"I'm benching myself, Joe-- for the good of the team," Gehrig told Joe McCarthy, his manager. Lou Gehrig never played baseball again. On July 4, 1939, between the doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, nearly 62,000 fans sat in the stands waiting for Gehrig to address the crowd according to New York Daily News. It was known as "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day", but something that is named "appreciation day" usually should be on a happy occasion. But not in this situation. A few weeks prior to this day, Gehrig learned that he was suffering from an incurable illness known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis which today is known as the Lou Gehrig Disease. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that
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Lou Gehrig began his speech with the word,"Fans". By doing this, he is unselfishly implying that this speech is for them, the people he thinks that has always been there for him. By doing that, he set the setting for the speech; it was a retirement speech, but it turned out being a speech about being grateful and giving thanks to everyone who helped him become the man he was. But by using the first word "fans", the word choice made it seem as if he was putting the fans as the same level of authority as him, making the speech more respectful and powerful-- even though he was highly respected. At the time, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis was unknown to the public where Gehrig says, "Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth…" that quote has stayed throughout america and has shaped many great speeches in our time. This quote shows that Lou Gehrig had a selfless perspective on his life and situation, and in the end, all he wanted to do was thank the fans and the Yankee organization for making his life so great even though he knew he was going to not only retire, but soon pass away (as he did on June 2, 1941). He continues by claiming that he is lucky to have been given the opportunity of meeting the people he met throughout his baseball career. But in his speech he only gives thanks to the fans but names, Jacob Ruppert, owner of the yankees, Ed Barrow, executive of the New York Yankees, Miller Higgins, a manager, but he specifically gives thanks to "... that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy. And of course, he thanks his wife for being strong-loving wife for being the woman she is and compares her strength to a tower. In this speech, Lou maintains the style of a positive outlook on life and being grateful
Lou Gehrig began his speech with the word,"Fans". By doing this, he is unselfishly implying that this speech is for them, the people he thinks that has always been there for him. By doing that, he set the setting for the speech; it was a retirement speech, but it turned out being a speech about being grateful and giving thanks to everyone who helped him become the man he was. But by using the first word "fans", the word choice made it seem as if he was putting the fans as the same level of authority as him, making the speech more respectful and powerful-- even though he was highly respected. At the time, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis was unknown to the public where Gehrig says, "Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth…" that quote has stayed throughout america and has shaped many great speeches in our time. This quote shows that Lou Gehrig had a selfless perspective on his life and situation, and in the end, all he wanted to do was thank the fans and the Yankee organization for making his life so great even though he knew he was going to not only retire, but soon pass away (as he did on June 2, 1941). He continues by claiming that he is lucky to have been given the opportunity of meeting the people he met throughout his baseball career. But in his speech he only gives thanks to the fans but names, Jacob Ruppert, owner of the yankees, Ed Barrow, executive of the New York Yankees, Miller Higgins, a manager, but he specifically gives thanks to "... that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy. And of course, he thanks his wife for being strong-loving wife for being the woman she is and compares her strength to a tower. In this speech, Lou maintains the style of a positive outlook on life and being grateful