Lou Gehrig’s legacy in baseball is multi-factored, from his Hall of Fame performance on some of the most famous Yankees teams in history, to his record-setting durability as The Iron Horse, to his “Luckiest Man” speech. Few players in history are so intertwined with the sport at so many levels, but Gehrig is certainly on any list you’d create.
Because his importance transcends his time in Major League Baseball, however, the league is creating a day to honor his memory, and specifically to raise funds and awareness for the illness that claimed his life and became associated with his name:
Exclusive at ESPN: Major League Baseball will hold an annual Lou Gehrig Day on June 2 after a group of people affected by ALS banded together to convince teams and the league to honor him like they do Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente.
News at ESPN: https://t.co/sqAckJvsOi
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 4, 2021
Major League Baseball will hold a sportwide Lou Gehrig Day starting this season, honoring the Hall of Fame New York Yankees first baseman whose grace and courage fighting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis inspired a group of those affected by the disease to make June 2 synonymous with him.
The plans, revealed to ESPN and expected to be announced by MLB on Thursday morning, include an annual tribute in which uniformed personnel will wear a jersey patch celebrating Gehrig, and a “4-ALS” logo — commemorating his No. 4 — will be displayed around stadiums. The league will use the occasion to raise money and awareness to battle ALS and pay homage to ALS advocacy groups like the LG4Day committee, which turned an off-the-cuff text into a cause that will bring together the sport.
Read the ESPN piece for more on how LG4Day came together, and to learn more about those ALS affects. More on this will be coming soon from MLB, and then of course as the date approaches.