Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig was an American baseball first baseman for the New York Yankees. He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1923 through 1939. Gehrig was born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig on June 19, 1903. He died on June 2, 1941.
He earned the nickname “The Iron Horse” because he was a durable big hitter. Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, he was the first player to have his uniform number retired. 28 years after his death, the Baseball Writers’ Association voted him the greatest first baseman of all time.
April 18, 1923 was a special day, not only because it was the day Yankee Stadium opened and Babe Ruth hit a home run, but also because Lou Gehrig struck out seventeen Williams College batters while playing for Columbia. By the end of the month, he signed with the New York Yankees, after one of their scouts had been watching his batting performance.
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