Lou Gehrig was born and raised in New York City, the son of German immigrant parents. His full name
was Henry Louis Gehrig. After graduating from high school, he attended Columbia University where he
became a football and baseball star. Lou's father directed him to becoming a pro baseball player. He
became sick and needed on operation, but there was no money for doctors and hospital expenses in the
family budget, so young Lou quickly capitalized on his baseball skills. He accepted an offer from a scout to
sign a contract with the New York Yankees, for $ 1,500 in cash as a bonus. Lou dropped out of college to
play in the minor leagues and gain some experience until the Yankees needed him.
Gehrig was 22 when he became a big league rookie. He sat on the bench until one day in June in
the 1925 season when he finally broke into the Yankees' line up as a first baseman. It happened because the
team's veteran first baseman couldn't play because of a sever headache. He stayed first baseman for
fourteen seasons, five thousand eighty-two playing days, he played a total of two thousand, one hundred
and thirty major league games. It was a record that will never be broken or even equaled.
To create that unbelievable endurance, feat, strong and powerful Lou Gehrig nicknamed "The Iron
Horse," played in every one of the two thousand, one hundred and thirty consecutive games, even though
he was beaned three times, had fingers broken ten times, suffered fractured toes, torn muscles, a wrenched
shoulder, a back injury, chipped elbows, and the pain of several lumbago attacks. Yet, in every contest of
that incredibly long playing period he played with all the enthusiasm of a kid breaking into the big leagues.
During that streak of 2,130 consecutive games "The Iron Horse" performed other astonishing
feats. He became the first in the 20th century to hit four consecutive home runs in a nine-inning ga...