Henry Louis "
Lou" or "
Buster"
Gehrig (Born
Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941) was an American
baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in
Major League Baseball (MLB) for the
New York Yankees, from 1923 through 1939. Gehrig was renowned for his prowess as a hitter and for his durability, a trait which earned him his nickname "The Iron Horse". He was an
All-Star seven consecutive times, a
Triple Crown winner once, an
American League (AL) Most Valuable Player twice, and a member of six
World Series champion teams. He had a career .340
batting average, .632
slugging average, and a .447
on base average. He hit 493
home runs and had 1,995
runs batted in (RBI). In 1939, he was elected to the
Baseball Hall of Fame and was the first
MLB player to have his uniform number retired.