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# Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth

National Portrait Gallery

                    - Share IconShare Icon                       - 
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                      - Print
                      -     DetailsRelatedObject Details- Artist
- Unidentified Artist
- Sitter
- Henry Louis Gehrig, 19 Jun 1903 - 2 Jun 1941
- George Herman ("Babe") Ruth, 6 Feb 1895 - 17 Aug 1948
- Exhibition Label
- In 1927 Babe Ruth found himself in a slugging contest with teammate Lou Gehrig (1903–1941), an unassuming, humble man who was eight years Ruth’s junior and a polar opposite in personality. Gehrig played first base and was number four in the batting lineup, just behind Ruth. His forty-seven homers that season topped every other player in baseball, except for Ruth’s sixty. Gehrig was always playing in Ruth’s shadow, and, he noted, it was a “pretty big shadow.” Unbeknownst to all, Gehrig was beginning what would be his own long-standing record of playing 2,130 consecutive games—broken only in 1995 by Cal Ripken Jr. Gehrig’s streak ended in 1939 when he took himself out of the lineup, his strength noticeably ebbing from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative disease now also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
- En 1927 Babe Ruth se enfrascó en un concurso de bateo con su compañero de equipo Lou Gehrig (1903–1941), un jugador modesto, el polo opuesto de Ruth en carácter y ocho años menor que este. Gehrig jugaba primera base y era el cuarto en la línea de bateo, justo detrás de Ruth. Con sus cuarenta y siete jonrones de esa temporada superó a todos los jugadores en la historia del deporte, excepto a Ruth, que conectó sesenta. Gehrig siempre jugó a la sombra de Ruth y, según él mismo comentó, era “una sombra bien grande”. Pero lo que nadie sabía es que Gehrig estaba en camino hacia su propio récord de 2,130 partidos consecutivos, una marca longeva que vino a romper Cal Ripken Jr. en 1995. La buena racha de Gehrig terminó en 1939, cuando decidió retirarse de la alineación al ver sus fuerzas menguadas por la esclerosis lateral amiotrófica, una enfermedad degenerativa que hoy se conoce también como la enfermedad de Lou Gehrig.
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
- c. 1931
- Object number
- NPG.93.80
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Photograph
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions
- Image: 19.1cm x 14.3cm (7 1/2" x 5 5/8"), Accurate
- Sheet: 20.3cm x 15.3cm (8" x 6"), Accurate
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- Location
- Currently not on view
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Exterior\Sports arena
- Equipment\Sports Equipment\Baseball Equipment\Baseball
- George Herman ("Babe") Ruth: Male
- George Herman ("Babe") Ruth: Sports and Recreation\Athlete\Baseball
- Henry Louis Gehrig: Male
- Henry Louis Gehrig: Sports and Recreation\Athlete\Baseball
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_NPG.93.80
- Metadata Usage (text)
- Usage conditions apply
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4a590af0d-727c-476c-82c4-7056c75dc196
Related Content-                    Take Me out to the Ball Game                 
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