I have talked about my love for the New York Yankees. In fact, while I write this review, I am sitting in my office with signed New York Yankees on the walls.
My New York Yankees Shrine
But if there is one athlete from the New York Yankees that I will always be inspired by, it’s Lou Gehrig.
He was a man dedicated to family and never cared about the media hype, he just played baseball and did other work necessary to make a living for him and his family and in the process of playing 17 seasons in the MLB for the New York Yankees, the “Iron Horse” was a seven time All-STar, Trip Crown winner, AL most valuable player, member of six World Series champion teams and #4 set numerous records.
He is also known for taking himself out of the game ending his consecutive game streak on May 2, 1939 for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Scleroris), an incurable neuromuscular illness known in North America as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”, which would claim the superstar athlete at the age of 37.
Prior to reading this book, I figured, what else is there to tell about Lou Gehrig, because all that has been written is already easily available on the Internet.
That was until I discovered Alan D. Gaff’s “Lou Gehrig: The Lost Memoir”.
With New York newspapers focused on the Yankees and Babe Ruth, his sports agent Christy Walsh looked towards the west and for the Oakland Tribune, Gehrig was to write 30 articles in 1927 for his memoir under “Following the Babe”.
He was able to write 29 and for the most part, the memoir was buried for decades, overlooked by sports historians and eventually, one day while Alan D. Gaff was doing researching another topic, he discovered Gehrig’s memoirs.
And Gaff would combine these memoirs into a book plus and an essay focusing on Gehrig’s career from his younger years, college, to the majors, and so much more.
I’m not going to spoil anything, because this book is something I feel that Yankees fans, Gehrig fans, sports fans should read and enjoy!
But the last written words by Gehrig is no doubt inspirational:
“Regardless of whether I succeed or fail, let this be my final promise. I’m proud to be a ballplayer. I’m proud of the game and the men who play it. And so long as I wear a big-league uniform, I will give all I can to the game”.
All I can say, is that this book made me even more inspired by the accomplishments of Gehrig but also his perspective of the game and he remained true to the game, to his family and never corrupted by popularity or hype.
Alan D. Gaff’s “Lou Gehrig: The Lost Memoir” is a five-star, highly recommended book!
