The Iron Horse is Remembered

July 4th, 2009

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: Babe Ruth • Famous Speeches • Lou Gehrig • Lou Gehrig Day • Luckiest man on the face of the Earth • Old Timer's Day • Yankee Stadium

70 years ago today- July 4, 1939- one of the most memorable days in New York Yankees history, and for that matter in all of baseball, occurred. It was Lou Gehrig Day at Yankee Stadium, the day that the Iron Horse said goodbye to the fans, his teammates, the opposition, and his baseball way of life. (It was also the Yankees first official Old Timers Day).

In commemoration of one of the most significant speeches of all time, Lou Gehrig’s words from that day 70 years ago, will be read aloud in every major league park today.

photo courtesy of lougehrig.com

“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.”

Gehrig’s words live on long after his death (he lost his life to the disease, that would later bare his name, in 1941). They’ve been referenced in other speeches since and epitomize the courage of the man.

There is still no cure for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. To volunteer your time, make a donation, or to learn more, go to ALS.org. To learn more about Lou Gehrig and hear audio clips of the speech, visit the official Lou Gehrig Website.