Baseball to Focus Attention on Gehrig's Disease

By GEORGE VECSEY Published: February 2, 2009



From left, Lou Gehrig's widow, Eleanor; catcher Bill Dickey; and Manager Joe McCarthy in July 1941, a month after Gehrig's death.





Baseball came through.

On July 4, the 70th anniversary of Lou Gehrig's immortal "luckiest man on the face of the earth" speech, Major League Baseball will help fight the disease that bears the name of its doomed hero.

In 15 home ballparks that day, baseball will seek to raise money and awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or A.L.S., known as Lou Gehrig's disease, which currently has no cure. Major League Baseball will announce the details of this program Tuesday.

The event is the brainchild of Michael Goldsmith, 57, a law professor in Utah, who was given what he calls a "death sentence" in September 2006, the ominous signs of A.L.S.

Goldsmith's first impulse was to turn to the sport of his childhood, that nearly perfect world where players hit and run, pitch and catch. After a joyous week at a fantasy camp of the Baltimore Orioles, his favorite team as a boy in New York, Goldsmith began to identify with Gehrig, the great Yankee slugger who retired July 4, 1939, and died June 2, 1941.

In an article in Newsweek in November, Goldsmith challenged baseball to publicly take on the killer disease on the Gehrig anniversary, on the basis that baseball had gotten great mileage from the legend of Gehrig. Goldsmith's proposal was later amplified in The New York Times.

Then an amazing thing happened. Bud Selig, the commissioner of baseball, read Goldsmith's suggestion. And Selig called a meeting.

"Baseball is a social institution," Selig said the other day, referring to baseball's deep and daily roots.

Although baseball can be criticized for many things, the business often recognizes its civic role, taking up causes like remembering Jackie Robinson and other heroes, and fighting cancer and other diseases. Selig, 74, who is a legitimate baseball buff, has watched the 1942 Gehrig movie, "The Pride of the Yankees," at least 50 times.

"What I've always heard is that Gehrig was exactly as he was portrayed," Selig said. "There's no question Babe Ruth was a great player, but people tell me, ‘Commissioner, you don't know how great Gehrig was.' "

Selig was referring to Gehrig's 2,130-game streak from 1925 to 1939, a record until 1995; his career batting average of .340; and his 493 home runs. With legs like stone pillars, Gehrig also stole home 15 times. The only thing that slowed him was A.L.S., "a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord," according to the A.L.S. Association.

Goldsmith, who has a slower version of A.L.S., continues to teach at Brigham Young University and lobby against the disease. He has gained allies. Selig turned over the project to Jacqueline Parkes, the chief marketing officer for M.L.B., who, by total coincidence, had a personal connection.

Her father, Dr. James C. Parkes II, an orthopedic surgeon, was the Mets' team physician from 1974 to 1991. In 1995 he was told he had a neurological ailment that his daughter described as somewhere between A.L.S. and Parkinson's Disease. He died in 1999, at age 64.

Parkes said she was deeply pleased when Selig told her what they would be doing for the 70th anniversary.

"Typically, we don't do anniversaries except for 50 or 75, but there is nothing typical about A.L.S.," she said.

With Parkes at the point, baseball has forged a working partnership with four organizations: Project A.L.S.; A.L.S. Therapy Development Institute; the A.L.S. Association; and M.D.A.'s Augie's Quest, led by Augie Nieto, a co-founder of the company that created the Lifecycle exercise machine, who is battling his own case of A.L.S.

To Goldsmith's delight, he was included in every teleconference as Parkes organized the events for July 4, when 30 clubs will auction off items worn by players that day. In this current recession, there is concern about how much money can be raised for research, but clubs and players will be encouraged to contribute. Selig indicated that M.L.B. would make a contribution.

On the anniversary, Gehrig's speech will be read during the seventh-inning stretch - the real one, written by Gehrig, a Columbia University man, and not the somewhat-altered version that was delivered by Gary Cooper in the movie.

Goldsmith said his own relationship with Gehrig had deepened over the months, "helping me face my fears, face my demons." He added, "I don't know if Gehrig was religious, but I do know how physically brave he was."

Goldsmith has also explored his spiritual side, "what the Buddhists call learning to swim well through the ocean of suffering," he said. Lately, he has been reading Viktor E. Frankl's book, "Man's Search for Meaning," the spiritual journey of a Holocaust survivor.

Goldsmith says he derives great solace from baseball.

"Their response has been in keeping with the ‘Field of Dreams' image," he said, referring to the movie in which faith in baseball links the generations.

"They have been honest, straightforward, about everything," he said of the M.L.B. officials. "They have exposed me to the sunny side of baseball, not just the financial side. They have a heart."

Goldsmith hopes to travel to a major league stadium on July 4 and read part of Gehrig's speech, at an event he envisioned and that baseball will make happen.



http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/sp...r=1&ref=sports

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This is an easy way to build some ALS awareness... but you have to use the email link on the original story on the Times site. Today.

Major League Baseball forms '4♦ALS Awareness' team to combat Lou Gehrig's Disease
"4♦ALS Awareness" to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of Lou Gehrig's Farewell Speech on July 4th

02/03/2009 10:30 AM ET

Join the 4♦ALS Awareness campaign

Major League Baseball will raise awareness and financial support for organizations leading the fight against ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), otherwise known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," with a new charitable campaign, "4♦ALS Awareness," Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig announced today.
MLB is working with four leading organizations --

The ALS Association, ALS TDI, Augie's Quest (the Muscular Dystrophy Association's ALS research initiative) and Project A.L.S. -- whose primary goal is to find a cure for ALS. The initiative will culminate on July 4, 2009, which is the 70th anniversary of Lou Gehrig's famous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium. ALS destroys the nerve cells controlling muscles, ultimately causing complete paralysis. Average life expectancy is three to five years after diagnosis.

"We are honored and pleased to have the opportunity to join these four important organizations in an attempt to make progress in the fight against ALS, a disease that is associated with one of the greatest players in baseball history," said Selig. "Lou Gehrig displayed tremendous courage and strength in the face of a debilitating illness, and his speech 70 years ago still stands as one of the defining moments in baseball history."

Following is an excerpt from Gehrig's famous speech: "For the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans."

On July 4, 2009, each home team will host an on-field reading of Gehrig's Farewell speech during the 7th Inning Stretch. All players will wear a "4♦ALS" patch on their chest and MLB will promote the effort in a variety of ways, including in-stadium promotions. In addition, MLB.com will conduct an online auction to raise funds for the cause, and Major League Baseball will continue to work with the four organizations to identify additional opportunities to raise funds and awareness.

The ALS Association is a non-profit organization fighting Lou Gehrig's Disease on every front. Through global research, providing assistance for people with ALS via a nationwide network of chapters, coordinating multidisciplinary care through certified clinical care centers, and fostering government partnerships, The Association builds hope and enhances quality of life while aggressively searching for new treatments and a cure.

"The ALS Association is proud to partner with Major League Baseball and our ALS organization team members in this historic initiative to raise awareness and resources in the fight against ALS," said Allen L. Finkelstein, chair of The ALS Association National Board of Trustees. "The '4♦ALS Awareness' campaign provides renewed hope that Lou Gehrig's greatest accomplishment will not be measured by statistics, but by the lives saved in his name."

The ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) has a single mission -- to develop therapeutics that slow and stop ALS. With close to a $12 million annual budget, the nonprofit Institute has a 30 person research team working aggressively in its research center. ALS TDI is fulfilling its urgent mission by applying the best practices of a biotechnology company on behalf of today's patients.

"ALS is a crisis. It is an unmet medical need. It has been labeled an incurable disease, but with the technology and expertise available now we believe this problem can and will be solved. This is exactly what is happening in our lab today. We are grateful to be part of this initiative and encourage everyone to get involved in the '4♦ALS Awareness' campaign," said Sean Scott, president of ALS TDI.

Augie's Quest, the Muscular Dystrophy Association's ALS research initiative, is an aggressive, cure-driven effort singularly focused on finding treatments and cures for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). MDA funds over $23 million annually and has funded more than $250 million since its inception.

"Major League Baseball is making a huge difference in the fight against Lou Gehrig's disease through this July 4 effort," said Augie Nieto, founder and chief inspiration officer for MDA's Augie's Quest. "Both in terms of public awareness and fundraising, the MLB contribution is significant and has a profound impact on the lives of people living with this devastating disease."

The mission of Project A.L.S. is to create a new paradigm for neurodegenerative disease research. They identity the world's leading researchers and clinicians and mobilize them to work together as teams in the areas of Genetics, Drug Discovery, Stem Cells, and Disease Pathways. Each project they fund is vetted and approved by its research advisory board. Project A.L.S. has raised over $38 million to fund these efforts.

"Project A.L.S. is thrilled to partner with Major League Baseball and the ALS Community to forward research that will result in effective treatments and a cure. This is Lou Gehrig's legacy," said Valerie Estess, founder and director of research of Project A.L.S.



http://mlb.mlb.com/news/press_releas...=.jsp&c_id=mlb