The legendary “Iron Horse” of baseball, Lou Gehrig, was born in Manhattan, New York, on June 19, 1903. The son of German immigrants, Gehrig grew up in a strict household where German was the primary language, not learning English until he entered school at age five. He went on to become one of the greatest first basemen in MLB history, setting a seemingly unbreakable record of playing in 2,130 consecutive games for the New York Yankees alongside Babe Ruth.
Gehrig’s incredible physical stamina was forged by a childhood of extreme poverty and hardship. As the only surviving child of his parents, he worked alongside his mother from dawn until dusk, delivering laundry and clearing tables in Columbia University fraternity houses. This relentless work ethic followed him to the diamond; even when suffering from fractured fingers, severe muscle strains, and deep bone bruises, Gehrig refused to sit out a single game, earning the deep respect of the entire nation.
Image: Lou Gehrig baseball card from 1934 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
