Wednesday marked Major League Baseball’s inaugural Lou Gehrig Day — honoring the Yankees legend and raising awareness for ALS — and Yankees fans in the Bronx made sure to commemorate the moment.
During the Bleacher Creature’s first-inning roll call, they added Lou Gehrig’s name to the end as a nice touch to pay tribute to the Iron Horse.
Of course, Lou Gehrig Day is not just about the player, but what he went through — battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a debilitating neurological disease that took on the Hall of Famer’s namesake.
As part of the day’s festivities, the Yankees recognized the families of Pete Frates and Pat Quinn, two ALS victims who spearheaded the popular Ice Bucket Challenge, which helped raise money and awareness for the disease, as well as Kevin Heller, who also passed away from ALS and advocated for a Lou Gehrig Day.
In addition to the Yankees’ festivities, all MLB home teams displayed a “4-ALS” logo in their ballpark, all players, managers and coaches wore a special “Lou Gehrig Day” patch while red “4-ALS” wristbands could be worn in-game.
Aaron Judge even wore cleats honoring Gehrig in the game.
The Red Sox will also honor Frates family (Pete was a Red Sox fan and Boston College baseball star) before a game at Fenway Park on June 8.
MLB announced on Tuesday that it would be auctioning off a non-fungible toke (NFT) of Lou Gehrig’s famous “Luckiest Man” speech, in which the proceeds will be donated to charity.
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