“The Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth”

Today in History, July 4, 1939:

“I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth”. After 17 years as a beloved member of major league baseball, New York Yankee Lou Gehrig stands in Yankee Stadium and says goodbye to his fans, having been diagnosed with a terminal disease that now bears his name. I doubt there was a dry eye in the house.