By: Courtney King

 Lou Gehrig  Yankee baseball player for 17 seasons  Acquired Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) which effects the nerve cells.

 Lou Gehrig retiring from playing baseball  July 4 th, 1939  He encouraged himself to deliver this message, people did not want to see him go  “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”  He was content with his career

 Yankee baseball fans, all baseball fans  Assumed that the fans were sad to see Lou go  He explained to them why they should not be sad  “I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans….”  Evokes comfort in the sense that he is not in great sorrow of his predicament.  He uses this language to keep the audience encouraged.

 To give a final farewell of baseball to his fans, and explain that he is not done fighting  Conveys it by crediting everyone who has had contact with him, stating he is the lucky one.  I would perceive him as humble, because he downplays his role in society (Although he is one of the best baseball players at this time)  Down to earth  Emotionally, Lou is stable, calm and encouraging  “Sure I’m lucky.”

 Explain that he is not letting this one obstacle ruin his life  “So, I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for.”  He never specifically states his disease in the speech

 Encouraging  Optimistic  Humble  “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.”  “Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert?...”

 Ethos ◦ Well known and very credible ◦ “I have been in ballparks for seventeen years..” ◦ “When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies -- that’s something.”  Logos ◦ “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?” ◦ Appeals to the audience by letting them know who he has worked with  Pathos ◦ “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.” ◦ Stating why he’s lucky, making the audience feel his same emotion of gratefulness