History would show that 1937 marked the last great season for Lou Gehrig (left). The "Iron Horse," who would play in 2,130 consecutive games, hit 37 home runs that year, but the torch was being passed to the younger Joe DiMaggio (right), who smacked 46 homers in 1937 and was becoming the new star and "Yankee Clipper."
Two years later, Gehrig would suffer Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, later to be known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease." On July 4, 1939, he attended Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day at Yankee Stadium, and he made a dramatic and tearful speech that would become part of baseball lore. The next day The Times headline declared, "61,808 Fans Roar Tribute to Gehrig; Captain of Yankees Honored at Stadium - Calls Himself 'Luckiest Man Alive.' "