NEW YORK – Major League Baseball is set to host its first Lou Gehrig Day on June 2nd, putting Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente on the short list of players honored in the major leagues.
Each home team wears “4-ALS” logos in the stadiums to identify Gehrig’s # 4. All players, managers and coaches wear a Lou Gehrig Day patch on their uniforms and can use red “4-ALS” bracelets. Teams absent on June 2nd will celebrate Lou Gehrig Day on June 3rd.
MLB said Thursday that the day will focus on finding cures and raising money for research into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, the legacy of Gehrig and others involved in the progression Disease that attacks nerve cells that control the muscles through the body.
June 2nd marks the 96th anniversary of Gehrig’s launch on the first base for the New York Yankees instead of Willy Pipp began his record streak of 2,130 consecutive games. The brand stood until September 1995 when it was handed over by Baltimore’s Cal Ripken Jr., who played 2,632 games in a row in a streak that ended in 1998.
Gehrig died of ALS on June 2, 1941 at the age of 37. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement that Gehrig’s “humility and courage continue to inspire our society” and “the urgent need to find cures remains”.
The MLB committee consists of the Oakland outfielder Stephen Piscottywhose mother died of ALS; Colorado outfielder Sam Hillard, whose father was diagnosed with ALS; and Milwaukee catchers Jacob Nottingham, whose family includes six people who have died of ALS.
MLB teams and players raised millions of dollars in the 2014 ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The New York Yankees often celebrate the anniversary of Gehrig’s farewell address on July 4, 1939.
