Lou Gehrig was born on June 19, 1903 in Yorkville, New York City, New York. He was a professional baseball player in the era of 1920s and 1930s. He made his debut in Major League Baseball on June 15, 1923 for New York Yankees and played his last match on April 30, 1939 for New York Yankees. He was popularly known as “The Iron Horse” for his durability and consistency in the game.
Lou Gehrig was known as the powerful hitter of the game and set several Major League Baseball records. He won 23 career grand slams highest by any player in the baseball history. In the year 1939 Lou Gehrig was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame while in the year 1969 Baseball Writers Association named Gehrig as the best first baseman of all time and was the leading vote getter on the MLB All-Century Team, which was chosen by fans in the year 1999.
He played for New York Yankees throughout his career but ended his career due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), now it is commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease in United States and Canada. He played 15 seasons in a row from the year 1925 to 1939, in which he played 2,130 consecutive baseball games, the flow ended only when he suffered from fatal neuromuscular disease that claimed his life 2 years later.
He was involved in 1,995 RBIs (Runs Batted In) in seventeen seasons, with a career batting average of .340, slugging percentage of .632 and on-base percentage of .447. In baseball history 3 of the top 6 RBI seasons belong to Lou Gehrig. In the year 1927 and 1936 he won American League’s MVP award. In the year 1934 he was a Triple Crown winner, where he led American League in batting average, RBIs and home runs. He was also selected for first seven All-Star games.
Career Highlights and Awards- • Selected for first seven All-Star games
• On June 3, 1932 he hit four home runs in one game
• New York Yankees Team Captain (1935-1939)