Henry Louis Gehrig (Lou Gehrig).

Essay by divinealliance22 June 2003

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John Mendez

Mr. Rinard

Period 4

AP US History

Henry Louis Gehrig (Lou Gehrig)

Henry Louis Gehrig, or Lou Gehrig, was born on June 19, 1903. When Lou was five years old, him and his family moved to Washington Heights from Yorkville. Lou's friends teased him about his German roots and was then called "Heinie," "dumb Dutchman," or "Krauthead." However, as he grew older, his size and muscles made other kids realize that he was not one to be teased.

Lou finished grade school and turned fourteen just a few months after the US entered the war. In the fall of 1917, Lou started attending Commerce High School where he able to maintain good grades. He never missed a day of school, and between studying and working at odd jobs, Lou still found time to play high school sports which were more organized than the games to which he was used to.

However, because of his shyness, he needed a push.

By 1919, Lou played baseball, football, and soccer and helped Commerce High receive three straight soccer championships. In the spring of 1920, the baseball team was selected to represent the city of New York in a special "national championship" game with Chicago's top high school team, Lane Tech. The game was played on June 26 at Wrigley field in Chicago. Former president Howard Taft stopped by to wish the team luck. At the end of the eighth inning, Commerce had an 8-6 lead over Lane Tech. In the top of the ninth, the bases were full when Lou came up to bat. He hit sailing grand slam over the right field fence. The huge grand slam sealed the 12-6 victory for the boys from New York. The Chicago Tribune reported, "Gehrig's blow would have made any big leaguer...