Why Is Lou Gehrig Important

Lou Gehrig: The Iron Horse Baseball is a game that is deep rooted in America’s history and goes back for decades. Over the years those who have played the game have risen to fame and fallen. One of those players that will forever be immortalized as a great is the Yankees’ legend, Lou Gehrig. This man was the face of baseball for thirteen years and still maintains popularity after being dead for seventy five years. Overall Lou Gehrig was an extraordinary man characterized by a humble beginning, great baseball performances, and a tragic death. Henry Louis Gehrig was born June 19, 1903 to Christina and Heinrich Gehrig. Lou was born and raised in New York City but his family did not have it easy. Lou was the only child in his family to survive

Lou was there to pursue an engineering degree but never finished. Although Lou was at Columbia on a football scholarship, he achieved more success in baseball. In fact Lou was suspended his first season of football for playing professional baseball (Gehrig). Lou continued to shine as an athlete until his sophomore year when a Yankee scout saw his true potential. Paul Krichell, a Yankee scout was so impressed by Gehrig’s abilities that he offered him a spot on the team. Lou accepted and received a fifteen hundred dollar signing bonus as well as the chance to play professionally. Gehrig spent the rest of that season and the next year training at a minor league team in Hartford, New York. Finally in 1925, Lou became a starter for the New York Yankees. A title he would hold for the next thirteen years

He was a worrier: always afraid he would lose his job or disappoint the fans. Because of this Gehrig maintained a streak of two thousand one hundred and thirty games that he at least played in. In fact, his teammates began calling him the “Iron Horse” because he played through pain and broken bones. This streak was not broken until Cal Ripken Jr. in 1995. Lou was truly an incredible ball player that put up shocking stats every year. Lou even won the triple crown, a feat of leading batting average. RBIs, and home runs in a season. Only seventeen players in the history of baseball have ever accomplished this task (Biography). But as Pipp aged out of the team, Lou also had his time to go with the