Video: 'Lou Gehrig's Toughest Day in Yankee Stadium'

(Tuesday, July 4, 1939, mid-afternoon EDT) — Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees, diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a debilitating motor neuron disease, delivered his famous farewell speech today at Yankee Stadium in which he called himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth”

Nicknamed “The Iron Horse,” Gehrig was renowned for his prowess as a hitter and for his durability, playing a record 2,130 consecutive games until Apr. 30, 1939.

Gehrig died on June 2, 1941, at his home at 5204 Delafield Avenue in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, New York. He was 37.

Video: 'Lou Gehrig Speech / History'