On May 2, 1939, after playing in 2,130 consecutive games, Lou Gehrig benched himself due to poor play. The Iron Horse was suffering at the time from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known today as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.”
The streak began on June 1, 1925 when Gehrig entered the game as a pinch hitter. The next day, manager Miller Huggins started him in place of regular first baseman Wally Pipp. Pipp and the team were in a slump, so Huggins made several lineup changes in hopes of turning things around. For the next fourteen years, Gehrig was in the lineup in some capacity. He managed to keep the streak alive through pinch hitting appearances, through injury, and other unforeseen events. Such as:
April 1933: he was hit in the head by Washington Senators pitcher Earl Whitehill. Although almost knocked unconscious, he remained in the game.
June 1933: he and manager Joe McCarthy were ejected from a game, but he had already had an at bat.
June 1934: he was hit by a pitch just above the right eye and was knocked unconscious. He left the game, but was in the lineup the next day.
July 1934: he suffered a lumbago attack (lower back pain) and had to be helped off the field. He was listed as shortstop the next day and would lead off. In his first and only plate appearance, he singled and was immediately replaced with a pinch runner.
General manager Ed Barrow also helped the Iron Horse keep running. The day Gehrig was sick with the flu, Barrow postponed a game as a rainout despite the fact it wasn’t raining.
X-rays taken later in his life revealed that he had sustained several fractures during his career, remaining in the lineup despite the injuries. Iron Horse indeed. The man loved the game, loved to compete and loved the Yankees. He would help them win no matter what it took.
Gehrig began to experience symptoms of ALS during the 1938 season, but doctors initially struggled to diagnose him. On May 2, 1939, Gehrig approached manager Joe McCarthy before a game against Detroit and said, “I’m benching myself, Joe,” saying that it was “for the good of the team.” He took the lineup card without his name on it out to the shocked umpires before the game. Detroit’s stadium announcer told the fans, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the first time Lou Gehrig’s name will not appear on the Yankee lineup in 2,130 consecutive games.”
The Tigers’ fans gave Gehrig a standing ovation while he sat on the bench with tears in his eyes. A photograph of Gehrig sitting on the dugout steps with a stoic look appeared in many newspapers the next day. He stayed with the Yankees as team captain for the rest of the season, but never played in a Major League game again.
The record stood for 56 years until September 6, 1995 when Cal Ripken Jr. broke it. The way the game is played today, I can say with 100% certainty that nobody will ever come close to touching Gehrig & Ripken’s feat.
