Incredible Baseball Record Stood For More Than 50 Years

He was one of the New York Yankees all-time great baseball players. Lou Gehrig was the only child of German immigrants, his parents stressed education over sports, but he got a scholarship to Columbia University to play football and was signed by the Yankees when he was spotted by a scout. When he finally made the Yankees' lineup he didn’t miss a game for the next 13 years.

His streak began on June 1st, 1925 and it was on this date in 1933 he broke baseball’s consecutive game streak and he was honored with a silver trophy. But Gehrig wasn't finished. He went on to play 2,130 games in a row, a record that would stand for over half a century.

Gehrig led the American League in RBIs five times and drove in at least 100 runs 13 years in a row. He led the AL in home runs three times, runs four times and in hitting once. In 1932, Gehrig became the first player to hit four home runs in a game. He helped the Yankees to six World Series titles.

But when he became sick with an illness doctors couldn't diagnose, he was forced to retire. We call that illness today Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939 and died just two years later.