Lou Gehrig trophy

Date1939 July 04

DescriptionSilver and wood trophy with a silver eagle atop a silver baseball on black wood pillar surrounded by six small silver bats. Five-sided black wooden base has two engraved silver plates, one of which has the following poem by John Kieran of the New York Times, "To Lou Gehrig / We've been to the wars together / We took our foes as they came / And always you were the leader/ And ever you played the game / Idol of cheering millions / Records are yours by sheaves / Iron of frame they hailed you / Decked you with laurel leaves / But higher than that we hold you, / We who have known you best / Knowing the way you came through / Every human test. / Let this be a silent token / Of lasting Friendship's gleam, / And all that we've left unspoken / Your Pals of the Yankee Team." The second plate bears facsimile autographs of Gehrig's team members.

Bio/Historical NoteTrophy presented as a farewell gift to Lou Gehrig on July 4, 1939 at Yankee Stadium from his Yankee teammates. Trophy features a poem by New York Times writer, John Kieran, and was commissioned by Gehrig's teammates. It was on this day, Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day, when the longtime Yankee first baseman uttered the famous words at a home plate ceremony at Yankee Stadium: "Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." Gehrig had been forced to retire as a player two weeks earlier due to his being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease that today bears his name.

Object numberB-1985-0043

Subject Gehrig, Lou, 1903-1941

Subject New York Yankees (Baseball team)

Subject Kieran, John, 1892-1981

Attributes

Classificationsawards

Dimensions7.75 x 21.5 x 10.5 in.

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