Photo: Instagram/Lou Gehrig Official
On Wednesday, June 2, MLB (Major League Baseball) will honor Lou Gehrig and raise funds and awareness for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), the disease that took his life in 1941 and still has no cure today. For over 80 years, Gehrig has instilled hope and perseverance in individuals and families of those diagnosed with ALS, which is now widely known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Given his legacy in baseball, and more importantly, his impact on the lives of all those affected by ALS, MLB’s inaugural Lou Gehrig Day is well overdue.
On Wednesday, all 30 MLB teams will come together wearing “Lou Gehrig Day” patches, and home teams will showcase “4-ALS” logos throughout the ballpark. (Gehrig wore the number 4 as a player for the New York Yankees). Ballparks will also show a video of former New Orleans Saints player and ALS patient Steve Gleason as he recites an excerpt of Lou Gehrig’s iconic “Luckiest Man” speech via an augmented communication device.
During this event, MLB and individual baseball clubs hope to raise a substantial amount of money for several ALS charities that fund ALS research and care. For example, MLB will host an online auction, and Lou Gehrig Day T-shirts will be available. However, efforts to raise funds will not end on June 2. During the Fourth of July weekend, MLB, in partnership with digital collectible company Candy Digital, will release a 1-of-1 NFT (non-fungible token) of Gehrig's "Luckiest Man" speech.
The hope is that the annual Lou Gehrig Day will have an impact similar to, or even greater than, the Ice Bucket Challenge, which was created by the late Peter Frates, a Boston College baseball player, after he was diagnosed with ALS. The challenge raised $200 million for ALS research and spread awareness of the devastating disease.
Though a day honoring Lou Gehrig in MLB may be long overdue, this year’s Lou Gehrig’s day will raise funds and awareness for the disease that is still as fatal today as it was when Gehrig was diagnosed in 1939.
