On May 2, 1939 Lou Gehrig took himself out of the starting lineup of the New York Yankees before the start of a game against the Detroit Tigers, ending his streak of 2,130 consecutive games. He said to manager Joe McCarthy that he is benching himself for the good of the team. It was the end of a 14-year streak for the first baseman, which was a Major League record until Cal Ripken Jr. broke it on September 6th, 1996 with the Baltimore Orioles.
Gehrig would never play a game again after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which now is also called Lou Gehrig’s disease, and had to retire a few weeks later. On July 4th, 1939 the Yankees held Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day at Yankee Stadium, where Gehrig made his famous speech. He died on June 2, 1941 in Riverdale, New York.
During his career he batted .340 (OBP .447/SLG .632) with 2721 hits, 493 homeruns, 1888 runs scored and 1995 RBI. He won the MVP award in 1927 and in 1936. He drove in 175 runs in 1927, 174 in 1930, 184 in 1931 and 165 in 1934. In December 1939 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in a special election by the Baseball Writers Association, waiving the regular waiting period.
Footage of Lou Gehrig, including his speech:
