By Larry Schwartz

Special to ESPN.com



"I wrote I saw strong men cry today, in what was mass weeping in Yankee Stadium, and photographers' hands trembling as they recorded the scene of Lou Gehrig's farewell to the game," says the Washington Post's Shirley Povich on ESPN Classic's SportsCentury. Signature Game

June 3, 1932 - Before setting his record longevity streak, Lou Gehrig made history in one afternoon when he became the first player in the 20th century to hit four homers in a game. The Iron Horse connected on his first four plate appearances in Philadelphia, with his drives in the first and fifth innings going into the stands in left-center and his blasts in the fourth and seventh flying over the rightfield wall. The first homer was a two-run shot and the other three were solo. The Athletics' George Earnshaw was the victim of the first three gophers and Roy Mahaffey served up the fourth as Gehrig tied Ty Cobb's American League record with his 16 total bases. Gehrig had two more chances to become the first player ever to hit five homers in a game (Bobby Lowe and Ed Delahanty had four in the 19th century). But in the eighth inning of the Yankees' 20-13 victory he grounded out and in the ninth his deep drive to center was hauled down by Al Simmons. As usual, though, Gehrig's performance was overshadowed by another event. While Gehrig's feat was the lead story in the sports pages of The New York Times, another sports story was front-page news: the resignation of Giants manager John McGraw.

Gehrig by the numbers

Career Statistics Year Tm/Lg AB Runs Hits BA HR RBI OBP SLG 1923 NY-A 26 6 11 .423 1 9 .464 .769 1924 NY-A 12 2 6 .500 0 5 .538 .583 1925 NY-A 437 73 129 .295 20 68 .365 .531 1926 NY-A 572 135 179 .313 16 112 .420 .549 1927 NY-A 584 149 218 .373 47 175 .474 .765 1928 NY-A 562 139 210 .374 27 142 .467 .648 1929 NY-A 553 127 166 .300 35 126 .431 .584 1930 NY-A 581 143 220 .379 41 174 .473 .721 1931 NY-A 619 163 211 .341 46 184 .446 .662 1932 NY-A 596 138 208 .349 34 151 .451 .621 1933 NY-A 593 138 198 .334 32 139 .424 .605 1934 NY-A 579 128 210 .363 49 165 .465 .706 1935 NY-A 535 125 176 .329 30 119 .466 .583 1936 NY-A 579 167 205 .354 49 152 .478 .696 1937 NY-A 569 138 200 .351 37 159 .473 .643 1938 NY-A 576 115 170 .295 29 114 .410 .523 1939 NY-A 28 2 4 .143 0 1 .273 .143 TOTAL 17 yrs 8001 1888 2721 .340 493 1995 .447 .632 *Bold denotes league leading statistic Odds 'N' Ends

When Gehrig hit a prodigious grand slam in Chicago's Cubs Park (now Wrigley Field) for the clinching blow in a high school championship game, the Chicago Tribune wrote, "Gehrig's blow would have made any big leaguer proud, yet it was walloped by a boy who hasn't yet started to shave." The New York newspapers labeled Gehrig "the Babe Ruth of the schoolyards." Gehrig grew up near the poverty line. Part of the problem was that his father Heinrich was unable to hold down a steady job, partially due to his affection for drinking. Thinking he could earn money for his family in 1921 playing minor league baseball, Gehrig played 12 games for Class A Hartford under the name Lou Lewis. Columbia coach Andy Coakley found out and told Gehrig he was making a mistake. For his malfeasance, Gehrig was banned from college sports for a year. Before he signed with the Yankees in 1923, Gehrig was a feared college slugger known as "Columbia Lou." He also was an outstanding pitcher. On the day that Yankee Stadium opened in 1923, with Ruth hitting the first home run, Gehrig struck out 17 Williams College batters in a 5-1 loss. When Ruth belted 60 homers in 1927, Gehrig hit 47. As late as August 19 The Iron Horse led the Bambino, 39-38, but he couldn't compete with Ruth's finishing kick. In 1931, Gehrig and Ruth tied for the A.L. lead with 46 homers. Gehrig lost a homer when a baserunner thought the ball was caught and headed for the dugout, believing there were three outs. When Gehrig "passed" the runner, his "homer" was negated. In the 1932 World Series game against the Cubs that Ruth hit his "called shot," Gehrig hit two homers, including one following Babe's homer. Despite having pain from lumbago, Gehrig led off one game in 1934 in Detroit (he was listed as the shortstop), singled and then was removed for a pinch-runner. Gehrig led the A.L. in hitting just once - with a .363 average in 1934 when he became the first Yankee to win the Triple Crown. But he batted higher than that three times (.373, .374 and .379) between 1927-30. When Gehrig's streak reached 1,999, his wife Eleanor suggested he sit out the next game. She thought it would ease the pressure on him as well as give him additional publicity, as it would be a number people wouldn't forget. The Iron Horse played on. In his 13 full seasons, Gehrig averaged 147 runs batted in. From 1950 through 1995, not one American Leaguer reached 147 RBI. Besides his record 23 grand slams, Gehrig also had 73 three-run homers and 166 two-run shots among his 493 homers. In 34 World Series games, Gehrig batted .361 with 10 homers, eight doubles and 35 RBI in 119 at-bats. The Yankees lost their first Series with Gehrig (1926), but won their next six (1927-28, 1932, 1936-38). Late in his career, Gehrig's hands were x-rayed and doctors spotted 17 fractures that had "healed" while he continued to play. Gehrig knew it was time to take himself out of the lineup in 1939 when several teammates complimented him for making a routine play. When Gehrig's consecutive game streak ended on May 2, 1939, pitcher Lefty Gomez told him, "It took them 15 years to get you out of the game. Sometimes I'm out of there in 15 minutes." Gehrig's lifetime slugging percentage of .632 is third all-time behind Ruth's .690 and Ted Williams' .634. Gehrig was the first athlete in any sport to have his number retired. No Yankee besides Gehrig has ever worn No. 4. The general estimate is that Gehrig earned $361,500 in salary from the Yankees, with a high of $39,000 in 1938. Gehrig ranks second (behind Babe Ruth) in at-bats per RBI at 4.01, with 1,995 RBI in 8,001 at-bats. After Gehrig retired in 1939, he was appointed to the New York City Parole Commission and worked with youth groups until a month before his death. "I would not have traded two minutes of joy and the grief with that man for two decades of anything with another," said his wife Eleanor.











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