The Luckiest Man

"His records will attest to future generations that Lou Gehrig was one of the greatest baseball players who ever livled, but only to those who have been fortunate enough to have known him during his most glorious years will realize that he stood for something finer than merely a great baseball player--that he stood for everything that makes sports important to the American scene." ~Richards Vidmer

I just finished this book about the life and death of Lou Gehrig by Jonathan Eig. It was an absolutely fantastic read and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys history or baseball or biographies.

I'm honestly not really into baseball (except for Baby Cousin, obviously), so some of you who don't personally know me may wonder why I picked up this book in the first place. Well, just over two years ago, one of my favorite people in the world was diagnosed with ALS. He was gone 9 months later. Knowing that Gehrig suffered from the same disease made me curious and interested in his story.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading about the Yankees in the 1920's and 1930's. About the games and the travel and about Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth......This was baseball at its finest, before all of the modern day crap (yea, that's the technical term) got in the way. These guys played through the Depression and managed to give hope to a nation. The book really was sort of a history lesson through the lens of the New York Yankees starting first baseman. This was something I didn't expect to get so into.

And I absolutely love Lou Gehrig. He grew up poor and had nothing. He was quiet and professional and not into the wild life that was available to him (think Babe Ruth, people!). He loved his mama and would do anythin gfor her. He worked harder than everyone else to become the "Iron Horse" who played 2,130 consecutive MLB games. About this streak, he said "I intend to play every day and shall continue to give my best to my employers and the fans. What about the guy who pays $1.10 to see th4e game? What if I sit on the bench and say I'm resting?" Seems like a lesson lost on many players today. As one former teammate said after Lou's death, "He was baseball and everything it stands for."

In 1939, he knew something was wrong at Spring Training. By the time the season rolled around, he was having trouble running, balls were bouncing off his glove at firstbase, and although he was still hitting the ball, his trademark power was gone. His muscles seemed to be wasting way. He lost weight and began to have a hard time walking. No matter what he did, it didn't seem to help. He tried to change his stance, he tried lighter bats....nothing worked. But he didn't give up hope. "I only hope. You never lose hope in baseball." In May 1939, he knew something was wrong, and he realized it was time to end his streak. He benched himself on a day that the coaches described as a "black day for the Yankees" and for the first time in 14 years, someone other than Lou Gehrig played first base.

He went to the Mayo Clinic and received the worst possible news. ALS. I was struck with how little has changed with regard to this disease in the last 80 years. Reading about his symptoms, and the progression of his disease was like re-living the same period of Mr. F's life. The book talked about hoping for any other diagnosis--a tumor or some sort of infection--I remember praying that same prayer. The prognosis then is the same as the prognosis now. Most people are dead within 3 years. How that has not been changed in all this time is beyond me.

Shortly after this, on July 4, 1949, Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day was held at Yankee Stadium. It was there that he made one of the most memorable speaches in all of sport. Watch a clip here. Or click here to read the speech in its entirety. In the face of the worst case scenerio, he stood before his family, his teammates, and his fans and stated the following, "For the past two weeks, you've been reading about a bad break. Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth... I might have had a bad break, but I have an awful lot to live for." He died two years later. He was 37 years old.
If you have never seen someone dying from ALS, I pray that you never do. But if you have, you understand how remarkable this speech, and his attitude, really were. Perhaps Eig put it best. "ALS is a disease of weakness, but Lou Gehrig's disease is associated with strength--the strength of a stricken man who said he felt lucky."