On this date in 1937, Lou Gehrig ended his holdout. The Iron Horse had originally asked the Yankees for $50,000; however, he agreed to sign with the Bronx Bombers for $36,000 and a $750 signing bonus. The new deal for first baseman, last season’s American League MVP, makes him baseball’s highest paid player.
Gehrig would go on to have an MVP-worthy 1937 season. In 157 games, he would hit .351 with 37 HRs to go with 158 RBIs. He would lead the league in walks (127) and on-base percentage (.473). He would finish the season in fourth place in the MVP voting behind future Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio, Hank Greenberg, and the winner of the award, Charlie Gehringer.
