On July 6, 1941, a little over a month after Lou Gehrig lost his battle with ALS, the Yankees dedicated a monument to the Iron Horse in center field at the Stadium. The plaque, which joined Miller Huggins’ as the only two at the time, hails Gehrig as, “A man, a gentleman and a great ballplayer whose amazing record of 2,130 consecutive games should stand for all time.”
The Yankees had planned the final tribute to Gehrig on the two year anniversary of his “Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth” speech, which was on July 4. Unfortunately, the game was rained out and the team had to reschedule the event for July 6 before a doubleheader with the Philadelphia Athletics.
Presiding over the ceremony was New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, Bronx Borough President James Lyons, Athletics manager Connie Mack and Lou’s widow Eleanor. Yankee manager Joe McCarthy and former Gehrig roommate and Yankee catcher Bill Dickey unveiled the monument. In his speech, Mack said that Gehrig:
“was one of the greatest players to ever put on a baseball uniform. Not only was Lou Gehrig a great player but he was a real sportsman, a gentleman whom we all admired. This was true not only of the players who were his associates, but of all players in baseball as well as those who made contact with him. By his conduct on and off the baseball field he has set an example which I would advise the army of the youth of America, whether it be large or small, to adopt. I know of no more appropriate recommendation than to advise our youth in the footsteps of Lou Gehrig.”
Over 60,000 fans were on hand to say goodbye to their captain one last time. The Yankees honored Gehrig by sweeping the doubleheader 8-4 and 3-1. Dickey hit a three run homer in the first game, and Joe DiMaggio had six hits to extend his record hitting streak to 48 games.
Huggin’s monument was erected in 1932, and the two greats would be joined by Babe Ruth’s in 1949. These were the beginnings of Monument Park.
