[...]... Heinrich Gehrig appeared in 1888; Christina Fack, in 1899 They would marry, and in 1903, Christina gave birth to a boy who would go on to became one of the most renowned athletes in all of sports Lou Gehrig lou gehrig strong Heinrich saw to it that Lou s muscles stood out, often taking the boy to the local gymnasium to pump iron Pop Gehrig encouraged his son to play sports For Christmas, he bought Lou. .. “No!” was Christina’s initial answer, when Lou asked, as related in Luckiest Man “This baseball is a waste of time It will never get you anywhere.” Lou pleaded, “I want to go, Mom All the other boys are going.” 11 12 lou gehrig Mother kept insisting, Baseball was a bunch of nonsense, a game for bummers.” She felt it would only take Lou away from his studies When Lou agreed to attend college after graduation,... possibilities, Gehrig jumped at the chance The Giants saw nothing of Gehrig that summer, but others did Playing under the false name of Lou Lewis, Gehrig wound up in a dozen games for Hartford He batted 261 in 46 times at bat, going hitless in only three games Soon the local papers began to compare this “Lewis” with Ruth, a dead giveaway Columbia’s baseball coach, Andy Columbia Lou Lou Gehrig (above)... though, he played 12 games of professional baseball with the Hartford Senators— a move that could have ended his college career before it began When Columbia officials found out, Gehrig was banned from playing football or baseball during his freshman year 17 18 lou gehrig Coakley, promptly visited Gehrig, and the chastened lad quickly returned home to New York Gehrig, who surely must have known he was... Gehrig 25 26 lou gehrig Huggins had been hoping that the team was gaining not only a great baseball prospect, but a Jewish one at that For years, Yankee management had been looking for a Jewish player who, by virtue of his religion, would appeal to the sizable Jewish community in New York No such luck here Though Gehrig may have sounded Jewish to Huggins and a few others, Gehrig was Lutheran As Gehrig. .. school baseball Lou still worked, earning money while studying and playing sports One day he showed up to football practice, his face all covered in soot It turns out, Lou had had to take over for his ill father, who was working as a janitor As Lou entered his senior year, he had not made many friends Girls were never seen in his company When not playing sports, Lou was content to be by himself Yet, Lou s... For his efforts, Lou received trolley fare and, on one memorable occasion, with money “borrowed” from dad’s gambling stash, a visit to Coney Island Young Lou rode the roller coaster and ate all the hot dogs and ice cream he wanted Christina saw to it that, as poor as the family was, Lou always had plenty to eat As a result, “little” Lou soon became even bigger Lou As he got older, Lou s body grew exceptionally... article, with its headline, “Louis Gehrig Hits Ninth-Inning Homer With Bases Loaded,” and hid it away in a drawer 2 Columbia Lou H aving promised Mom that he would attend college after graduation, Lou Gehrig began to search for an institution of higher learning that offered sports He did not have far to look Columbia University, on New York’s Upper West Side, may not have been a baseball or football powerhouse,... social acceptance Although baseball was his favorite pastime, Lou could handle himself quite nicely at various street games, such as marbles, soccer, basketball, and football Through it all, his studies, his work, and his play, Lou never missed a day of school As he turned 14, in 1917, Lou graduated from P.S 132 with perfect attendance THE COMMERCE KID In the fall of 1917, Lou Gehrig did something few... with their grammar-school education Not Lou, and certainly not Lou s mother Christina wanted her son to become an architect or an engineer, to have a profession So, off to New York’s High School of Commerce Grand Slam Lou Gehrig and his mother, Christina, visited the Yankees’ training quarters in St Petersburg, Florida, in March 1931 When Lou was a child, Christina Gehrig took in cleaning and cooked for . Puckett Jackie Robinson Ichiro Suzuki Bernie Williams Lou Gehrig Lou Gehrig Ronald A. Reis BaseBall superstars LOU GEHRIG Copyright © 2007 by Infobase Publishing .