(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
“ I might’ve been given a bad break, but I have an awful lot to live for. Thank you.”
Those were the final words Lou Gehrig ever spoke to the hearts of America. His succinct and supple speech on Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939 remains one of the most beautiful bits of poetry our ears have ever heard.
Saturday, July 4, 2009 marks the 70th anniversary of Gehrig’s farewell speech, and it will be celebrated around Major League Baseball. MLB is launching the “4ALS Awareness” campaign to raise money for ALS research in an attempt to help fight the illness that has become commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Throughout MLB, players will wear “4ALS” patches, first bases will be auctioned in memory of Gehrig (he played 1B), and every major league ballpark will read Gehrig’s speech during the seventh inning stretch.
Gehrig stepped up to the microphone in front of more than 60,000 people, baggy uniform cascading down a feeble and slumping body, and barely spoke for 30 seconds. Politicians need hours, weeks, and months to get a message across to a nation. Gehrig needed 30 seconds.
In a time of economic recession, heartache, worry, and bleakness, the world could use a little bit of Lou Gehrig. The world could use a little reminder that we still have an awful lot to live for. Gehrig’s life was blessed with the underlying power that it also represents a message that can resonate with any family in any suburb.
One day not too long ago, I stood just outside the third base dugout on the diamond of a neighborhood park. The dugout sat adjacent to a McDonald’s that was perfect for an after practice cheeseburger.
The all-dirt diamond kicked up some of the nastiest hops a nine-year-old boy would ever want to see. You better have had a good dentist if you were going to roam shortstop there.
It was the first practice of the summer, and my Pony League coach asked me what number I would like to wear for the upcoming All Star season.
“I would like No. 4, please,” I told Coach.
“Okay, any specific reason?”
“Yeah, because that’s the number Lou Gehrig wore for the Yankees,” I told him, confidently.
My coach had this wry smile that he held for three long seconds, pondering how a nine-year-old boy could idolize a baseball legend that played some 60 years prior. “Okay, well No. 4 is yours then.”
And that was where it all began for me, the moment Gehrig’s life and legacy seeped into my soul. All the way up through high school ball I proudly donned ‘4’ on my back.
It wasn’t until my freshman season in college that I had to change. Number 4 went to a 5’9” middle infielder. So naturally, I have worn ‘44’ for the last two seasons. If you can’t have one Gehrig, you might as well have two then, right?
Gehrig was a great, great baseball player, but he wasn’t the best to ever live. That could easily be said about his teammate, Babe Ruth.
What makes Gehrig truly spectacular is that he accomplished some astonishing things in his career, and yet he is still remembered for how he played the game and the way he carried himself as a man.
We're going to send you the most entertaining New York Yankees articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
2 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete