Babe Dahlgren talks about the day he replaced Lou Gehrig

In an interview from 1989, Babe Dahlgren talks with Keith Olbermann about the day he replaced Lou Gehrig. www.rumorintown...

[@basedhumanofficial]

Total gentleman, Babe Dahlgren. Thank you for posting this.

[@gregmoverley7525]

Thank You Mr Dalgren for Sharing these words !

[@dougthegreat1808]

Gehrig was just as great off the field as he was on the field!!!!!!!

[@theccpisaparasite8813]

Jeez that must have been a tough day

[@ALANRLEAKE]

Regardless of his shortcomings as a successor of Lou Gehrig, Babe was not the only frustrated candidate who tried to be a successor of Lou Gehrig. A NYC born baseball player named Hank Greenberg was scouted by the Yankees as a possible successor to Gehrig and Hank turned them down to wind up being a star in Detroit.

[@dougmontgomery1868]

I think the Yankees of that era had enough first-rate players without getting Greenberg (or Feller, or Ted Williams, or...)

[@rayrussell6258]

Greenberg signed with the Tigers long before Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS. There was no frustration, Hank was very happy in Detroit (for many years, until the reporter put that Yankee uniform on his lap for whatever reason one day and took a photo that the Tiger owner saw, prompting him to order the trade to Pittsburgh). In those days, loyalty was expected. Hank was never looking to go play in NY. He was a Tiger, and was never the same after the trade. I've been a Gehrig fan since I saw the Pride of the Yankees movie with Gary Cooper.

[@Chris-nj6qd]

Olbermann...before he was fitted for a,straight jacket

[@5inthehole]

If a guy as big and strong as Lou Gehrig can get struck down, what chance do the rest of us have? I wonder what a ticket stub or a program to that game is worth? I've read somewhere that only 7,000 attended the day Lou wasn't in the lineup

[@charlesmays2775]

I don't think Gehrig had ALS. He had brain damages from so many hits in the head. Many are documented. Also he played football in college, got in a fight with Ty Cobb, where he slipped and hit his head on the concrete floor. Look at what has happened to many modern day football players.

[@iamhungey12345]

If it was brain damage, he would have live longer. There are something wrong with what you claimed.

[@applejellypucci]

@@charlesmays2775 he died 2 years after so it lines up with the short amount of time you get when diagnosed with ALS.

[@ThekiBoran]

@@charlesmays2775 You're full of crap. Stop posting your drivel.

[@yankees29]

No way it was only 7,000. More like 70k. Look at the film of that day. Yankee stadium for more people than it does today I think.

[@jeffreylockhart8292]

You know Gherig would have played if he could still go

[@davidthompson62]

Most people, out of pride, would have gone on the game when the blow out was on….not Lou Gehrig. I know it not possible, but what a classy act it would have been of Ripken, when he tied the record, would have took himself out the next game in honor of Lou Gehrig.

[@lucianolorenzo8395]

They should have got the story straight On Pride of the Yankees. Life is nothing but a lie

[@ThekiBoran]

Are you living a lie?

[@df5295]

That's the Hollywood version! 😆

[@thomaswolf723]

Babe never "almost" hit four home runs in a game. In the game he describes he hit a double and a home run in five at bats.

[@horaceball5418]

Keith Olberman did not go to the real Cornell, he went to the agricultural wing of it.

[@buffalobraves9]

Who cares?

[@teflonmagnet]

John Boutet people who don’t like eating shit?

[@mrbreeze40]

@@teflonmagnet nah, people don't really care

[@jonathanrice1070]

@@teflonmagnet nobody cares.

[@petecornell2605]

you should me what’s the “real Cornell”…!

[@gregorygiulio]

I can’t watch this due to olbermann the commie

[@K9AF]

I got to meet Babe Dahlgren back in the 1970s. He owned an indoor batting cage in Arcadia, California. He was a very quiet spoken man. But he loved to talk baseball.

[@9Ballr]

No one will ever replace Lou Gehrig.

[@bradybaylis5448]

My father and his buddies listened to the May 2,1939 game in which Gehrig benched himself after 2,130 games,though we blacks were eight years from being allowed in the bigs and sixteen years before Elston Howard became the first black Yankee.To honour their beloved captain,"The Iron Horse," the "Bronx Bombers edged the Tigers,22-2.Two days later,incidentally,the Bosox' rookie sensation,"Thumpin' Theodore" Williams,twenty,became the first and youngest man to clear the roof at the renovated Briigs Stadium (Tiger Stadium from 1961 to its 1999 swansong.) My father also listened to that game.

[@bobmoslow9554]

Thanks for that piece of history!

[@rmarantis2962]

Impressive Ted hit a ball that far when he was a skinny rookie. He reached A weight of 197 lbs., but back then maybe 160+.

[@happyhippie54]

Brady.... that is awesome!

[@smurphftw2008]

@Bitcoin's Dump *rolls eyes* Yes when black men were getting hanged because of false rape allegations with no repercussions for the mob murderers, black and white relations were just dandy. Stupid libtards and their Civil Rights garbage! Just imagine being this galactically ignorant to think race relations were better in 1939 because liberals or something

[@ThekiBoran]

@@rmarantis2962 Great mechanics. They don't teach those mechanics today.

[@jameshairyknuckles1655]

Even today it’s hard to watch his famous speech at yankee stadium without getting teary eyed.

[@chrishickey7502]

This story just adds to it. Lou Gehrig was a Great man.

[@davidthompson62]

It’s just a damb crying shame. Lou kept himself in perfect shape and was a humble man…and this happens to him. I’d pick him 1st of all the player who ever played the game (minus the steroid guys).

[@JohnSmith-zw8vp]

Indeed, they call it baseball's Gettysburg Address.

[@hw5091]

@@davidthompson62 he played a lot of football and lead with his head, and had a lot of concussions. Well documented correlation between the two. Nobody knew back then.

[@DavidShadwell]

Recently, I've been diagnosed with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gerihgs Disease and I know how it feels when your body starts giving out. When you start stumbling, you have to work harder than everyone else, yet your muscles waste away.

[@petecornell2605]

very sorry to hear; hang in there w/those you love!

[@chlduiowks]

Stay Up.

[@golfrep2584]

🙏🏻

[@wongleebruce]

what a class act Babe Dahlgren is a good man

[@joz6559]

Lou Gehrig -- what a tragic story -- the iron man stricken by one of the most debilitating conditions, certain to die a premature death. His noble response makes him a great man still these many years later. I appreciated this story -- hadn't heard it before.

[@cynthiawilliams737]

Heartbreaking Lou Gehrig is an Icon!

[@TheBatugan77]

When Babe Dahlgren took Lou Gehrig's place in Detroit, Wally Pipp, who Lou had replaced 14 years earlier, was in the stands.

[@barneyphat]

Tough shoes to fill! Lou and Babe Dahlgren were both gentleman!

[@wilrobles5392]

You could just feel the drama of the day as Babe described what happened that momentous day.

[@MarkTsagalakis]

I knew Babe Dahlgren. He gave me batting lessons from his place in Arcadia, California some 45 years ago. Mr. Dahlgren was a class individual and extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of how to swing the bat. He was as kind as any man I have ever known. He deserves any and every accolade he has ever been given. I’ll never forget him.❤

[@davidvanzant2019]

Hurt’s me too here this I love everything about Lou

[@tonypanzarella9387]

It is interesting that Lou Gehrig was replaced by a player whose nickname was, "Babe".

[@tommyfu9271]

a ton of guys back then had 3 nicknames- baby, cy and lefty.

[@tonypanzarella9387]

@@tommyfu9271 You missed the point ... it is that someone so closely associated to BABE Ruth was, himself, replaced by ANOTHER "Babe". [Do you get it now?]

[@harryfrezza1035]

Had a great career in his own rite

[@davehole643]

i'd love to go out knowing i was top of my game, but for gehrig it was the beginning of a nightmare

[@glamgal7106]

Babe Dahlgren spoke about this as if it happened yesterday. I wonder if they were fully aware of Lou's finding out that he had ALS at the time--my guess is that they must have known something if they saw him crying. I've heard stories that it wasn't considered "acceptable" for a man to cry openly so that was most likely why Babe gave Lou the towel to cover his face.

[@ThekiBoran]

It still isn't acceptable.

[@THE-HammerMan]

Babe said JOHNNY threw Lou the towel.

[@moosecat]

The formal diagnosis of ALS didn't come until a month-and-a-half later, but--as teammates--they definitely saw that things weren't okay.

[@kevinwalters6907]

He was a Real Captain like Munson, Mattingly and I guess Jeter. thats where I leave it.

[@christopherhoran2041]

Wish it was longer INTERVIEW

[@MikeCee7]

How did he get the first name “Babe” as well? Especially playing for the Yankees, you think they would’ve retired that nickname.

[@brianforbes8325]

Keith Olbermann was a fine sports journalist and interviewer, as he demonstrated here with Dahlgren. But when he later turned to political commentary on MSNBC, the bullshit really started coming out of his mouth! He should have stuck to sports journalism.

[@ThekiBoran]

Good point.

[@chlduiowks]

Or, maybe you are a moron.

[@chlduiowks]

Why make something apolitical onto political? This happens on both the right and left. I’m sick of it.

[@tommymadden9746]

Cal Ripken should of sat out the game before breaking Lou Gehrigs record. That would of been a class act. Who knows how long the iron horse played sick.

[@andaimhineach4131]

Ah yes. Before Keith lost his mind.

[@chlduiowks]

Snore. Everything political.

[@Gablesman888]

@@chlduiowks Snore yoself. Keith Obergruppenfuhrer makes everything political. Go complain to him.

[@timburr4453]

Keith Olbermann before his mental illness/psychosis took hold. Sad what happened to him

[@stevefowler2112]

What a great story.

[@tektoniks_architects]

Babe Dahlgren...man of class. F Keith Olbermann.

[@exdemocrat9038]

Well put. I couldn't agree more.

[@dsmith5560]

Kieth overman ? You mention the biggest ass who has ever breathed air

[@8hammer2189]

F#$k olbermann

[@Chatta-Ortega]

Keith Olbermann was great.

[@chlduiowks]

Why is everything political with people? F U.

[@DavidSilva-fq7nt]

Class all the way.

[@BattleDroid191]

Legends ...

[@paddle_shift]

Today a man can openly weep, in those days it was not accepted. So by throwing the towel at Lou it was a way for Lou to keep his dignity (which he really never lost by weeping) while also giving his teammates cover. It was tough being a man those days.

[@glamgal7106]

I used to work with elderly patients. They told me what you mentioned: that it was considered unacceptable for a man to cry openly because it showed that he was weak. I've noticed in some of the films that Lou Gehrig tips his cap. I believe that's a show of respect and it was expected for a man to do that(when wearing a cap or hat). My grandfather would do that--he'd told me that a man's tipping his hat/cap or touching the brim "wasn't just acceptable; it was expected." He also told me other stories about how tough it was being a man because of society's expectations.

[@ThekiBoran]

@@glamgal7106 How about this? Men were mentally stronger back then. There seems to be a concerted effort to feminize men and I don't like it.

[@seanharris8419]

I think ALS qualifies for extreme circumstances.

[@BAR-tt1ph]

What the he'll happened to kieth??

[@gregmoverley7525]

Sorry thats Dahlgren

[@davidthompson62]

On a cold damp day at Detroit’s old Briggs field, can you imagine being a fan and realizing The Yankees great Iron Horse was not in the ballgame…everyone must have been wondering what the hell was going on. I’d love to get a ticket stub from that game.

[@athleticchipnyc]

Class act 😊

[@DMR4736]

dimaggio was hitting third in front of him back then; too bad he couldn't have talked him into staying in the lineup

[@ThekiBoran]

Gehrig was 0-4 the game before. He was done and he knew it.

[@davidr5961]

@@ThekiBoran Yes, he was. And then Joe started a streak for himself, some two years later

[@ThekiBoran]

@@davidr5961 It's cool to look at the box scores of those games on baseball-reference. There's also a game where Joe Torre hit into 4 double plays, I think 1973. The batter in front of Torre had 4 singles and was wiped off the bases by Torre's 4 double play balls. LOL!

[@timryan4414]

@@ThekiBoran yep...1975 Torre as a new Met that year grounded into 4 double-plays forcing Felix Millan at second 4 times.

[@andaimhineach4131]

Joe was a rookie that season.

[@vvsmalls1478]

i almost had 4 home runs that day. how many DID you have? 1.

[@dcfire2222]

I am am a White Sox fan, Lou is the greatest ball player!

[@johnhoien]

Real sportsman

[@Mike1614b]

BDahlgren talks to DBag

[@c2itccase9]

Keith Olbermann ruins everything he does.

[@leomallard9358]

This was before Olbermann became a complete ass!

[@markrush5013]

wow....legends.

[@bulletsherwood4032]

0

[@caniceful]

As opposed to Olbermann.

[@daltexasone]

Had to cut if off after seeing Olbermann....

[@petecornell2605]

OUCH! how are you going to. PEE, now?

[@deadhardy]

damn Keith Olbermann without white hair

[@ThekiBoran]

Yes, and also without the control-freak socialist talking points.

[@davidr5961]

too bad there is no record, of any interview with wally pipp, re: the day gehrig replaced him at first

[@andycardenas4574]

I once thought that the relationship btween the babe and the iron horse ,was somewhat sour ,due to the fact of one been a Jewish descent , and the other a German descent ,leaning towards the war years,

[@johngurlides9157]

They were both Germans

[@easy56wedge]

Their relationship soured for a few years when The Babe said something about Lou’s mother to which he took offense. Babe did however apologize and though they were never as close as they had been in the early years, they did manage to become friends again beginning the day of Lou’s Yankee Stadium speech. There are photos of The Babe hugging Lou…

[@ThekiBoran]

Where do you get your misinformation?

[@moosecat]

@@easy56wedge Lou's mom had made a comment about one of Babe Ruth's daughters. (Mrs. Gehrig, like my own paternal grandmother, was a tough-as-nails, no-nonsense German woman with no filter.)

[@davanmani556]

Gehrig’s family was Protestant and Babe’s was Catholic.

[@ericeckhardt3492]

Jesus dude, is tax evasion and steroids really a reason to hate someone you don't even know?

[@BuckyBrown-lt4ry]

Yes, of course.

[@TheBatugan77]

Btw... I'm still freeballing. Feels good. Goin commando. Hanging fruit. Jiggly jewels.

[@leomallard9358]

Wonderful, but how is that relevant to the discussion?

[@ThekiBoran]

@@leomallard9358 It isn't relevant, he's just a douche nozzle.