His (Gehrig\u2019s) speech was a baseball moment that had nothing to do with playing.\u00a0 It was baseball \u2018s Gettysburg address.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Marty Appel, Baseball Historian<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In Bronx Epitaph<\/em>, author Steven\u00a0 Wagner presents what is clearly\u00a0 the most deeply researched and best-documented version of Lou Gehrig\u2019s farewell speech.\u00a0 Only four sentences of the speech captured on film are known to be available\u00a0 and there is no known complete audio recording of Gehrig\u2019s remarks. In his research, Wagner used not only available film and audio, but news accounts from a wide range of publications \u2013 giving particular credence to quotes or paraphrases that appeared in multiple stories.\u00a0 In fleshing out the story of the speech and Gehrig\u2019s life, Wagner also interviewed a host of players \u2013 all former Yankees \u2013 and even a fan who was in the stands that day. In the process, Wagner developed not only the most in-depth accounting of Gehrig\u2019s farewell speech, but an equally in-depth look at Gehrig\u2019s life and character.<\/p>\n

Using the Farewell Speech \u2013 and filling in the back story of each sentence \u2013 Wagner tells the tale of Gehrig the ballplayer and Gehrig the man. We see a fierce and talented competitor, a dedicated teammate, a humble and caring person, an individual of great integrity and a man who recognized and was thankful for all those who contributed to what he saw as a great and \u201dlucky\u201d life. \u00a0In Yankee manager Joe McCarthy\u2019s words, as quoted in Wagner\u2019s book, Gehrig was \u201cthe finest example of a ball player, sportsman and citizen that baseball has ever known.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The emotional nature of Gehrig\u2019s speech (and the day itself) may be reflected\u00a0 in the fact that the speech almost didn\u2019t happen. Here\u2019s how Wagner describes it,\u00a0 \u201cAs Gehrig stood on the grass that day, struggling to hold back his tears,\u00a0 Mercer (sportswriter Sid Mercer, emcee of the event) announced that the Yankee was too overcome with emotion and would not be speaking. He then thanked the crowd for coming out to honor the man. Unfortunately for their quiet hero, those in the crowd would not be dismissed lightly and they quickly and collectively took over, rising to their feet and chanting his name over and over. Finally, (Joe) McCarthy, a father figure to the slugger, put his hand on Gehrig\u2019s back and gently ushered him over to the microphone, urging him to speak.\u201d<\/em> The rest, as they say, is history.<\/p>\n

In the introduction to Bronx Epitaph, Wagner takes the reader through Gehrig\u2019s childhood, when his family often faced economic challenges; through his high school years,\u00a0 when he excelled at both baseball and football (and, as Wagner reports \u201cAt first declined to play on the baseball team because he was shy about appearing in front of crowds;\u201d<\/em> through his years at Columbia University (where he was a fullback on the football team and a pitcher\/first baseman on the baseball squad;\u00a0 and on to highlights of\u00a0 his Hall of Fame career as a Yankee.<\/p>\n

But the story really starts when Wagner begins to recreate and analyze Gehrig\u2019s farewell speech – made at a time when Gehrig was facing the toughest\u00a0 challenge of his life and still thought of himself as the luckiest man on the face of the earth. Gehrig went on to cite the reasons why he felt that way, and those reasons\u00a0 had nothing to do with fame, fortune, Most Valuable Player Awards or championship rings, but rather were based on the\u00a0 people and relationships that had built his character and shaped his life.<\/p>\n

In his remarks Gehrig thanked the fans;\u00a0 his teammates; Yankee owner Jake Ruppert; Yankee executive Ed Barrow; Yankee managers Miller Huggins and Joe McCarthy; his Yankee roommate Bill Dickey; the\u00a0 rival New York Giants; stadium vendors, groundskeepers and office staff; sportswriters; his mother-in-law; his parents; and his wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe (Gehrig) was a beloved player, because of who he was, not just because of how he played. What he spoke that day came from his heart. When the people who in your heart are your mother-in -law and ticket takers, that says a lot about your character.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Former Yankee Mike Buddie<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In his book, Wagner outlines Gehrig\u2019s relationship with each of those he thanked in that speech \u2013 telling Gehrig\u2019s\u00a0 life story along the way. And \u2013 as the humble Gehrig would have preferred \u2013 also provides\u00a0 insight into the lives, careers and accomplishments of each individual or group included in his list of thank you\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Wagner writes about Jacob Ruppert\u2019s commitment to building the Yankee franchise; how and why Ed Barrow signed Gehrig to his first baseball contract; Gehrig\u2019s relationship with his teammates, particularly roommate Bill Dickey (nicknamed The Man Nobody Knows<\/em>); Gehrig\u2019s family life and the positive impact that Gehrig\u2019s parents, wife and mother-in-law had on building his \u201clucky life;\u201d and much, much more. Readers even get a glimpse of Gehrig\u2019s challenging life after he left baseball and some insight into the Gehrig-Ruth rift.<\/p>\n

I found Bronx Epitaph to be a great read. As I\u2019ve often said of Baseball Roundtable research \u201cone thing always seems to lead to another.\u201d That’s also true about Wagner\u2019s Bronx Epitaph \u2013 one story from Gehrig\u2019s life leads to another and, then, another\u00a0 \u2013 and in the end, they lead to the tale of a great ballplayer and a great person.<\/p>\n

Other books by Steven K. Wagner include:<\/p>\n