Although Lou Gehrig died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) June 2nd, 1941, he still left an inspiring legacy behind him. Henry Louis Gehrig was born June 19th, 1903, in New York City, and raised by his poor family who were immigrants from Germany. He was one of four children to survive birth. His mother, Christina, worked days on end, cleaning houses to get by. Lou’s father, Heinrich, had problems getting a job due to health related issues. Lou was a very athletic boy, having success in many sports. He went to Columbia University on a scholarship from playing football, but ended up playing baseball. He was signed to the New York Yankees which included a $1500 bonus that helped his family. (A&E Networks Television) Gehrig was a humble,…show more content… He was a very consistent hitter on the field hitting fourth, right after Ruth. The thing is no one remembered Gehrig and how he did as they were focused on what Ruth did. For example, if Babe Ruth were to hit a double then Gehrig hits a homerun, they would only remember Ruth’s double. Maybe the cause of this was because of how humble and grateful Gehrig was for just having the opportunity of playing baseball as a Yankee. Gehrig became more recognizable and known after he died, which explains how we can’t cope with not knowing how people who watched the Yankees didn’t really care about Gehrig. According to Lou Gehrig, "It's a pretty big shadow," Gehrig said. "It gives me lots of room to spread myself. ... Let's face it; I'm not a headline guy. I always knew that as long as I was following Babe to the plate I could have gone up there and stood on my head. No one would have noticed the difference.”(Larry Schwartz). This quote of what Gehrig says completely backups how Gehrig is in Ruth’s shadow. The man said it for himself. Gehrig wasn’t complaining about not being in the spotlight, just agreeing with the fact that no one remembered him because of his teammate. When Gehrig says, “It gives me a lot of room to spread myself “ I think he means the fact that Ruth is the star it relieves pressure and takes some weight of his back to do so good which made him such a consistent hitter. Gehrig never left Babe Ruth’s shadow. In…show more content… ALS is a progressive degeneration of the motor neurons of the central nervous system, leading to wasting of the muscles and paralysis. Around the end of Gehrig’s career (1938) Lou was different. He was having trouble hitting the ball, which was demonstrated by having an all-time low batting average in his career. Everything got worse as each day went by. Gehrig then made one of the shocking yet thoughtful moves in baseball history. May 2, 1939, Lou Gehrig pulled himself out of the lineup, ending his consecutive games record. This action Gehrig made inspired many players and people from his fortitude, humility, and courage as he fought throw ALS. He was later diagnosed on his 36th birthday with ALS disease. This disease is what caused his poor playing in the end of his career. Gehrig decided to retire from the New York Yankees that year at age 37. This disease was later on known as the “Lou Gehrig Disease”. The ALS Association celebrates his leadership and legacy by encouraging other with ALS to live how Gehrig did; with courage and grace. The association is honoring the ones battling ALS by reflecting on Gehrig’s short life. Gehrig was one of two people ever in MLB history to have a special induction into the Hall of Fame by wavering off the 5-year wait period and being immediately inducted. They did this due to Gehrig being diagnosed with an incurable disease knowing