Lou Gehrig As The Real Hero

The “Iron Man” named Tony Stark is one of the most famous comic characters in all of Marvel history. The only problem is that Tony Stark is not the man who walked the earth around the early to mid 1900’s. The real “Iron Man” is truly named Lou Gehrig and is the real hero. Lou Gehrig was born in a enormous town named New York City. Lou was one of four children and the only one who survived through infancy and the struggles his family went through in his early life. At the age of 11 he was able to swim across the Hudson River (Encyclopedia). Lou was an astonishing athlete as a young boy and continued to grow from there. The Gehrig family did not make a lot of money but they obtained enough money to pay the bills and put food on the table. Lou’s …show more content…
During the speech Lou declared himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” Lou was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the year 1939. Becoming the first athlete in any sports world wide to ever have his number retired, the Baseball Hall of Fame retired his number four to honor the life and career of Lou Gehrig. Lou was the only person in baseball history to be elected in the Baseball Hall of Fame the same year that he retired, due to ALS, instead of waiting the usually five-year waiting period before being elected into the hall of fame (Baseball). The streak of 2,130 games created the nickname of the “Iron Man” of baseball. Lou held the record for career grand slams at 23, until St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire’s went on a slugging fest for multiple years. Lou currently holds the record for most career home runs by any first baseman in MLB history with a total of 493 home runs (New). In his 17 seasons he stole home plate, which is a rare feat, 15 times in his career. With an outstanding hitting career in the MLB Lou hit for a lifetime batting average of .340, which is the fifteenth highest ever in the history of