Have you seen the video below?
@TODO Insert this video - https://youtu.be/3oW1RuGqw7g
It features 30 MLB first basemen reciting Lou Gehrig’s famous “Luckiest Man” speech. Yesterday was the 75th anniversary of the speech, and it reminded me how lucky we are to have a reminder of that speech in our home. Every time we walk into our office, we are reminded of the notion that even though we may have setbacks in life, most of our life is so beautiful that it outweighs the “bad breaks.”
The Lou Gehrig painting on the left was done years ago by my brother-in-law, Mike. He is a tremendous talent and gave us the painting to hang in our home. We are so lucky to have it. It was on a plain canvas, so Matt built a quick frame out of plain wood and covered it in a high gloss black spray paint. I don’t think I’ve ever touched on the painting on the blog before I thought it was appropriate to share it this week.
The baseball prints were photographed by a local photographer in Stamford, Connecticut. He would walk around a park near his home and collected many of the worn baseballs he’d find laying around. I stumbled upon them a few years ago on 20x200 and thought they were awesome. I love how they are complementary to the Lou painting. The black frames were 2 for $20 at Costco and we had the mats cut custom to fit the prints.
If you haven’t seen the speech, it’s definitely something to consider watching. If you prefer to read it instead, the transcript is below.
“Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for 17 years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.
Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I’m lucky.
When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies - that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter - that’s something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body - it’s a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that’s the finest I know.
So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for.”
Wishing you all a great 4th of July. Hopefully it’s filled with baseball, apple pie, fireworks and the like.