"Gehrig's Farewell" - 38 x 52 in. - Oil on Linen - 2004 - SOLD

Gehrig's Farewell

NEW YORK – It's July 4, 1939 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, and a capacity crowd has gathered to honor the Yankees ailing first baseman on ‘Lou Gehrig Day'. What may be the most famous moment in baseball history, Gehrig bid farewell to the game with his assertion to the multitude that on this day he considered himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth”. Despite his prolific career, it is this poignant retirement speech that the ‘Iron Horse' is best remembered for.

Your view is right behind homeplate with the Master of Ceremonies, Sid Mercer, at the microphones. Behind him are the Washington Senators, who paired off with the Yanks for a doubleheader that afternoon. To Sid's right are members of the famous 1927 Yankees team, “Murderers Row”, of which Gehrig was an integral part of. Lou stands in front of the batter's box with various gifts at his feet, with his Yankee teammates behind him. Between both teams and behind the mound, we see members of the Seventh Regiment Band.

Sadly, Gehrig lost his battle with the disease that now bears his name at his home in the Fieldston section of the Bronx on June 3, 1941. He would have been 38 years old on June 19.