Lou Gehrig facts
While investigating facts about Lou Gehrig's Disease and Lou Gehrig Speech, I found out little known, but curios details like:
About Jackie Mitchell, a 17-year-old female pitcher for the Double-AA Chattanooga Lookouts, once played the New York Yankees in an exhibition game and struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in succession.
how lou gehrig died?
Jackie Mitchell, a 17-year old girl, struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in six straight pitches about a week after being signed. A few days later, Commissioner Landis voided her contract because baseball was "too strenuous" for women.
What causes lou gehrig's disease?
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across answering what are the symptoms of lou gehrig's disease. Here are 40 of the best facts about Lou Gehrig Stats and Lou Gehrig's Disease Symptoms I managed to collect.
what's lou gehrig's disease?
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Jackie Mitchell, a 17 year old female pitcher, struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in a single exhibition game, and subsequently had her contract voided.
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In 1931, a 17 year old female baseball pitcher named Jackie Mitchell struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in the same exhibition game.
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A Japanese high schooler struck out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx back-to-back. Rejecting an offer from manager Connie Mack, he went on to pitch three no-hitters in the Japanese league before being killed in WW2.
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A 17-year-old Japanese pitcher struck out 9 MLB stars including Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig. He refused to join MLB saying "My problem is I hate America, and I can't make myself like Americans." He had a 1.74 ERA over 7 seasons in Japan before joining the navy in 1943 where he died in action.
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Lou Gehrig had a better batting average than Babe Ruth in each of the years 1923-25, but Ruth had a better batting average than Gehrig over the 3 years combined. This is an example of a mathematical curiosity called Simpson’s Paradox.
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Catcher Dave Bresnahan threw a potato to trick a runner home. The minor leagues kicked him out and was later quoted saying "Lou Gehrig had to play in 2,130 consecutive games and hit .340 for his number to be retired, and all I had to do was bat .140 and throw a potato."
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Jackie Miller, a pitcher for the Chattanooga Lookouts, had struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig back to back. Her contract was canceled a few days later after the Commissioner of Baseball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, said women couldn't play baseball because it was "too strenuous" for them.
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Lou Gehrig’s 2,130 consecutive games streak was helped out by then-Yankees GM Ed Barrow, who once called a rainout despite no rain while Gehrig was home with the flu. During the same streak, he was also knocked unconscious when hit by a pitch above the eye, but he still played the next day.
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About Jackie Mitchell, one of the first female pitchers in baseball. She struck out Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth consecutively. After this, Mitchell’s contract was voided and the commissioner instituted a ban against women in professional baseball that lasted until 1992.
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Babe Ruth (#3) and Lou Gehrig (#4) didn't choose their iconic jersey numbers. They were assigned those numbers because they hit third and fourth in the batting order.
Why is it called lou gehrig's disease?
You can easily fact check why is als called lou gehrig’s disease by examining the linked well-known sources.
Lou Gehrig hit a grand slam home run completely out of Wrigley Field when he was seventeen-years-old
Jackie Mitchell, a 17-year-old female southpaw who pitched against the New York Yankees on April 2, 1931. The first batter she faced was Ruth, followed by Lou Gehrig, the deadliest hitting duo in baseball history. Mitchell struck them both out. - source
Legendary baseball player Lou Gehrig passed away due to ALS at the age of 37, and his wife Eleanor dedicated the rest of her life to supporting ALS research until she passed away 43 years later and was interred next to Lou in 1984 in Kensico Cemetery. - source
People with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) do not lose the sensation of physical touch. They can eventually become completely paralyzed. But they still feel everything.
Lou Gehrig may not have even had Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS), and his illness could have actually been caused by his many head injuries. - source
When lou gehrig died?
In 1934, the father of Japanese baseball, Matsutaro Shiriki, survived an assassination attempt for allowing American All-Stars, including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, to play at Meiji Jingu Stadium. He sustained a 16-inch wound from a broadsword.
How old was lou gehrig when he died?
On this day in 1939, Lou Gehrig played his final game with the Yankees. He had played in 2,130 CONSECUTIVE games before being forced to retire by ALS, which would kill him 2 years later and become known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease"
Bobby Doerr is the oldest living major league baseball player and last person to have ever played with Lou Gehrig.
NY Yankees legend Lou Gehrig had a contract agreeing to promote Camel cigarettes under the tag "There are plenty of times when I feel tired after a game. Then I get a lift with a Camel'.” Camel immediately branded themselves as the "athlete’s cigarette."
Lou Gehrig attended Columbia University on a football scholarship. He played summer league baseball under the assumed name Henry Lewis, which led to his baseball career
