Great Speeches

Henry Louis Gehrig (born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig June 19, 1903 – June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). He held the record for most consecutive games played  - 2,130 games - a record that stood for 56 years.  Gehrig's consecutive game streak ended on May 2, 1939, when he voluntarily took himself out of the lineup, stunning both players and fans, after his performance on the field became hampered by an undiagnosed ailment subsequently confirmed to be amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an incurable neuromuscular illness; it is now commonly referred to in North America as "Lou Gehrig's disease".  The disease forced him to retire at age 36, and claimed his life two years later.