Lou Gehrig Day To Be Honored Across Baseball on June 2nd

Lou Gehrig.

Major League Baseball announced that one of the greatest players in history, an iconic Yankee, if not the iconic Yankee, will have a day in his honor. 

Lou Gehrig Day will be honored on June 2nd every year, with the inaugural one being held this year on Wednesday, June 2. 

The date was chosen because it was the day the Iron Horse became the Yankees starting first baseman, setting him on his streak of playing in 2,130 consecutive games, a record that was held for 56 years, until 1995 when Cal Ripken eclipsed it.

It also is the day Gehrig passed away from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), which came to be known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Lou Gehrig Day will focus on three pillars: 1) remembering the lefact of Gehrig and those lost to the disease that bears his name; 2) raising awareness and funds for research of ALS; and 3) celebrating the groups and individuals who have led the pursuit for cures.

Gehrig is the third player Major League Baseball has bestowed this honor on. 

The first was Jackie Robinson, whose day is April 15, in honor of when he broke baseball's color barrier in 1947. That was announced on the 50th anniversary of that historic day, in 1997, at Shea Stadium during a Los Angeles Dodgers-New York Mets game. 

MLB established Roberto Clemente Day last season, in honor of the Pittsburgh Pirates legend who died on December 31, 1972 in an airplane crash off the coast of Puerto Rico. He was on a plane to Nicaragua bringing aid in the wake of a devastating earthquake.

Commissioner Of Baseball Rob Manfred said in a statement, "Major League Baseball is thrilled to celebrate the legacy of Lou Gehrig, whose humility and courage continue to inspire our society. While ALS has been closely identified with our game since Lou's legendary career, the pressing need to find cures remains. We look forward to honoring all the individuals and families, in baseball and beyond, who have been affected by ALS and hope Lou Gehrig Day advances efforts to end this disease."   

This day was also made possible by the Lou Gehrig Day Committee (www.lg4day.com), which is comprised of individuals, family, and friends affected by ALS, and organizations leading the way on awareness and fundraising for the movement to end the disease.