I saw an article in the New York Times the other day that caught my attention. Normally, I don’t pay attention to sports stories but this one is more than a sports story.
Besides being a phenomenal baseball player, Lou Gehrig is known for how he died. Gehrig was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a incurable and fatal disease that causes the eventual loss of all voluntary muscle control. It is estimated that around 30,000 in the U.S. have the disease, which tends to strike 40-70 year old men
A peer-reviewed paper was published in the Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology suggests people diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s Disease as it has come to be known might have had a concussion or brain trauma instead.
The paper doesn’t specifically address Gehrig, but the authors have been interviews and “acknowledged the clear implication: Lou Gehrig might not have had Lou Gehrig’s disease,” according to the New York Times.
The case that Gehrig may not have had Lou Gehrig’s Disease is that he suffered many concussions playing baseball and college football. “Given that, it’s possible that Gehrig’s renowned commitment to playing through injuries like concussions, which resulted in his legendary streak of playing in 2,130 consecutive games over 14 years, could have led to his condition,” the New York Times suggested.
Read the full story here and see what you think.