On the Fourth of July, 1939, 61,808 New York Yankees fans crowded into the House that Ruth Built. But they weren't there for the Bambino. Not that day. read more
Lou Gehrig, a heroic slugger for the Yankees baseball team, was famed for brushing aside repeated fractures and batting after nearly being knocked unconscious, before giving his name to the disease that was said to have killed him. read more
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 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an incurable neuromuscular illness now commonly referred to in North America as "Lou Gehrig's disease". read more