WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.220 Okay, so today we're doing a deep dive into a 00:00:03.220 --> 00:00:06.940 figure who is just. I mean, he's a stunning paradox, 00:00:07.240 --> 00:00:09.259 really. He really is. The greatest symbol of 00:00:09.259 --> 00:00:12.140 physical durability in American sports. And at 00:00:12.140 --> 00:00:15.660 the same time, the man whose name is now synonymous 00:00:15.660 --> 00:00:20.059 with this profound, tragic frailty. Exactly. 00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:23.140 We are talking about Henry Louis Gehrig. The 00:00:23.140 --> 00:00:25.480 Iron Horse. And it's such an important story 00:00:25.480 --> 00:00:28.019 to get right. I mean, the mythology around him, 00:00:28.059 --> 00:00:30.500 especially that farewell speech. Right. The luckiest 00:00:30.500 --> 00:00:33.840 man. It can totally overshadow the sheer grit, 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:38.219 the statistical dominance, and the painful physical 00:00:38.219 --> 00:00:40.920 sacrifice that went into his 17 years in baseball. 00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:43.479 So that's our mission here. We want to sift through 00:00:43.479 --> 00:00:45.640 the facts to really understand the true measure 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:47.799 of the man, both on and off the field. And the 00:00:47.799 --> 00:00:49.700 greatness on the field. I mean, it's just undeniable. 00:00:49.740 --> 00:00:52.079 You just look at the raw numbers. Snapshot stats. 00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:54.640 are staggering he played his entire career all 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:57.299 17 seasons for the new york yankees a career 00:00:57.299 --> 00:01:01.299 batting average of 0 .340 493 home runs and uh 00:01:01.299 --> 00:01:06.659 get this 1995 rbis almost 2000 it's just It's 00:01:06.659 --> 00:01:08.719 a mind -boggling number. He was a six -time World 00:01:08.719 --> 00:01:13.200 Series champion, a two -time AL MVP. And in 1934, 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:15.340 he won the Triple Crown. And the Triple Crown, 00:01:15.500 --> 00:01:17.879 it's worth remembering what that actually is. 00:01:17.959 --> 00:01:19.939 For you listening, it means you're leading the 00:01:19.939 --> 00:01:22.099 league in three huge offensive categories in 00:01:22.099 --> 00:01:24.459 a single season. Batting average home runs and 00:01:24.459 --> 00:01:27.099 runs batted in. Right. It's an incredibly rare 00:01:27.099 --> 00:01:29.980 feat. It shows this unmatched blend of consistency 00:01:29.980 --> 00:01:35.040 and just raw power. He did that in 34, hitting 00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:39.260 .3. 6 '3", with 49 homers and 166 RBIs. Just 00:01:39.260 --> 00:01:41.319 an amazing season. So those are the highlights. 00:01:41.500 --> 00:01:43.239 But as you mentioned, there are two legacies 00:01:43.239 --> 00:01:45.480 that really define his place in American culture. 00:01:45.700 --> 00:01:47.840 First, that incredible endurance record. The 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:51.340 Reek, 2 ,130 consecutive games played. A record 00:01:51.340 --> 00:01:53.799 that stood for 56 years until Cal Ripken Jr. 00:01:54.019 --> 00:01:56.480 finally broke it in 1995. And the second, of 00:01:56.480 --> 00:01:58.480 course, is the tragic medical condition that 00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:00.400 is now, you know, just inextricably linked to 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:03.359 his name in the U .S. Aneotrophic lateral sclerosis. 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:06.510 Yes. ALS. Yeah. So Gehrig's story is really this 00:02:06.510 --> 00:02:09.650 masterclass in separating your personal value 00:02:09.650 --> 00:02:12.409 from your public recognition and understanding 00:02:12.409 --> 00:02:16.710 how a man who was defined by strength had to 00:02:16.710 --> 00:02:19.069 ultimately find a different kind of strength 00:02:19.069 --> 00:02:22.430 in. Well, in humility. It's essential to start 00:02:22.430 --> 00:02:24.169 at the beginning, though, because Gehrig's roots. 00:02:24.370 --> 00:02:26.370 Yeah. They were a long way from that clean cut 00:02:26.370 --> 00:02:28.729 American hero narrative he later embodied. A 00:02:28.729 --> 00:02:31.189 very long way. He was born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig 00:02:31.189 --> 00:02:34.490 on June 19th, 1903 in East Harlem. And apparently 00:02:34.490 --> 00:02:37.150 he was huge from birth. The sources say he weighed 00:02:37.150 --> 00:02:40.560 nearly 14 pounds. 14 pounds. That's. That's almost 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:42.379 like a built -in sign of the power to come, isn't 00:02:42.379 --> 00:02:44.620 it? But this early strength, it existed in an 00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:47.819 environment of just tremendous fragility. His 00:02:47.819 --> 00:02:50.159 parents were German immigrants, and life in the 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:52.900 tenements was, well, it was brutal. His father, 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:56.000 Heinrich Wilhelm Gehrig, he struggled with alcoholism 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:58.259 and epilepsy, which meant he was often out of 00:02:58.259 --> 00:03:00.539 work. So that put the entire burden of survival 00:03:00.539 --> 00:03:03.099 on his mother, Anna Christina Fusch, and by all 00:03:03.099 --> 00:03:05.240 accounts, she was a very strong, dominating figure. 00:03:05.580 --> 00:03:08.000 The main breadwinner, the disciplinarian, she 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:10.550 worked as a maid. And this is a really critical 00:03:10.550 --> 00:03:13.289 psychological detail, right? The man who becomes 00:03:13.289 --> 00:03:16.710 the iron horse, this symbol of reliability, grows 00:03:16.710 --> 00:03:20.389 up in a home with an unreliable male figure and 00:03:20.389 --> 00:03:22.930 this incredibly controlling mother. Oh, absolutely. 00:03:23.129 --> 00:03:25.689 And the fragility wasn't just financial. This 00:03:25.689 --> 00:03:28.270 part is heartbreaking. Gehrig was the only one 00:03:28.270 --> 00:03:30.810 of their four children to survive past early 00:03:30.810 --> 00:03:33.729 childhood. Wow. His brother died in infancy, 00:03:33.770 --> 00:03:35.810 and his two sisters died from common illnesses 00:03:35.810 --> 00:03:38.669 back then, things like whooping cough and measles. 00:03:38.969 --> 00:03:42.129 So when you're the only one left, there must 00:03:42.129 --> 00:03:45.530 be this unbelievable emotional premium placed 00:03:45.530 --> 00:03:49.639 on durability, on just... showing up. Exactly. 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:52.300 You can see that compulsion to never miss a day 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:54.560 of work showing up decades later in the streak. 00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:56.360 It wasn't just about baseball ambition. It was 00:03:56.360 --> 00:03:58.840 a psychological survival mechanism that was, 00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:00.659 you know, baked into him from childhood. That 00:04:00.659 --> 00:04:02.620 makes perfect sense. And we also know he grew 00:04:02.620 --> 00:04:04.400 up speaking German, which was pretty common in 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:06.219 his neighborhood. And he didn't even start learning 00:04:06.219 --> 00:04:08.599 English until he was about five. Right. And the 00:04:08.599 --> 00:04:11.199 name Lou, the name we all know him by, that was 00:04:11.199 --> 00:04:13.379 really just adopted to distinguish him from his 00:04:13.379 --> 00:04:15.680 father, who went by Henry. He was a New Yorker 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:17.699 through and through, came up through the local 00:04:17.800 --> 00:04:20.360 Leagues, went to Commerce High School. And at 00:04:20.360 --> 00:04:24.220 just 17 years old, his raw power was kind of 00:04:24.220 --> 00:04:26.939 accidentally unveiled on this huge stage. This 00:04:26.939 --> 00:04:30.000 story is fantastic. It's one of the great what 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:34.220 -ifs in baseball lore. In June 1920, his high 00:04:34.220 --> 00:04:36.579 school team travels to Chicago to play a local 00:04:36.579 --> 00:04:39.600 team at Cubs Park. Which we now know as Wrigley 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:43.300 Field. Exactly. And there are over 10 ,000 people 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:45.899 there watching a high school game, which is wild. 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:48.240 Gehrig comes up to bat in the top of the ninth 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:50.660 inning. And hits a grand slam so powerful it 00:04:50.660 --> 00:04:52.759 clears the right field wall and lands completely 00:04:52.759 --> 00:04:55.230 outside the Major League ballpark. It was an 00:04:55.230 --> 00:04:57.930 unheard of feat for a teenager. It was like this 00:04:57.930 --> 00:05:00.370 literal warning shot fired across the bow of 00:05:00.370 --> 00:05:03.009 professional baseball. But at first, he wasn't 00:05:03.009 --> 00:05:05.629 chasing a baseball contract. He was chasing stability. 00:05:06.209 --> 00:05:09.230 He enrolled at Columbia University to study engineering. 00:05:09.470 --> 00:05:12.610 On a football scholarship, no less. And the mindset 00:05:12.610 --> 00:05:16.500 of an... engineer, methodical, structural. It's 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:19.860 such a fascinating contrast to the raw explosive 00:05:19.860 --> 00:05:22.439 power of his swing. And he almost derailed that 00:05:22.439 --> 00:05:25.279 stability before it even started with his early 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:27.220 attempt to make some money. This is the famous 00:05:27.220 --> 00:05:30.620 Henry Lewis mistake. Right, exactly. So during 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:33.060 his first summer in college, he's strapped for 00:05:33.060 --> 00:05:35.339 cash. And the manager of the New York Giants, 00:05:35.379 --> 00:05:38.379 John McGraw, who ironically Gehrig will later 00:05:38.379 --> 00:05:41.240 overshadow, he advises him to go play some summer 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:43.860 pro ball under an alias. So he does. He uses 00:05:43.860 --> 00:05:45.819 the name Henry Lewis, plays 12 games for the 00:05:45.819 --> 00:05:48.100 Hartford Senators in the Eastern League, makes 00:05:48.100 --> 00:05:49.920 a little bit of money. But the problem wasn't 00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:52.839 the fake name. It was the money. Under the strict 00:05:52.839 --> 00:05:55.279 amateur rules of the time, if you took money 00:05:55.279 --> 00:05:57.439 for playing a sport, you were no longer eligible 00:05:57.439 --> 00:05:59.480 to play in college. And of course, the secret 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:01.990 gets out. He gets banned from all sports, including 00:06:01.990 --> 00:06:04.689 football, for his entire freshman year. It was 00:06:04.689 --> 00:06:07.009 a huge lesson for him, I think, a lesson in rules 00:06:07.009 --> 00:06:09.790 and consequences. And it probably instilled this 00:06:09.790 --> 00:06:13.009 deep determination in him to never, ever jeopardize 00:06:13.009 --> 00:06:16.269 his career again. So by 1923, he's back, playing 00:06:16.269 --> 00:06:18.949 both first base and pitching for Columbia. And 00:06:18.949 --> 00:06:20.970 that's when the Yankees scout, a man named Paul 00:06:20.970 --> 00:06:23.389 Critchell, shows up. And Critchell is there at 00:06:23.389 --> 00:06:26.850 Columbia's Southfield on April 18th, 1923, which 00:06:26.850 --> 00:06:30.490 is, funnily enough, the exact day the original 00:06:30.490 --> 00:06:32.810 Yankee Stadium opened. A great little piece of 00:06:32.810 --> 00:06:35.089 trivia. And he was there to watch Gehrig pitch. 00:06:35.470 --> 00:06:38.610 And Gehrig delivered, right? He said a team record 00:06:38.610 --> 00:06:42.170 struck out 17 batters that day. He did. But Critchell 00:06:42.170 --> 00:06:44.310 wasn't just impressed by his pitching. He was 00:06:44.310 --> 00:06:46.750 captivated by the sound of Gehrig's bat. The 00:06:46.750 --> 00:06:50.250 sound. Yeah. He later said he saw Gehrig just... 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:54.379 demolish a baseball, a monstrous 450 -foot home 00:06:54.379 --> 00:06:56.860 run at Southfield that supposedly landed somewhere 00:06:56.860 --> 00:07:00.060 near 116th and Broadway. The power was just immediately 00:07:00.060 --> 00:07:03.540 recognizable as, you know, generational. So Crushell 00:07:03.540 --> 00:07:05.860 tells the Yankees he's found the next Babe Ruth. 00:07:06.100 --> 00:07:09.379 Gehrig signs for about a $1 ,500 bonus on April 00:07:09.379 --> 00:07:12.100 29th, 1923. And it's a remarkable geographical 00:07:12.100 --> 00:07:14.540 note, too. Except for that brief stint in Hartford, 00:07:14.660 --> 00:07:16.600 Gehrig played his entire athletic life, from 00:07:16.600 --> 00:07:18.699 childhood to high school, college, and the majors, 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:20.459 all for teams based right there. in New York 00:07:20.459 --> 00:07:24.060 City. A true hometown giant. The quiet, disciplined 00:07:24.060 --> 00:07:27.240 powerhouse forged by the hardship of East Harlem. 00:07:27.500 --> 00:07:30.060 So Gehrig officially joins the Yankees midway 00:07:30.060 --> 00:07:32.220 through the 23 season, but he doesn't just walk 00:07:32.220 --> 00:07:34.839 into the lineup. No, he was blocked by the team's 00:07:34.839 --> 00:07:36.740 established first baseman, a guy named Wally 00:07:36.740 --> 00:07:39.339 Pipp. And Wally Pipp, for you listening, he wasn't 00:07:39.339 --> 00:07:41.939 just some random player. He was a premier power 00:07:41.939 --> 00:07:44.680 hitter for his time. He led the American League 00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:47.199 in home runs twice. But that was in what they 00:07:47.199 --> 00:07:50.040 called the dead ball era. When home runs were 00:07:50.040 --> 00:07:52.379 really rare. By the time Gehrig arrived, the 00:07:52.379 --> 00:07:54.879 game had changed, the ball was livelier, and 00:07:54.879 --> 00:07:58.420 Pip was slowing down. So Gehrig was mostly pinch 00:07:58.420 --> 00:08:01.079 hitting, even though he batted an insane .423 00:08:01.079 --> 00:08:03.980 in the limited time he got in 1923. Which brings 00:08:03.980 --> 00:08:06.439 us to the legendary pivot point, the origin story 00:08:06.439 --> 00:08:10.120 of the streak. Yeah. June 1st, 1925. Yes. The 00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:12.839 story goes that Pip, who was struggling and not 00:08:12.839 --> 00:08:14.500 feeling well, took himself out of the lineup, 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:16.939 complained of a headache. Gehrig replaced him. 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:19.939 Then the next day, June 2, 1925, the manager, 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:22.180 Miller Huggins, decides to just give Gehrig the 00:08:22.180 --> 00:08:24.500 start at first base. Pip stays on the bench. 00:08:24.740 --> 00:08:28.180 And he never gets his job back. That one simple 00:08:28.180 --> 00:08:30.860 decision, all prompted by a headache, launched 00:08:30.860 --> 00:08:34.879 Gehrig's streak of 2 ,130 consecutive games. 00:08:35.179 --> 00:08:37.100 It's incredible. So now he's a full -time starter, 00:08:37.220 --> 00:08:39.899 but his career -defining season really arrives 00:08:39.899 --> 00:08:44.440 two years later, in 1927. Ah, the 27 Yankees. 00:08:45.110 --> 00:08:48.009 murderers row arguably the greatest single team 00:08:48.009 --> 00:08:49.950 in the history of baseball they were an absolute 00:08:49.950 --> 00:08:52.610 machine and garrick was the engine i mean his 00:08:52.610 --> 00:08:54.590 numbers from that year they're just staggering 00:08:54.590 --> 00:08:56.309 and they often get overlooked they really do 00:08:56.309 --> 00:08:59.330 he finished the season with a .373 batting average 00:08:59.330 --> 00:09:05.009 218 hits 47 home runs and a then record 175 rbis 00:09:05.009 --> 00:09:07.289 and that rbi mark is crucial because it actually 00:09:07.289 --> 00:09:10.950 broke babe ruth's previous record of 168 gary's 00:09:10.950 --> 00:09:14.269 447 total bases that year still ranks third all 00:09:14.350 --> 00:09:16.370 time for a single season. The Yankees won 110 00:09:16.370 --> 00:09:18.370 games, they swept the World Series and Gehrig 00:09:18.370 --> 00:09:20.309 was deservedly named the American League MVP. 00:09:20.690 --> 00:09:22.509 And yet, and this is the theme of Gehrig's whole 00:09:22.509 --> 00:09:24.870 career, he was overshadowed. Despite winning 00:09:24.870 --> 00:09:27.090 MVP and breaking the RBI record, the only thing 00:09:27.090 --> 00:09:29.350 anyone really remembers from the 1927 season 00:09:29.350 --> 00:09:31.889 is Babe Ruth hitting an unprecedented 60 home 00:09:31.889 --> 00:09:35.129 runs. It's true. Gehrig was a quiet craftsman. 00:09:35.470 --> 00:09:38.590 Ruth was the dazzling spectacle. It creates this 00:09:38.590 --> 00:09:40.789 fascinating psychological dynamic. It's like 00:09:40.789 --> 00:09:42.649 his whole background, the controlling mother, 00:09:42.750 --> 00:09:44.669 the need for stability. It conditioned him for 00:09:44.669 --> 00:09:47.529 humility, for being the quiet professional. He 00:09:47.529 --> 00:09:50.509 just tolerated being number two. And that's literally 00:09:50.509 --> 00:09:53.570 cemented in their uniform numbers. When the Yankees 00:09:53.570 --> 00:09:56.049 started using numbers in 1929, Ruth wore number 00:09:56.049 --> 00:09:59.590 three. Kerrig, who batted right behind him, was 00:09:59.590 --> 00:10:02.990 given number four. He was literally and figuratively. 00:10:03.639 --> 00:10:05.899 The number after Ruth. But his greatness wasn't 00:10:05.899 --> 00:10:08.019 just about consistency. He had these explosive 00:10:08.019 --> 00:10:10.600 moments, too. We have to talk about the four 00:10:10.600 --> 00:10:14.440 -home run game. Oh, yes. June 3, 1932. Okay. 00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:17.059 Against the Philadelphia Athletics, Gehrig just 00:10:17.059 --> 00:10:19.200 went on a tear, became the first player in the 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:21.360 entire 20th century to hit four home runs in 00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:23.500 a single game. I mean, before that, it had only 00:10:23.500 --> 00:10:24.919 happened twice, and that was way back in the 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:27.200 1890s. He was just completely locked in. And 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:29.909 he almost hit a fifth. In his last at -bat, the 00:10:29.909 --> 00:10:32.470 center fielder, Al Simmons, made this amazing 00:10:32.470 --> 00:10:34.830 leaping catch at the wall to rob him. Manager 00:10:34.830 --> 00:10:37.110 Joe McCarthy even told him after, Well, Lou, 00:10:37.289 --> 00:10:39.909 nobody can take today away from you. Which should 00:10:39.909 --> 00:10:41.389 have been true. It should have been the headline 00:10:41.389 --> 00:10:44.389 of the century. A historic individual achievement. 00:10:45.509 --> 00:10:48.769 But that curse of being overshadowed, it struck 00:10:48.769 --> 00:10:51.610 again that very same day. It was just cruel timing. 00:10:52.129 --> 00:10:55.750 On that exact day, June 3rd, 1932, John McGraw, 00:10:55.850 --> 00:10:57.870 the legendary manager of the New York Giants, 00:10:57.870 --> 00:11:00.750 this huge baseball icon, announced his retirement. 00:11:00.970 --> 00:11:04.190 After 30 years. Yeah. And that story just completely 00:11:04.190 --> 00:11:06.889 saturated the New York sports pages. Gehrig's 00:11:06.889 --> 00:11:09.350 four home runs were pushed to a secondary story 00:11:09.350 --> 00:11:11.809 or in some national papers, just forgotten. It 00:11:11.809 --> 00:11:13.909 just hammers home the theme, right? Gehrig was 00:11:13.909 --> 00:11:15.909 consistently denied the spotlight, even when 00:11:15.909 --> 00:11:17.669 he did something almost no one in history had 00:11:17.669 --> 00:11:19.769 ever done. He was defined by his consistency. 00:11:20.490 --> 00:11:23.129 Not by the Flash. And that consistency is perfectly 00:11:23.129 --> 00:11:26.909 embodied by the streak. The 20 ,130 consecutive 00:11:26.909 --> 00:11:29.470 games, that was the defining commitment of his 00:11:29.470 --> 00:11:31.110 life. That's why they called him the Iron Horse. 00:11:31.629 --> 00:11:35.389 On August 17, 1933, he officially surpassed the 00:11:35.389 --> 00:11:39.509 old record of 3 ,307 games, which was held by 00:11:39.509 --> 00:11:41.649 a guy named Everett Scott. And Scott was actually 00:11:41.649 --> 00:11:43.509 at the game as a special guest, which was a nice 00:11:43.509 --> 00:11:45.509 touch. Gehrig acknowledged him during the ceremony. 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:48.379 But to really get the scale of the streak, you 00:11:48.379 --> 00:11:50.139 have to understand what baseball was like back 00:11:50.139 --> 00:11:52.919 then. This was not a modern sport. Not at all. 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:55.779 No mandated batting helmets, no specialized physical 00:11:55.779 --> 00:11:58.879 therapy, and definitely no concept of load management. 00:11:59.159 --> 00:12:01.779 This streak was maintained through sheer and 00:12:01.779 --> 00:12:05.379 often reckless brute force endurance. The list 00:12:05.379 --> 00:12:08.220 of injuries he played through is just, it's incredible. 00:12:08.299 --> 00:12:10.559 We already talked about the psychological drive 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:12.600 from his childhood. Now you have to look at the 00:12:12.600 --> 00:12:14.879 physical price he paid. Let's start with the 00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:17.149 head injuries. batting helmets weren't common 00:12:17.149 --> 00:12:21.610 until the 1940s on april 23 1933 he gets hit 00:12:21.610 --> 00:12:24.070 in the head with a pitch he stumbles but he stays 00:12:24.070 --> 00:12:27.730 in the game Today is just unthinkable. It gets 00:12:27.730 --> 00:12:30.950 worse. In June of 34, during an exhibition game, 00:12:31.129 --> 00:12:33.610 he's knocked unconscious by a pitch. He's out 00:12:33.610 --> 00:12:36.389 cold for five minutes. Most players today would 00:12:36.389 --> 00:12:39.129 be on the injured list for weeks, maybe months. 00:12:39.590 --> 00:12:41.750 Gehrig was back in the lineup the very next day. 00:12:41.909 --> 00:12:44.269 And this constant head trauma, combined with 00:12:44.269 --> 00:12:46.809 his football past at Columbia, is what fuels 00:12:46.809 --> 00:12:48.570 that modern medical debate we'll get to later. 00:12:49.049 --> 00:12:51.490 And beyond the concussions, it was just the daily 00:12:51.490 --> 00:12:54.190 grind. He played through broken fingers, cracked 00:12:54.190 --> 00:12:57.070 toes, the flu. X -rays taken late in his life 00:12:57.070 --> 00:12:59.870 showed multiple old fractures that had healed 00:12:59.870 --> 00:13:01.990 improperly because he just never took any time 00:13:01.990 --> 00:13:04.929 off. There are some legendary stories about preserving 00:13:04.929 --> 00:13:07.889 the streak. One time, he almost missed a game 00:13:07.889 --> 00:13:10.149 with a cracked toe, but he made sure his name 00:13:10.149 --> 00:13:12.450 was on the lineup card before the official deadline. 00:13:12.730 --> 00:13:15.470 There's also that story that the Yankees GM Ed 00:13:15.470 --> 00:13:18.529 Barrow once postponed a game for rain, even though 00:13:18.529 --> 00:13:20.110 it wasn't raining, just because he knew Garrett 00:13:20.110 --> 00:13:22.480 got a high fever and couldn't play. He also knew 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:25.399 all the loopholes in the rulebook. In 1933, he 00:13:25.399 --> 00:13:27.700 and his manager got ejected from a game for arguing. 00:13:28.179 --> 00:13:30.480 But because Gehrig had already had an official 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:32.960 at -bat before he was thrown out, the streak 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:35.580 was preserved. The rule just required an appearance, 00:13:35.659 --> 00:13:37.600 not that you play the whole game. But the most 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:40.320 dramatic, and in hindsight, maybe the most chilling 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:42.580 example of this rule bending happened in July 00:13:42.580 --> 00:13:46.059 1934. And some people now think this was an early 00:13:46.059 --> 00:13:48.259 sign of his illness. He was suffering from what 00:13:48.259 --> 00:13:52.299 they called a severe lumbago attack. Basically, 00:13:52.299 --> 00:13:54.539 crippling back pain. He had to be helped off 00:13:54.539 --> 00:13:57.059 the field. He knew he couldn't play the field 00:13:57.059 --> 00:13:59.440 the next day, but he refused to miss the game. 00:13:59.720 --> 00:14:02.240 So he pulled off what's now called the shortstop 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:04.840 gambit. He convinced his manager to write him 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:07.940 into the lineup card, but as the shortstop, batting 00:14:07.940 --> 00:14:10.059 leadoff. A position he had never played professionally. 00:14:10.379 --> 00:14:13.620 Right. So he goes up for his first at -bat, gets 00:14:13.620 --> 00:14:16.159 a single, and is immediately replaced by a pinch 00:14:16.159 --> 00:14:18.860 runner. He never even has to take the field defensively. 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:21.399 So just to be clear for you listening, he only 00:14:21.399 --> 00:14:24.539 had to face one pitch, get on base, and his duty 00:14:24.539 --> 00:14:27.460 to the streak was fulfilled. It just shows the 00:14:27.460 --> 00:14:29.960 extreme lengths he would go to. And while all 00:14:29.960 --> 00:14:32.240 this is happening on the field, his personal 00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:35.220 life is finally starting to stabilize. In 1933, 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:37.879 he marries Eleanor Twitchell. And this was a 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:40.340 huge turning point for him. Eleanor was a modern, 00:14:40.460 --> 00:14:42.379 independent woman, and she really helped him 00:14:42.379 --> 00:14:45.419 break free from the overwhelming influence of 00:14:45.419 --> 00:14:47.840 his mother. For the first time, he had a stable, 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:50.379 emotional life that was separate from the team 00:14:50.379 --> 00:14:52.860 or his family. And it led to his commercial independence 00:14:52.860 --> 00:14:56.500 too. He hired Babe Ruth's agent, Christy Walsh, 00:14:56.500 --> 00:14:59.000 and he became the first athlete ever to appear 00:14:59.000 --> 00:15:01.899 on a Wheaties box. He was finally stepping out 00:15:01.899 --> 00:15:04.840 of both his mother's shadow and Ruth's huge public 00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:07.179 persona. Which makes the comparison with Ruth 00:15:07.179 --> 00:15:08.980 during this period so interesting. They were 00:15:08.980 --> 00:15:11.179 teammates for 10 seasons, batting back -to -back. 00:15:11.580 --> 00:15:13.480 And if you look at their stats over those 10 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:15.860 years together, the idea that Gehrig was just 00:15:15.860 --> 00:15:18.379 an afterthought completely falls apart. Yes, 00:15:18.379 --> 00:15:22.299 Ruth had more home runs, 424 to 347. But Gehrig 00:15:22.299 --> 00:15:25.519 was the better run producer. He had more RBIs. 00:15:26.009 --> 00:15:30.610 1 ,436 to Roots' 1 ,316, and he had a slightly 00:15:30.610 --> 00:15:33.149 higher batting average. He was just this relentless, 00:15:33.350 --> 00:15:35.470 unstoppable force. There's a great quote from 00:15:35.470 --> 00:15:37.610 Lefty Grove, one of the most intimidating pitchers 00:15:37.610 --> 00:15:40.210 of that era. Right. Grove was famous for throwing 00:15:40.210 --> 00:15:42.610 at batters to intimidate them. But he refused 00:15:42.610 --> 00:15:44.990 to do it to Gehrig. He said, you can never tell 00:15:44.990 --> 00:15:46.769 what that big fellow will do if you get him mad 00:15:46.769 --> 00:15:49.330 at you. Gehrig commanded that kind of respect. 00:15:49.490 --> 00:15:52.590 He was quiet, but immensely powerful. So his 00:15:52.590 --> 00:15:55.259 career and his personal life are peaking. But 00:15:55.259 --> 00:15:57.980 his body, his body was secretly being pushed 00:15:57.980 --> 00:16:00.700 far beyond its limits. The decline when it started 00:16:00.700 --> 00:16:03.039 was so subtle that most people missed it. But 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:05.100 those who were close to him, they saw the change 00:16:05.100 --> 00:16:07.940 around the summer of 1938. Garrick himself was 00:16:07.940 --> 00:16:10.840 the first to notice. He told people he felt tired 00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:13.559 mid -season in 38 that he just couldn't get going 00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:16.279 again. And his stats, while still great for a 00:16:16.279 --> 00:16:19.779 normal player, a .295 average, 29 home runs, 00:16:20.039 --> 00:16:23.200 they were a huge drop -off for him. For Gehrig, 00:16:23.240 --> 00:16:26.519 a .295 average probably felt like a total failure. 00:16:27.019 --> 00:16:28.879 And then the physical decline just accelerated 00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:32.340 rapidly in the spring of 1939. During spring 00:16:32.340 --> 00:16:34.620 training, people noticed a devastating lack of 00:16:34.620 --> 00:16:37.379 power in his swing. He even collapsed once. He 00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:39.600 finished the entire spring training camp without 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:41.580 hitting a single home run. So when the regular 00:16:41.580 --> 00:16:44.340 season started in April 39, his performance was 00:16:44.340 --> 00:16:47.289 just... Shocking. He was sluggish, he was dragging 00:16:47.289 --> 00:16:50.110 the bat, and his average plummeted to a career 00:16:50.110 --> 00:16:53.330 -worst .143. There was a reporter, James Kahn, 00:16:53.470 --> 00:16:55.350 who captured the heartbreaking mystery of it 00:16:55.350 --> 00:17:04.950 all perfectly. He wrote, So he was still making 00:17:04.950 --> 00:17:07.730 contact. He barely struck out, but the power, 00:17:07.869 --> 00:17:11.119 the launch energy was just... Gone. His muscles 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:13.440 were betraying him. And the final moment of realization 00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:16.000 for him, the tipping point, came during a game 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:18.880 in Washington. He struggled to make a completely 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:22.000 routine play at first base. The pitcher, Johnny 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:24.440 Murphy, had to wait for Garrick to drag himself 00:17:24.440 --> 00:17:26.680 over to the bag. And Murphy said something like, 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:29.589 nice play, Lou. And Gehrig later said that's 00:17:29.589 --> 00:17:31.890 when it hit him. He told his manager, that was 00:17:31.890 --> 00:17:34.069 the simplest play, and I knew then there was 00:17:34.069 --> 00:17:36.210 something wrong with me. The Iron Horse finally 00:17:36.210 --> 00:17:38.910 had to admit it. And with that selfless realization, 00:17:39.410 --> 00:17:42.890 the streak came to a voluntary end. On May 2, 00:17:43.210 --> 00:17:46.009 1939, before a game in Detroit, he went to his 00:17:46.009 --> 00:17:48.269 manager, Joe McCarthy. And his words were so 00:17:48.269 --> 00:17:50.930 simple, so typical of him. I'm benching myself, 00:17:51.150 --> 00:17:53.279 Joe, for the good of the team. It was this stunning 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:56.380 act of quiet self -sacrifice. As team captain, 00:17:56.559 --> 00:17:58.339 he carried the lineup card out to the umpires 00:17:58.339 --> 00:18:01.920 himself, ending his streak at 2 ,130 games. The 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:03.920 stadium announcer told the crowd and they were 00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:07.000 shocked. The Detroit fans gave him this huge 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:09.200 standing ovation while he just sat on the bench 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:11.740 with tears in his eyes. And in this unbelievable 00:18:11.740 --> 00:18:14.039 twist of fate, the man he replaced all those 00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:16.279 years ago, Wally Pipp, just happened to be in 00:18:16.279 --> 00:18:18.680 the stands that day. As his condition worsened, 00:18:18.819 --> 00:18:21.380 his wife Eleanor took charge. She called the 00:18:21.380 --> 00:18:24.000 Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Gehrig arrived there 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:27.480 on June 13th, 1939. And after a week of tests, 00:18:27.619 --> 00:18:30.240 the diagnosis was confirmed on his 36th birthday, 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:35.380 June 19th. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS. 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:38.220 The prognosis was devastating. Rapid paralysis, 00:18:38.599 --> 00:18:41.779 difficulty speaking, swallowing, and a life expectancy 00:18:41.779 --> 00:18:43.880 of less than three years. And here's the most 00:18:43.880 --> 00:18:47.769 critical and I think most cruel detail. The doctors 00:18:47.769 --> 00:18:49.789 guaranteed him that his mind would stay completely 00:18:49.789 --> 00:18:52.750 unimpaired. He would be fully aware, cognitively 00:18:52.750 --> 00:18:54.930 sharp, as his body just completely failed him. 00:18:55.009 --> 00:18:57.049 The psychological horror of that is, it's just 00:18:57.049 --> 00:18:59.470 unimaginable. His immediate reaction in a letter 00:18:59.470 --> 00:19:01.970 to Eleanor was this intense fear of being a burden. 00:19:02.170 --> 00:19:04.289 He wrote, I made him honestly assure me that 00:19:04.289 --> 00:19:06.450 it will not affect me mentally. I will not become 00:19:06.450 --> 00:19:08.710 mentally unbalanced and thereby become a burden 00:19:08.710 --> 00:19:11.670 on your hands for life. Wow. Even then he was 00:19:11.670 --> 00:19:13.700 thinking of her. The full weight of it really 00:19:13.700 --> 00:19:15.960 hit home on the train ride back from the clinic. 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:19.440 The train pulls into Washington, D .C., and there's 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:21.920 a huge crowd of well -wishers and Boy Scouts 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:24.740 there to cheer for him. And he waves, and then 00:19:24.740 --> 00:19:27.380 he leans over to a reporter and says, one of 00:19:27.380 --> 00:19:29.039 the most heartbreaking things I've ever read. 00:19:29.140 --> 00:19:32.720 He said, they're wishing me luck, and I'm dying. 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:35.740 Before we get to his final act, though, we do 00:19:35.740 --> 00:19:38.220 have to touch on the modern medical debate about 00:19:38.220 --> 00:19:42.019 his diagnosis. The possibility of CTE. Chronic 00:19:42.019 --> 00:19:44.779 Traumatic Encephalopathy. Right. And this isn't 00:19:44.779 --> 00:19:47.319 just random speculation. It's based on his documented 00:19:47.319 --> 00:19:49.920 history of head trauma. We know he played football 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:51.700 and we talked about all those concussions he 00:19:51.700 --> 00:19:53.740 had playing baseball without a helmet. And the 00:19:53.740 --> 00:19:55.680 theory is that repeated trauma can sometimes 00:19:55.680 --> 00:19:58.980 mimic the symptoms of ALS or maybe even act as 00:19:58.980 --> 00:20:01.720 a catalyst. It's an ongoing debate. But the major 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:04.140 counterpoint is that Gehrig never showed the 00:20:04.140 --> 00:20:06.299 behavioral symptoms we usually associate with 00:20:06.299 --> 00:20:10.000 CTE, like wild mood swings or violence. His character 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:12.279 remained gentle and humble to the end. And the 00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:14.119 most frustrating part is we'll never know for 00:20:14.119 --> 00:20:18.140 sure. A CTE diagnosis requires an autopsy, an 00:20:18.140 --> 00:20:20.230 examination of the brain tissue. And because 00:20:20.230 --> 00:20:22.849 Gehrig's remains were cremated, a definitive 00:20:22.849 --> 00:20:25.630 diagnosis is impossible. We're just left with 00:20:25.630 --> 00:20:27.529 this heartbreaking uncertainty of whether his 00:20:27.529 --> 00:20:30.049 greatest strength, his durability, was the very 00:20:30.049 --> 00:20:32.529 thing that triggered his downfall. So just two 00:20:32.529 --> 00:20:34.910 weeks after the diagnosis was made public, the 00:20:34.910 --> 00:20:38.190 Yankees held Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day on the 00:20:38.190 --> 00:20:41.980 4th of July, 1939. It was between games of a 00:20:41.980 --> 00:20:44.140 doubleheader, and it became one of the most emotional 00:20:44.140 --> 00:20:46.480 moments in all of sports history. A sold -out 00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:51.000 crowd, over 61 ,000 fans at Yankee Stadium. Dignitaries. 00:20:51.019 --> 00:20:54.920 The mayor. The air was just thick with reverence 00:20:54.920 --> 00:20:58.000 and grief. The speeches were so emotional. His 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:00.099 manager, Jill McCarthy, the man who stood by 00:21:00.099 --> 00:21:02.299 him for so long, he stepped up to the mic and 00:21:02.299 --> 00:21:04.160 was just completely overcome. He could barely 00:21:04.160 --> 00:21:06.680 speak through his tears. He called Gehrig the 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:09.019 finest example of a ballplayer, sportsman, and 00:21:09.019 --> 00:21:11.140 citizen that baseball has ever known. And in 00:21:11.140 --> 00:21:13.759 a truly historic move, the Yankees retired his 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:16.039 number four that day. He was the first Major 00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:17.660 League Baseball player ever to have his number 00:21:17.660 --> 00:21:20.569 retired. And there was this really sad physical 00:21:20.569 --> 00:21:23.549 detail that just highlighted how fast the disease 00:21:23.549 --> 00:21:26.549 was progressing. As he was given all these gifts, 00:21:26.730 --> 00:21:29.609 like a big silver trophy, he was seen immediately 00:21:29.609 --> 00:21:31.869 putting them on the ground. He didn't have the 00:21:31.869 --> 00:21:34.210 arm strength to hold them. No, his paralysis 00:21:34.210 --> 00:21:36.789 was already that advanced. But the moment that 00:21:36.789 --> 00:21:39.529 defines him, the moment that separates him from 00:21:39.529 --> 00:21:42.089 every other legend, was his farewell speech. 00:21:43.089 --> 00:21:46.509 What we now call baseball's Gettysburg Address. 00:21:47.079 --> 00:21:49.519 He was famously shy, he hated public speaking, 00:21:49.740 --> 00:21:52.240 but the roar of the crowd chanting his name, 00:21:52.299 --> 00:21:54.839 it finally drew him to the microphone. And the 00:21:54.839 --> 00:21:57.200 speech was completely unscripted, beyond a few 00:21:57.200 --> 00:21:59.539 lines he'd memorized. He starts by acknowledging 00:21:59.539 --> 00:22:02.220 the situation. Fans, for the past two weeks you've 00:22:02.220 --> 00:22:04.099 been reading about a bad break. And then comes 00:22:04.099 --> 00:22:06.339 that monumental line that just reframes the entire 00:22:06.339 --> 00:22:09.259 tragedy. Today I consider myself the luckiest 00:22:09.259 --> 00:22:11.740 man on the face of the earth. It's just... It's 00:22:11.740 --> 00:22:14.019 an act of rhetorical genius. He immediately lists 00:22:14.019 --> 00:22:16.519 his reasons, his managers, his teammates, the 00:22:16.519 --> 00:22:19.079 fans. He even makes a joke about his mother -in 00:22:19.079 --> 00:22:21.500 -law. The whole speech was this perfect blend 00:22:21.500 --> 00:22:24.920 of gratitude and stoicism. And it ends with that 00:22:24.920 --> 00:22:27.039 powerful statement that puts character above 00:22:27.039 --> 00:22:30.200 his condition. He says, so I close in saying 00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:32.279 that I might have been given a bad break, but 00:22:32.279 --> 00:22:34.519 I've got an awful lot to live for. Thank you. 00:22:34.990 --> 00:22:38.490 The response was just total. 61 ,000 people on 00:22:38.490 --> 00:22:41.190 their feet, cheering for almost two minutes straight. 00:22:41.410 --> 00:22:43.910 And then Babe Ruth, the man who had overshadowed 00:22:43.910 --> 00:22:46.869 him his whole career, rushes over and just hugs 00:22:46.869 --> 00:22:49.089 him. It was an incredible moment. The New York 00:22:49.089 --> 00:22:51.509 Times called it one of the most touching scenes 00:22:51.509 --> 00:22:54.009 ever witnessed on a ball field. And his commitment 00:22:54.009 --> 00:22:57.009 to character didn't end there. In October 1939, 00:22:57.390 --> 00:22:59.630 he accepts an appointment from the mayor to be 00:22:59.630 --> 00:23:01.890 a New York City parole commissioner. This was 00:23:01.890 --> 00:23:04.750 a huge choice. He turned down way more lucrative 00:23:04.750 --> 00:23:06.849 offers to do speaking tours and appearances. 00:23:07.390 --> 00:23:10.589 He chose difficult, quiet public service for 00:23:10.589 --> 00:23:13.910 about $5 ,700 a year. It was his final act of 00:23:13.910 --> 00:23:16.609 humility. He took the job seriously, visiting 00:23:16.609 --> 00:23:19.089 prisons, working right up until a month before 00:23:19.089 --> 00:23:21.950 his death. As the paralysis got worse, Eleanor 00:23:21.950 --> 00:23:23.809 would have to guide his hand to sign documents. 00:23:24.430 --> 00:23:28.869 Lou Gehrig died on June 2, 1941, just 17 days 00:23:28.869 --> 00:23:31.890 shy of his 38th birthday. And it was exactly 00:23:31.890 --> 00:23:34.910 16 years to the day after his incredible streak 00:23:34.910 --> 00:23:37.289 had begun. Flags were flown at half -staff. Babe 00:23:37.289 --> 00:23:39.470 Ruth reportedly wept at the wake and had to be 00:23:39.470 --> 00:23:41.250 led away from the casket. He was immediately 00:23:41.250 --> 00:23:43.150 elected to the Hall of Fame. They waived the 00:23:43.150 --> 00:23:45.769 waiting period. The Yankees dedicated a monument 00:23:45.769 --> 00:23:48.690 to him. His stats are still benchmarks. He was 00:23:48.690 --> 00:23:51.089 the leading vote -getter on the MLB All -Century 00:23:51.089 --> 00:23:53.970 team in 1999. And his wife, Eleanor, dedication 00:23:53.970 --> 00:23:57.130 became part of his legacy. She never remarried. 00:23:57.150 --> 00:23:59.410 She said, I had the best of it. I would not have 00:23:59.410 --> 00:24:01.309 traded two minutes of my life with that man for 00:24:01.309 --> 00:24:03.410 40 years with another. She spent the rest of 00:24:03.410 --> 00:24:05.950 her life supporting ALS research. And finally, 00:24:06.029 --> 00:24:09.509 in 2021, Major League Baseball made June 2nd 00:24:09.509 --> 00:24:11.750 the anniversary of the streak starting and his 00:24:11.750 --> 00:24:14.170 death Lou Gehrig Day. So we've done the deep 00:24:14.170 --> 00:24:16.650 dive, we've seen the paradox, the man whose body 00:24:16.650 --> 00:24:19.849 was molded by hardship into this symbol of unbreakable 00:24:19.849 --> 00:24:22.109 durability, only to be betrayed by a disease 00:24:22.109 --> 00:24:24.390 that took everything physical from him. And yet... 00:24:24.619 --> 00:24:27.259 At his lowest moment, he chose to define himself 00:24:27.259 --> 00:24:29.799 not by the records that would eventually be broken, 00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:33.299 but by a character that remains, you know, completely 00:24:33.299 --> 00:24:35.640 unbroken. The relevance for you listening is 00:24:35.640 --> 00:24:39.160 it's simple, really. Garrick's story goes so 00:24:39.160 --> 00:24:42.059 far beyond baseball because it's about separating 00:24:42.059 --> 00:24:45.059 your personal worth from your public achievements. 00:24:45.319 --> 00:24:48.720 His real strength wasn't playing 2 ,130 games. 00:24:48.920 --> 00:24:51.380 It was standing up in front of 60 ,000 people 00:24:51.380 --> 00:24:53.519 while facing death and declaring himself lucky. 00:24:54.009 --> 00:24:56.490 He chose gratitude over bitterness, which is 00:24:56.490 --> 00:24:58.609 a lesson that applies to everything. We've gone 00:24:58.609 --> 00:25:00.789 through his incredible stats, his honors, the 00:25:00.789 --> 00:25:03.609 creation of Lou Gehrig Day. But given that his 00:25:03.609 --> 00:25:05.690 signature baseball records have been broken or 00:25:05.690 --> 00:25:08.410 tied, let's leave you with a final provocative 00:25:08.410 --> 00:25:11.390 thought. Does the tragic medical legacy, the 00:25:11.390 --> 00:25:14.569 fact that we call ALS Lou Gehrig's disease, does 00:25:14.569 --> 00:25:16.670 that now define his enduring presence in the 00:25:16.670 --> 00:25:18.910 American consciousness even more than his athletic 00:25:18.910 --> 00:25:21.349 achievements? And what does it say about us that 00:25:21.349 --> 00:25:23.390 we remember the strength of his character most 00:25:23.390 --> 00:25:25.930 clearly at the exact moment his physical strength 00:25:25.930 --> 00:25:28.349 finally failed him? Something for you to mull 00:25:28.349 --> 00:25:29.829 over until our next deep dive.