Lou Gehrig's "Farewell to Baseball Address"

Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.



I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day?



Sure I’m lucky.



Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy?



Sure I’m lucky.



When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies -- that’s something.



When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter -- that’s something.



When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body -- it’s a blessing.



When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed -- that’s the finest I know.



So, I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for.




Lou Gehrig's Speech in Video





After Lou Gehrig was diagnosed with 'Lou Gehrig's Disease', he knew he had to retire from baseball. He contracted the first known case of 'ALS' which was more commonly known as 'Lou Gehrig's Disease'. It is a disease that slowly shuts down the muscles through their nerve endings shrinking. He kept playing throughout his illness until it became too much and after about a month after being in the Mayo Clinic, he finally retired. This obviously made it impossible for him to continue playing the sport he loved. This speech was so influential and powerful because this disease he was suffering from was so rare and there wasn't much to be known about it at that point. He did not explain his situation, he didn't expect any remorse, and he didn't even make his famous speech about the disease. Lou Gehrig looked at the positive side of his life by explaining how lucky he was to even be playing baseball. He made the impression that it was every boys' dream to become a professional in the sport they love, and when it came down to his final steps on a baseball field, he relished in every single moment of it. In his last line he said, "So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for." Gehrig did not make his fans endure a painful speech about how bad it is to be him, but instead gave the fans something to remember for the rest of their lives' as they were treated to Gehrig being grateful and thrilled with his experience of his own life. He looked toward the positive side of life by seeing his life as if he had more to live for than to dwell on the disease that will one day kill him.



This outstanding speech can be applied to Burke's pentad quite easily. Gehrig's Act was obviously his farewell speech. He was finishing off his career by thanking the ones he loved in the sport and also thanked the fans. The Scene was in New York Yankee's 'Yankee Stadium.' He played for the New York Yankees and therefore it was only logical to have his speech take place there. The Agents were Lou Gehrig, the upper management of the team, the other players, and the fans. The Agency was that everyone was very sad and upset about Gehrig leaving the team and the game, but at the same time very inspired because of his moving speech. Even though he was leaving, he made everyone feel good about his departure because they found out through his speech that he will be moving on to a better place in his life since he could no longer play baseball. The purpose was that Lou Gehrig had contracted a disease and couldn't play baseball anymore so he needed to provide everyone with a sense of closure, which he did an outstanding job of doing.



Lou Gehrig was one of the most loved players of his time and after the public discovered Lou's devastating news, the entire country was in a state of shock. One of the greatest players of all time had just been diagnosed with the first, and still extremely rare to this day, case of ALS. He is just one of many in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but is still considered one of the best baseball players of all time.