Baseball: Why We Love It

It Can Makes Us Cry

We all are familiar with Lou Gehrig’s “ luckiest man on the face of this earth” farewell speech, but know little about the atmosphere and emotion at Yankee Stadium that day. I found it heartwarming to learn about the ceremony and its aftermath.

The Ultimate Hero

Babe Ruth was the showman, but Lou Gehrig was the heart of the great Yankee teams of the twenties and thirties. His farewell address at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939 has been recited in every form of media available. Imagine being at the stadium that day trying to hold back the tears.

It was an Independence Day doubleheader against the lowly Washington Senators. The games were overshadowed by the ceremony that took place between them. It was Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day and 61,808 fans jammed into Yankee Stadium to pay homage to the Yankees’ ailing star. Gehrig had played his final game for the New York Yankees on April 30 of that year. Though only 35 years old, the Iron Horse, who played in 2,130 consecutive games, had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Before the ceremony many of his former teammates were on hand to greet Lou in the clubhouse including Tony Lazzeri, Earle Combs, Joe Dugan, Waite Hoyt, Bob Meusel, and Wally Pipp, the Yankees’ first baseman whom Gehrig replaced in 1925 to start his consecutive game streak. But, Babe Ruth had yet to arrive and, given Ruth and Gehrig’s rocky relationship, some wondered whether the Babe would show up. But just in time for the ceremony the Babe took his place along the first base line.

After the first game of the doubleheader, microphones were set up behind home plate for the ceremony. New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia officially extended the city’s appreciation of the service Gehrig had given to his hometown. Ruth then took a turn at the microphone. Though their relationship had been troubled, Ruth never held a grudge and seemed happy to be reunited with his old friend. In his own blustering style, Ruth gave his unqualified opinion that the 1927 Yankees were better than the 1939 edition. Summarizing his belief, Ruth said, “In 1927 Lou was with us, and I say that was the greatest ballclub the Yankees ever had. “

Following Ruth, the emcee Sid Mercer introduced Gehrig to the packed crowd in attendance and the millions listening on radios across the country. Head bowed, Gehrig stood silent until he privately whispered something to Mercer, who returned to the microphone and told the crowd and listening audience, “Lou has asked me to thank you all for him. He is too moved to speak.” The crowd responded with chants of “We want Gehrig!” throughout the ballpark.

As the chants continued, Gehrig took a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped away his tears and moved toward the microphones once again. Head bowed, he spoke slowly and evenly as he delivered the most memorable farewell speech in baseball history. While no complete recording or transcript of the speech is known to exist, one commonly accepted version is as follows:

"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 (team owner). Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow (general manager). To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins (former manager, deceased). 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 might have been given a bad break, but I have an awful lot to live for. Thank you.”

As he moved away from the microphone Ruth, in tears, went over to shake his old friend’s hand but impulsively put his arm around Gehrig and hugged him – ending the long-standing and petty feud between them. It was the first time Gehrig cracked a smile all day. As they embraced, a tearful Ruth couldn’t have imagined he would be facing a similar crowd under very similar circumstances nine years later.

Gehrig died at his home on June 2, 1941