The Pride of the Yankees Quotes

Context

This line is spoken by Lou Gehrig, played by Gary Cooper, in the film The Pride of the Yankees, directed by Sam Wood (1942).

Lou Gehrig had the kind of career Major Leaguers have been hard-pressed to beat. But just as it looked like he was destined for a long and record-breaking career with the Yankees, he had to retire at the peak of his 2,130 game playing-streak due to a rare nerve disease called ALS, or amytrophic lateral sclerosis. (If this disease sounds familiar, it's because Stephen Hawking has it too.)

ALS became known as "Lou Gherig's disease," because Lou was not only a great ball player, but a wonderful guy. He had major character and humility, and pretty much everyone in America loved him. Hearts broke around the nation when Gherig had to hang up his Yankees jersey. He died of the disease at the young age of 37.

Lou said this tear-inducing line during his goodbye speech at Yankee Stadium, where he told a devastated crowd that he may have gotten a bad break, but he felt incredibly lucky anyway. This memorable quote was later included in the film adaptation of his life story.

Where you've heard it

In labor and delivery rooms across America. Other than that, this quote has probably been thrown out at milestones galore, but not necessarily in reference to Mr. Gehrig. But you'll also hear it surface every time Lou's name is mentioned, or on the anniversary of his retirement. Because he was, and will remain, a legend.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

No pretense about it, Lou was delivering a heartfelt message to end his baseball career. Sports enthusiasts, take note. A little dose of humility goes a long way.