Lou Gehrig by Paul Gallico

Author:Paul Gallico
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781504009492
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

9

“STRIKE OUT YOU BIG GOOF”—IT WAS LOVE!

Life went on. Lou gained in stature and ability. His mother kept house for him, and continued to play the role of his sweetheart. And he seemed to be a boy who was happy and content with life.

He WAS happy too, but those who knew him in those years and understood him knew also that he was a lonely boy. His pleasures were few. He loved to go fishing, and he used to come home and take his mother fishing with him off New Rochelle, or drive out to Long Island and fish for flounders.

But somehow, the truest picture of the loneliness that was in his soul I get from the friend of his who told me that in those days he used to go up to Rye Beach where there was an amusement park and ride on the roller coaster all by himself for hours.

He just didn’t go for girls, though he occasionally took one out to the movies. Shortly before he died, Miller Huggins asked Lou why he didn’t find some nice girl, marry her and have a home. Lou’s answer was typical. He didn’t think he would ever find a girl who would have him. He was content with his mother. No girl would possibly want to have a guy like him.

Hug’s death in 1929 came as a great shock to Lou and he found himself lonelier than ever. Joe McCarthy who succeeded Huggins as Yankee Manager was always fond of Lou and became a great friend, but there was something paternal about his relation with Huggins.

Time passed. Murderer’s Row gave way to the Bronx Bombers. The Yankee line-up now read … Combs, Sewell, Ruth, Gehrig, Lazzeri, Dickey, Chapman and Crosetti. McCarthy was setting up his first championship team and it was built around the slugging of Lou Gehrig now, more than the power of Ruth, which was beginning to wane a little.

In 1932, the Yankees won the Championship again. That was the year when on July 3rd, in Philadelphia, Lou Gehrig hit four home runs in one game. And in the fall, Lou Gehrig was the undisputed hero of the world series in which the Yanks beat the Cubs four straight, and Babe Ruth made his last and most dramatic bid for immortality by pointing out to the Cubs pitcher the exact spot in centerfield where he was going to paste the next service for a home run. And then doing it.

It was so typical of the Ruth-Gehrig overshadowing that by a single gesture, Ruth made everybody forget that Gehrig hit two home runs that day, both off the first pitch delivered by Root, Cub star. Lou’s second home run followed right on the heels of Babe’s dramatic move. Nobody even saw that one.

Even if he was still somewhat under Babe’s shadow, Gehrig had the recognition of the ball players and the sports writers. He was getting more money each year. And the more money he got, and the more fame, the more lonely he grew too.

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