Major League Baseball made the announcement on Thursday (3/4) that June 2nd will hereby be known as Lou Gehrig Day.
The annual event, to be observed throughout the league, will honor and celebrate the man known as The Splendid Splinter, and the legacy of the Hall of Fame first baseman. It will also help raise awareness and money to fight amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the disease that claimed Gehrig’s life and bears his name.
Across the league every June 2nd, all players, managers and coaches will wear a special uniform patch, with red “4-ALS”. Gehrig wore the now retired #4 for the New York Yankees.