrig’s diagnosis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”.

Here’s the entire speech:

Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I’m lucky.

When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift — that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies — that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter — that’s something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body — it’s a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed — that’s the finest I know.

So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for.

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