JUNE 2

On June 19, 1903, Henry Louis Gehrig was born in New York City. Lou grew up speaking German until the age of 5, when he learned English. Gehrig was one of four children, but the only to live until adulthood. His sisters died at young ages from whooping cough, and his brother died from the measles when just a baby. These tragic losses caused Christina Gehrig, Lou's mother, to be a bit over protective of Lou. He lived at home until the age of 30, when his future wife convinced him it was time to move out.

Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth played together for the Yankees. Gehrig batted after Ruth, and often lived under the shadow of the baseball giant. Despite this, the two were good friends. Ruth had a difficult childhood and not much of a family. He would often eat dinner with the Gehrigs, while speaking German (Ruth also spoke the language), and became like an older brother to Lou.

In 1933, Gehrig married Eleanor Twitchell, a woman from a prominent Chicago family who he fell head over heels for. Eleanor helped Lou to build a successful brand, hiring an agent that got him advertising deals. Most notably, Lou Gehrig became the first athlete to be featured on the front of a Wheaties box in 1934.

Gehrig's work ethic was evident with his 56-year-long record of most consecutive games played, 2,130 in total. Cal Ripkin, Jr. broke this record in 1995, and currently holds the record with 2,632 consecutive games played. Gehrig's nickname was The Iron Horse, and as a tip-of-the-hat to Lou, Cal Ripkin, Jr's nickname is The Iron Man.

His retirement was marked by a star-studded ceremony. At the end, Gehrig gave a short speech, where he said, "Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." Gehrig's number, 4, was retired that day - the first player in professional baseball to be given that honor.

Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS) still does not have a cure. Just a few months ago, former Boston College baseball player Pete Frates died from the disease at the age of 34. In the summer of 2014, Frates started the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise money for ALS research. The challenge went viral, and raised up to $220 million dollars. In 2019, Boston College named it's newest athletic facility the Pete Frates Center in his honor.