22MLBThe Luckiest Man
- Date
7/4/1939
- Location
Yankee Stadium | Bronx, NY
- Moment
A few weeks after ALS forced him to retire from baseball, New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig addressed the crowd at Yankee Stadium and said that despite his health issues, he considers himself the "luckiest man on the face of the earth."
- Impact
Gehrig became the face of ALS, a disease now commonly known as Lou Gehrig disease. In 1955, MLB introduced the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, an honor now given annually to the active player who best embodies Gehrig's generous spirit on and off the field.
