And the And then. Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

Welcome to another episode of 1001 heroes, legends, histories, and mysteries.

This one, titled The Pride of the Yankees,

is from our Legends series and tells the story of one of the greatest baseball players that ever took the field, Lou Gehrig.

Lou Gehrig who played for the Yankees for 17 years until his career was tragically cut short by a

neuromuscular disease called ALS, was nicknamed the Iron Horse due to his endurance and strength,

which allowed him to play in 2,130 consecutive games

despite numerous fractures, muscle spasms, knockdowns and knockouts at the plate.

His lifetime batting average was 340, 15th highest of all time,

and his on-base percentage was an astounding 441 lifetime.

One of the best movies I've ever seen,

and one of the few I have watched more than twice,

is The Pride of the Yankees, starring Gary Cooper.

It puts a lump in my throat every time I watch it.

It details Gary's life growing up in a poor German immigrant family in New York,

his rise to baseball stardom and how that affected his wife and family,

and his fight against a crippling disease that ended his ability to play earlier in his career than he had hoped.

Most of all, the movie portrays Lou Gehrig as he was, a

humble quiet man who loved his family and loved baseball. And he had a sense of

humor. When historian Fred Leib asked him what it's like playing in

Babe Ruth's Shadow, Gary quipped, it's a pretty big shadow. It gives me lots of

room to spread myself. Thank you for joining us. 1,001 Heroes is now

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