With the disease being discovered in 1869, it wasn’t until Lou Gehrig came along that the disease was really given attention. Lou Gehrig spent time in the Mayo Clinic , this is where they discovered that he was suffering from ALS. As one of the most well-known and cherished baseball players announced that he had the disease, people were devastated. His career was over but he was not upset, instead he thought of himself as lucky.
When Lou Gehrig announced that he was retiring from his baseball career because of ALS it was a shock to everyone. However, he handled it beautifully. He gave a phenomenal speech in which the quote came where he says, “I am the luckiest man on the face of the earth”. This speech was given on the 4th of July, 1939. Yankee stadium filled with thousands of heartbroken fans waiting to hear what Lou Gehrig had to say.
After becoming overwhelmed from the support…show more content… Lou Gehrig started off as just a simple young man hoping to get a good education by playing sports and getting the best out of a scholarship. With luck, hard work and a determination that was evident and amazing, he became a popular and remarkably well known player for the Yankees. Not only did he have significance as a phenomenal player but when he announced that he had ALS, he did not look at his life and say that it was over, instead he looked at all of the things he had accomplished and looked to find new, different and better ways to accomplish even more.
After retiring from baseball, Lou Gehrig worked with the state of New York, determining when prisoners would be released from their penal institutions. However his body began to deteriorate quickly and was unable to leave his house or hold a pen to sign his name. He never once let his disease get the best of his real spirit but instead, always kept his spirits at a unique high…more inspiration for his