1903-1941
Baseball Player

Young Athlete.

The only surviving child of German immigrants, young Lou Gehrig was an outstanding all-around athlete at the High School of Commerce in New York City. He continued his athletic prowess at Columbia University and became a baseball star there as a pitcher and right fielder. Since he played in the minors at Hartford (under an alias) he lost one year of eligibility at Columbia. In 1923 Yankee scout Paul Krichell signed him to a contract, and Gehrig spent two years in the minors (though he played a few games each year with the parent club), honing his skills as a first baseman.

Larrupin' Lou.

Gehrig batted .295 and .313 in his first two major-league seasons, and by 1927 he had developed into one of the best players in the game, outhitting Babe Ruth in most categories. His 47 home runs were second to Ruth's 60 that year...