Creators Podcast
Episode #13
12.23.24
Lou Gehrig, the son of two German immigrants, started as a kid from a lower-middle class neighborhood in Manhattan, and became a New York Yankee legend.
One of the most popular, beloved, respected, and memorable ball players to ever live.
At just 23 years old, New York Yankee manager Miller Huggins noticed something different about Lou Gehrig.
He didn’t just smash home runs further than anyone had ever seen. Huggins admitted that Gehrig had already become an influence to the entire team.
Ray Robinson, in his great book, titled, ‘Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig in His Time,’ said that Lou had an, “aura of dignity and high resolve… by his actions, not his words.”
We’re going to look at how the legend of Lou Gehrig was created, enjoy!
Young Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig grew up in the Yorkville area of Manhattan, and his parents were not wealthy. Both his parents, in fact, were immigrants from Germany, and worked low-paying jobs just to survive.
So money was tight in Lou’s house growing up. In fact, several years later, when Gehrig was a Yankee, some of his teammates would tease the slugger that he still had the first dollar he every made.
Funny thing is, that joke turned out to be true. When Gehrig passed-away, in his home was a certified check that was signed to Lou back in 1914, when Lou was eleven years old. The check was for one dollar.
So it’s true, Lou Gehrig just might have saved the first dollar he ever made. He had big respect for money because of the limited resources as a kid. And he carried that respect of money with him the rest of his life.
Lou Gehrig’s Father
So young Lou didn’t exactly have a great role model growing up, but there was one thing his dad valued to instill in his son. That was the hard work and physical training with weights.
The two spent time at the local “turnverein,” which is the name for a German-American gymnastics club.
Even though Lou was already a big kid for his age, he began working out and getting strong, or much stronger than he already was.
Lou the Athlete
Young Lou Gehrig excelled at football and baseball in high school. He was so successful that he drew the attention to college teams looking to recruit a big, physical player.
Columbia University noticed him, and since he lived nearby, he agreed to play football and baseball there.
But his college career didn’t start until he had a big day as a high school baseball player.
Lou Gehrig’s High School Team Travels to Chicago
There was an exhibit baseball game arranged for the top team in New York to travel to Chicago to take-on the top team from that city.
Lou’s team from Commerce hopped on a train and traveled into Chicago where this large exhibition was held at Wrigley Field, the same place the Chicago Cubs professional team plays.
It was a big deal back in the day. The year was 1920, and baseball was just about to boom in America. Thousands of fans attended the game at Wrigley Field for the all-star matchup between New York and Chicago’s very best high school teams.
Lou Gehrig Goes Instant Legend
With the bases loaded in the ninth inning, Lou Gehrig steps to the plate and launches a home run out of the stadium. The ball lands on the front porch of a house across the street from Wrigley Field.
It was a grand slam home run, and now the entire country was aware of the awesome power of young Lou Gehrig. And he was still in high school.
With sportswriters from New York and Chicago writing headlines about Lou’s grand slam home run out of the stadium, there was talk of the next Babe Ruth.
More than 10,000 fans witnessed the mammoth grand slam by Lou. Almost instantly, a legend was born.
