This column appeared in the Arizona Daily Sun on June 6, 2002.

Baseball’s support of ALS research an homage to Gehrig

By Ed Odeven

It’s easy to criticize Major League Baseball. The owners’ greed, the players’ ridiculous salaries, recent revelations of a troublesome epidemic plaguing the game (rampant steroid use) and the outrageous price of tickets are too much for the average fan to afford: All are clear-cut reasons why many fans have been turned off by the grand ol’ game.

Today, however, let’s discuss something baseball is doing right. Baseball is doing its part to help raise awareness and find a cure for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly called Lou Gehrig’s disease.

It’s been just over 61 years since legendary Lou Gehrig died (June 2, 1941) from ALS, but he is not forgotten, nor are his on-the-field accomplishments.

The New York Yankees first baseman batted cleanup, for years hitting behind Babe Ruth — talk about job security, y’all — in the famed Murderers’ Row lineup that dominated baseball like few teams ever have — or ever will.

Gehrig played in 2,130 consecutive games, an amazing streak later topped by Cal Ripken Jr., before taking himself out of the Yanks’ lineup in 1939. He would never play again. But Gehrig touched the hearts of ballplayers and fans when he gave his now-famous speech.

“Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth,” Gehrig said on July 4, 1939.

Gehrig is remembered for both his brilliant career and the progressive neurodegenerative disease that bears his name.

Perhaps more than anyone associated with the game today, Curt Schilling has made sure that Gehrig is not forgotten.

The Diamondbacks’ Mr. Good Guy, Schilling, is more than just a dominant figure on the mound. He’s a guy with a keen sense of history and respect for the game’s legends. And he’s a guy with a heart as big as the Great Wall of China.

Since 1992, he has helped raise more than $3 million for ALS research. Since joining the D-backs, Schilling has become an active supporter of the ALS Association’s Arizona chapter. At the same time, Schilling, who first made a name for himself with the Philadelphia Phillies a decade ago, continues to provide financial contributions to the City of Brotherly Love’s ALS Association’s chapter.

Schilling realizes the influence he has as a public figure, raising awareness for a worthwhile cause.

“Over the past eight years I’ve met many ALS patients and their families,” Schilling said. “I’ve learned that ALS can strike anyone. The emotional and physical toll is devastating to the whole family.”

Last Saturday, MLB gave a heartfelt tribute to Gehrig at ballparks around the country on a special day dubbed “Project ALS Day.” Before each game, celebrities read his speech and urged fans to help support ALS research.

It’s a great start. But there’s so much more that society and athletes can do. Too many players worry about getting a shoe contract, getting lucrative endorsements and getting “respect.”

As noted humanitarian and late baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente once said, “If you have an opportunity to make things better, and you don’t do that, you are wasting your time on this earth.”

If only more athletes, especially those with the means to improve the lives of countless others, would realize that.