Lou Gehrig Biography
Lou Gehrig Biographical Essay
Lou Gehrig was born and raised in New York City, the son of German immigrant parents. His full name was Henry Louis Gehrig. After graduating from high school, he attended Columbia University where he became a football and baseball star. Lou's father directed him to becoming a pro baseball player. He became sick and needed on operation, but there was no money for doctors and hospital expenses in the family budget, so young Lou quickly capitalized on his baseball skills. He accepted an offer from a scout to sign a contract with the New York Yankees, for $ 1,500 in cash as a bonus. Lou dropped out of college to play in the minor leagues and gain some experience until the Yankees needed him.
Gehrig was 22 when he became a big league rookie. He sat on the bench until one day in June in the 1925 season when he finally broke into the Yankees' line up as a first baseman. It happened because the team's veteran first baseman couldn't play because of a sever headache. He stayed first baseman for fourteen seasons, five thousand eighty-two playing days, he played a total of two thousand, one hundred and thirty major league games. It was a record that will never be broken or even equaled.
To create that unbelievable endurance, feat, strong and powerful Lou Gehrig nicknamed "The Iron Horse," played in every one of the two thousand, one hundred and thirty consecutive games, even though he was beaned three times, had fingers broken ten times, suffered fractured toes, torn muscles, a wrenched shoulder, a back injury, chipped elbows, and the pain of several lumbago attacks. Yet, in every contest of that incredibly long playing period he played with all the enthusiasm of a kid breaking into the big leagues.
During that streak of 2,130 consecutive games "The Iron Horse" performed other astonishing feats. He became the first in the 20th century to hit four consecutive home runs in a nine-inning game. Only he in major-league history hit 23 grand slam home runs for 13 years in a row he drove in one hundred runs, topping 150 RBI's seven times and setting the American League record of 184 runs batted-in during the 1931 season for twelve seasons in a row he hit more than .300, and he made 1,991 runs, scored 1,888 runs, and walked 1,510 times. He...