77th anniversary of Lou Gehrig's ‘Luckiest Man' speech

BRONX, NY. — July 4, 1939.  Bronx, New York. A sad and sentimental pregame ceremony. Poignant parting words from Yankees captain Lou Gehrig.

The Iron Horse, captain of the Yankees and the pride of baseball, says goodbye after being forced to retire with a diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). In front of a cluster of microphones, and with 60,000 fans in attendance, Gehrig's voice echoed through Yankee Stadium.

His former teammate, Babe Ruth, and New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia stood nearby as Gehrig delivered a powerful and emotional message. Gehrig was poised but powerful in his 274 words farewell. It remains the most iconic sports speech in history.

Seventy-seven years later, only a small portion of "newsreel" film of the speech has survived. Here's the text of what is now famously known as the "Luckiest Man" speech.

<br/> "Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet, today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for 17 years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.<br/> <br/> Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky. <br/> <br/> When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift — that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies — that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter — that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body — it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed — that's the finest I know.<br/> <br/> So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for."

Cox Media Group