"Iron Horse" Rides into Baseball History at Hunt Auction
Rosemary McKittrick captures the feel of history at auction in her weekly LiveAuctionTalk.com columns. Visit her site. Sign up for a free weekly subscription.


/Baseball News Articles/ - SANTA FE, NM, March 18, 2008 -- Just walking up to the microphone was a struggle for the baseball legend. Even so, Lou Gehrig dressed in his Yankee uniform slowly stepped up. He tipped his head shyly, ran his right hand through his hair and wiped back the tears.

July 4, 1939 was Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day at Yankee Stadium. Gehrig's admirers were waiting. Dead silence filled the stadium. Even the men in the press box stopped typing.

Gehrig had written his feelings down but when it was time to speak the words simply flowed from his heart.

"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 this earth," Gehrig said. "I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."

The sorrowful expression on his face never changed. Gehrig went on to thank everyone from his fans and teammates to his coaches and family.

Truth was this was Gehrig's last hurrah on the field. Everyone knew it.

At age 36, Gehrig had been diagnosed with a rare and deadly disease of the central nervous system. A disease that now bears his name.

One of the most treasured pieces of Lou Gehrig memorabilia, his game-worn jersey, went on the block on Nov. 10 at Hunt Auctions Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory Auction in Louisville, Ky.

The 1938, pin-stripped, New York Yankees home flannel jersey sold for $402,500. Its origin is equally interesting.

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