Deseret News archives: Lessons from Lou Gehrig’s life
Baseball's 'Iron Horse' ended his games played streak on this day in 1939.
New York Yankees' Lou Gehrig, the "Iron Horse," wipes away a tear while speaking during a sold-out tribute at Yankee Stadium July 4, 1939. Gehrig's record-breaking career was cut short by neuromuscular disease. | Murray Becker Editor’s note: This story was originally published on May 2, 2024.
A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives. There were no page-topping headlines in newspapers around the world announcing that on May 2, 1939, Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees did not play against the Detroit Tigers at Briggs Stadium, ending his streak of 2,130 consecutive games played. The Yankees star, a homegrown talent and one of the best baseball players of all time, had earned the nickname the “Iron Horse” by playing in every single game for nearly 14 years.
But the news was reported in most newspapers, including the Deseret News. “Yankees still good sans Gehrig; Columbia Lou on bench,” read the May 3 edition of the Deseret News sports section. Gehrig voluntarily took himself out of the lineup, but it wasn’t until later that he would be diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Lessons learned from Lou Gehrig, the smooth-swinging first baseman who proved every bit as popular and talented as teammate Babe Ruth, retired in 1939. He died two years later, but the disease that took his life is known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Here’s what the Yankee Clipper said when he retired, on July 4, 1939: “Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got.