1939 Washington Senators -- Part 3
. . . One of baseball's most moving dramas unfolded right before the Senators in 1939. On April 30, the day after Joe DiMaggio tore up his leg at Griffith Stadium, Lou Gehrig appeared in his 2,130th consecutive game, the last one of his streak, which had begun against the Nats 14 years earlier. The Iron Horse went hitless against Joe Krakauskas, and upon making a routine play, was congratulated by Yankees pitcher Johnny Murphy. Two days later, after traveling to Detroit, Gehrig would take himself out of the lineup, suffering from unexplained sluggishness. His replacement, a rookie named Babe Dahlgren, homered and doubled and the Yanks won 22-2. (Coincidentally, pitcher Fred Hutchinson of the Tigers, later a World Series manager and well-loved figure, made his big-league debut in the same game, and it was a disaster for him. Hutchinson surrendered five walks, four hits, and eight runs in two-thirds of an inning.)
On June 20, Gehrig was diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., as suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an incurable form of paralysis which became known as Lou Gehrig's disease. When he appeared in front of nearly 62,000 fans at Yankee Stadium for Lou Gehrig Day two weeks later, the visitors were the Washington Senators. Gehrig gave his stirring "luckiest man on earth" speech, during the course of which he reflected on the courage and support displayed by his wife and family throughout his ordeal, and the good fortune he had to be associated with some of the finest men in baseball. "I might of had a bad break," he concluded, "but I have an awful lot to live for." Less than two years later, a few days short of his 38th birthday, Lou Gehrig was dead. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)
I don't have anything with the Iron Horse on it; here's a 1939 photo of Jack Dempsey signing for the Big Train):
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