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 GEHRIG, Lou, full name Henry Louis Gehrig (1903-41),
American professional baseball play er, born in New York City and educated at Columbia University. From 1924 until 1939, when he was stricken with the spinal disease AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL
SCLEROSIS (q.v.) and forced to abandon his career, he played first base for the New York Yankees of the American League. Called the Iron Horse, he established a record for the number of consecutive
games played by a professional baseball player, taking part in 2130 games in succession. His lifetime batting average was .340. Gehrig was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939, and in 1940 he was
appointed a commissioner on the New York State Parole Board. The story of his life was made into a motion picture entitled Pride of the Yankees (1942). B.K.K. |
