Even taking into account the indelible connection between baseball and American history, it’s tough to summon a moment more iconic, albeit tragic, than Lou Gehrig’s “Luckiest Man” speech, which he delivered July 4, 1939.
Having been diagnosed with the disease that would prematurely end his life just two years later, Gehrig had been forced to retire two weeks prior.
On Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day, the “Iron Horse” addressed a crowd of 61,808 with a heart-wrenching display of bravery, gratitude and inspiration.
“Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”
The next day, the New York Times wrote “the vast gathering, sitting in absolute silence for a longer period than perhaps any baseball crowd in history, heard Gehrig himself deliver as amazing a valedictory as ever came from a ball player.”
So, today we think of Gehrig and highlight some of the most significant items from his storied career in our cllct10.
1. 1937 game-worn New York Yankees jersey
During Gehrig's era, players were typically given around four jerseys per season (two road and two away), making game-worn examples incredibly rare.
This jersey, which sold for $2.58 million in 2019, has the added bonus of a photo-match — notoriously difficult to find for vintage gamers considering the limited quantity and low resolution of photos from the era.
It’s believed around 10 jerseys from Gehrig’s career remain extant, with this example from the 1937 season boasting some of the most robust documentation possible.
A yearbook from Gehrig’s high school years, featuring the future Hall of Famer as the school’s first baseman, also includes what remains one of the earliest Gehrig photos seen publicly.
In 2001, it sold for $2,624.88.
3. 1939 Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day ticket stub signed by Gehrig
This ticket stub transcends ticket collecting … or even collecting in general. Long before the rise in popularity and prices for PSA-graded stubs, this stub from Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day — when he delivered the “Luckiest Man” speech — sold for a staggering $95,600 in 2014.
Tickets from the game are extremely rare to begin with, as PSA has graded a mere seven examples. However, this particular copy is the sole signed ticket from that day. It might be going out on a limb, but if this ticket were to come up for sale today, there is no reason why it wouldn’t rival Jackie Robinson’s debut ticket as the most expensive baseball stub ever sold.
Members of the 1928 World Series championship-winning Yankees were presented with Hamilton watches to commemorate their victory. Only a handful from the season have ever surfaced at auction, including Gehrig’s, which sold for $340,200 in 2014.
This watch is made all the more remarkable due to the fact Gehrig famously melted down a majority of his championship rings and other awards and forged them into a bracelet for his wife, leaving mementos such as this watch among the only remnants of Gehrig’s illustrious, award-winning career.
5. Home plate from Yankee Stadium, circa 1923
From 1923 to 1974, this home plate is purported to have sat in Yankee Stadium to witness everything from Gehrig’s Iron Horse streak to Don Larson’s Perfect Game, and much, much more.
Though this one-of-a-kind piece is certainly more Yankees-related than specifically Gehrig, the player and the team are so inextricably linked, it seems only appropriate to include on this list. Not to mention Gehrig began his legendary 2,130 consecutive games-played streak standing next to this very plate, which sold for $303,277.20 in 2021.
6. 1934 American League All-Star 10k gold pendant from Gehrig's Triple Crown season
As mentioned above, hardware from Gehrig’s career can be very difficult to find. This pendant, from Gehrig's Triple-Crown season, in which he batted .363 with 49 home runs and 165 RBIs, was awarded for his selection to that season’s All-Star Game.
7. 1939 warm-up jacket from first game not playing
Once again we revisit the devastating end to Gehrig’s career. On May 2, 1939, Gehrig insisted he remove himself from the Yankees lineup, ending his games-played streak.
Gehrig delivered the lineup cards for the game to the umpires, who were reportedly “stunned” to learn Gehrig, a mainstay of the Yankees lineup for so long, would not be playing. Gehrig retreated to the dugout, where he was photographed wearing this warm-up jacket. It sold for $325,000 in 2008.
8. 1925 Exhibits Gehrig rookie card – PSA EX-MT 6 (MK)
The 1925 Exhibits card is considered by many to be Gehrig's rookie, and considering it owns the record for the most expensive Gehrig card ever sold, fetching $782,400 in 2021, it seems to carry merit.
This particular example is one of the three highest-graded by PSA, of a total population numbering just 36.
9. 1924 signed Yankees rookie contract
Though Gehrig played in the latter part of the 1923 season, it was this contract that marked his official rookie deal with the Yankees, providing him with an $800 monthly salary for the season.
The historic paperwork sold for $480,000 in 2017, notably including Gehrig’s signature in addition to Hall of Famers Jacob Ruppert, Ed Barrow and American League founder and president Ban Johnson.
If it wasn’t for Babe Ruth, the Gehrig name would perhaps loom even larger in the annals of baseball history. Yet, it was truly the pairing of them both that made for the stuff of legend.
Nothing captures the magnitude of that duo in paper form like this Type 1 Photograph, signed by both Hall of Famers and deemed the "finest known" in existence at the time of its sale by Heritage in 2021, when it sold for $390,000.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.