Lou Gehrig Lou Gehrig was born June 19, 1903. He played for the New York Yankees from 1923-1939 until a big moment changed his entire life. Baseball changed his life Lou Gehrig was born in the Bronx in New York. His full name was Henry Louis “Lou” or “Buster” Gehrig. When he was young, his two sisters died of whooping cough and his brother died at infancy. He was an only child so he helped his mother with choices. In 1923, Lou Gehrig signed a contract with the New York Yankees on April 30. He was a major hit. He batted left, threw left and had 2,721 hits and 493 home runs. Lou Gehrig held the record for the most consecutive games played which was 2,130 games. That record stayed for 56 years. In 1933, he married a woman named Elenor Twitchell