This year, on June 2nd, Major League Baseball will "honor and celebrate the legacy of Lou Gehrig and raise awareness and funds to research amyotrophic lateral scleroris (ALS) the awful disease that ended Gehrig's life and bears his name." Beginning this year, the seventieth anniversary of Gehrig's death, Major League Baseball shall identify June 2 as "Lou Gehrig Day".
As it happens, June 2 is not just the date when Lou Gehrig died. It is also the date when, in 1925, the then-starting first baseman Wally Pipp asked out of the lineup because of a headache. Gehrig started in Pipp's place and played every game thereafter until May 1, 1939.
Gehrig becomes the third player to have a "Day" named in his honor, joining Roberto Clemente and Jackie Robinson. Damn fine company to keep...
...and a damn important cause for which to be immortalized.
-AK
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