Remembering the Speech of Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig's farewell speech has been compared to the Gettysburg Address by some.  The comparison is interesting, and while there are similarities, in researching Gehrig's last speech I was astounded to learn just how similar one could draw a parallel when looking at the circumstances.

Both Lincoln and Gehrig didn't feel well.  Lincoln was sick on the train ride to Gettysburg, and was said to be running a high fever; likely the flu.  Gehrig was suffering from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), and since pulling himself out of a game in April, now on July 4th just 3 months later, his teammates and the fans noticed a distinct difference in his body and the weight loss.  Because ALS attacks your muscles, Gehrig was afraid of the long walk out onto the field for fear of tripping; the acceptance of trophies for fear of dropping; and the fear of speaking for fear of not knowing what to say.  In fact, unlike Lincoln, Gehrig had not planned to speak at all.  In fact, it is said he asked his teammates and Babe Ruth to speak for him, insisting he did not want to speak.

Both men had a connection to July 4th.  The Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day where Gehrig would give his final speech was held on July 4th; and Lincoln's Gettysburg address spoke of our nations birth, and gave meaning to a battle that happened during the early days of July including July 4th in 1863.

Both men were said to be soft spoken, but articulate.  Both were not known for any oral skills at the time of their speeches, and both with some reluctance spoke last.  The crowd for Lincoln had listened to a famed orator for hours, and out of respect, but not interest, stayed to hear Lincoln.  The crowd for Gehrig wanted to hear him speak, but he had said that he wasn't going to and was heading back off the field.  The microphones were even in the process of being removed.  That is, until his coach pulled him aside.  We will never know what was said, but it was enough to encourage Gehrig to approach the microphone for what would be perhaps the most famous speech in sports, and what would ultimately be Gehrig's last speech.

The Gettysburg address was 272 words long; Gehrig's Farewell Address was 276 words long. Both limiting their dialog with simplistic everlasting beauty of word that touched a nation.

As Gehrig approached the microphone, knowing he did not want to speak makes the film we have of this day in 1935 that more interesting.  He looks down through most of the ceremony honoring him.  He takes off his hat and looks stoic but calm as he wipes his forehead before speaking into the mic.  Then he starts:

"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

"Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky.   

"When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies - that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter - that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body - it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that's the finest I know.

"So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."

Gehrig had recently turned 36 at the time of his speech.  Within months after the speech, to take a picture of him at his desk working, someone would have to close his hand around his pencil.  

Within months of that, he would not be able to raise his own head.

At the age of 37, he could not leave his house.

At the age of 38, just two weeks into what should have been his 38th year of life, Lou Gehrig died of ALS.

During his life, Gehrig did not want to say he had a disease, and doctors didn’t know how to treat him, and there was no cure for it, and they humanely offered a 50/50 chance for recovery when they knew very little about his chances at all.  And although he did not want for others to worry and avoided ever referring to his circumstance as a disease, today we know ALS as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

In ALS, nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control movement stop functioning. The condition leads to paralysis, and patients eventually cannot breathe or swallow on their own.

The disease afflicts about 350,000 people a year worldwide, and about half of patients die within three years of diagnosis.

However, according to WebMD, -- Researchers from Northwestern University are reporting a major breakthrough in understanding  ALS and think their discovery proves that different forms of ALS actually have a common cause and that this could lead to better strategies to treat the disease in the future.  

As a Toastmaster, I am more appreciative of the strength Lou Gehrig had, and his conquering of fear of speaking that day, and delivering a Farewell Address that will live on for the ages.  Lou Gehrig taught us about life, and the importance of living through his character, his courage, and the power of words.  God bless you Mr. Gehrig.