On the TUNNEYSIDE of SPORTS March 21, 2016 # 585 Up next…A Baseball Story
After further review…Baseball is chock-full of heartwarming stories that make one not only appreciate the game or an individual, but leaves the reader with something to think about. For the last 11 years that has been, and will continue to be, the paramount premise of these weekly “TunneySide of Sports” columns/blogs. Here’s one that Mack R. Douglas writes. It’s a classic story that has been around for decades, but may be misunderstood:
In 1937, Lou Gehrig, the outstanding first baseman of the New York Yankees, was in Chicago with his T*E*A*M to play the White Sox and was asked to visit Children’s Hospital. He was requested to visit Tim, a 10-year-old who had been stricken with polio. Tim was refusing therapy, and his parents hoped that a visit from Gehrig would urge their son to go to therapy. When he visited Tim that day, Gehrig said, “I want you to get well and learn to walk again.” Tim said, “Lou, if you will knock a home run for me today. I will learn to walk again,” Gehrig promised.
All the way to the ballpark that day Gehrig felt a deep sense of obligation, as well as much apprehension, that he might not be able to deliver his promise. Although five years earlier in 1932, Gehrig had hit four home runs in one game and his batting was a major reason the Yankees won six championships. Still, this “promise” weighed heavily on him. Gehrig met that challenge; he didn’t hit one home run at Comiskey Park that day, he hit two over the wall!
Two years later, Gehrig, who had had a horrible 1938 season, was having an equally bad 1939 start. So he checked himself into the Mayo Clinic. Following a series of tests, doctors informed him he was suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) disease. Gehrig, however, continued to play until May 2, 1939 when he voluntarily took himself out of the Yankee lineup. On July 4, 1939 they celebrated Lou Gehrig Day at Yankee Stadium. More than 80,000 fans, New York Governor, Harold H. Lehman, Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia and a plethora of celebrities were in attendance to pay their respects.
Just before the mike was turned over to Gehrig to respond to the wonderful tributes paid him, Tim, now 12 years old, walked out of the Yankee dugout, dropped his crutches, and with leg braces walked to home plate where Lou was standing and gave him a hug. That’s what Gehrig meant when he said those immortal words, “Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”
Will you reach out to help inspire someone when the opportunity arises?
To contact Jim go to www.jimtunney.com or email jim@jimtunney.com.
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