Lou Gehrig

Henry Louis Gehrig, born Ludwig Heinrich Gehrig (June 19, 1903 – June 2, 1941), was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the New York Yankees and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. Along with teammate Babe Ruth, Gehrig anchored one of the most powerful offenses in baseball history. He was known as The Iron Horse for his reliability; he played in every Yankees game for nearly 14 years, setting a record that stood until 1995. His career was prematurely ended by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative terminal illness which came to be widely known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease."

Life before professional baseball

Gehrig was born on Manhattan Island in New York City, the son of German immigrants. He first garnered attention for his baseball talent on the national level while playing in a game at Cubs Park (now Wrigley Field) on June 26, 1920. Gehrig's New York School of Commerce team was playing a team from Chicago's Lane Tech High School. With the score tied at 8 in the eighth inning, Gehrig hit a game clinching grand slam completely out of the stadium.

Related Topics:
Manhattan - New York City - German - Immigrants - Wrigley Field - June 26 - 1920 - Lane Tech High School

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He attended Columbia University, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. However, he could not play intercollegiate baseball due to his having played baseball for a summer professional league during his freshman year.

Related Topics:
Columbia University - Phi Delta Theta - Fraternity

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~