Today in History: Yankees' Lou Gehrig breaks record for consecutive games played
If you ask any member of the current generation, "Iron Man," in baseball, refers to Cal Ripken Jr. But for decades before the Baltimore Oriole earned that crown, one man embodied the moniker more fully than anyone else.
On this day in 1933, Lou Gehrig became baseball's Iron Man, breaking the record for most consecutive games played with 1,308. Ripken broke the record in 1995, and will likely hold it for decades more, if not forever. It's an amazing feat, but Gehrig's story is so rich, it's worth telling now, even a decade after he was dethroned.
Gehrig's streak of 2,130 straight games played came to an end in 1939, and only at the hands of the disease that bears his name. Suffering from ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, the New York Yankee called it a career at 35, knowing he wasn't long for this world. Then came the famous "Luckiest Man" speech. Two years later, the baseball legend was dead at the age of 37.
Click through the gallery above to relive the icon's most memorable baseball moments, and be sure to check the video below for more discussion about that all-time great speech at Yankee Stadium.
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