We've had an incredible few events to raise awareness for ALS and honor Lou Gehrig’s legacy.
We welcomed more than 1,000 friends of Live Like Lou to seven ballparks through June to celebrate Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Lou Gehrig Day.
In 2021, MLB announced it would celebrate Lou Gehrig Day league-wide annually on June 2. The date was selected to honor the date Lou became the Yankees’ starting first baseman, thus cementing the start of his incredible streak of 2,130 consecutive games played. It is also the day he passed from complications of ALS in 1941.
For many impacted by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Lou Gehrig Day creates a heightened awareness of the disease and provides hope that continued funding and research will lead to treatments and cures. For Live Like Lou, it’s an opportunity to join together with our partners in the fight against ALS, including Phi Delta Theta (Lou Gehrig’s Fraternity!), the Permobil Foundation, members of the ALS community, and friends of Live Like Lou.
Check out these highlights of our 2024 MLB game events!
We kicked off the Lou Gehrig Day celebration at Oracle Park, where Mike Yastrzemski was honored as a Lou Gehrig Memorial Award finalist. Before the game, we recognized one of our Iron Horse scholarship recipients, Elizabeth Duncan.
Truist Park was another site of Live Like Lou's Lou Gehrig Day celebrations. We celebrated Atlanta Braves' Matt Olson as a Lou Gehrig Memorial Award finalist and presented two Lou Gehrig Memorial Award Scholarships to twin sisters Madelyne and McKenna Graf. Their father, Eric, passed away from ALS in April.
There was no shortage of special celebrations at Kauffman Stadium for Lou Gehrig Day! The Permobil Foundation joined us to surprise Bill Fitzpatrick, a proud Kansas City native and avid Royals fan, with a Royals-branded power wheelchair. Additionally, Jeff Lyster, a friend of Live Like Lou, joined us and ended his nine-week adventure at Kauffman Stadium.He ran 444 miles across Kansas (yes, you read that right!) to raise awareness and money for several organizations, including Live Like Lou! Jeff recognized there's more to life than just himself and wanted to impact others in a memorable way. We were honored to meet more than 100 Live Like Lou friends who were in attendance with us at the game.
PNC Park was another site of Live Like Lou's Lou Gehrig Day celebrations. We celebrated Onward Scholarship recipient Ali Khawaja, and Live Like Lou's friend and ALS warrior, Sarah Parton, and her granddaughter, Sasha, who threw out the first pitch.
It was quite the ALS community gathering at Great American Ball Park for Lou Gehrig Day, and Live Like Lou and Phi Delta Theta staff members recognizing Lou Gehrig Memorial Scholarship recipient Chloe Telgkamp and Reds' Hunter Greene, Lou Gehrig Memorial Award Finalist, as a part of the pre-game festivities.
Paul Goldschmidt is this year's Lou Gehrig Memorial Award winner, so we gathered at Busch Stadium to celebrate. The Permobil Foundation and Numotion joined us on the field to surprise John Ceriotti, a die-hard Cardinals fan, and Phi Delt alumnus, with a Cardinals-branded power wheelchair.
Target Field provided a lovely summer evening to celebrate Carlos Correa as a finalist for the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award. On the field, we were joined by the Permobil Foundation and Reliable Medical Supply to do something special for a local ALS family. Rose Aderman, of Brooklyn Park, is currently living with ALS and is a passionate supporter of the Minnesota Twins. Rose's sons, Rob and Ryan, represented her on the field as we presented her with a new power wheelchair. We had three current and previous scholarship recipients in attendance at the game that night.
Stay tuned! Live Like Lou will be in Cleveland in August and Denver in September.
We can't wait to see how the 2024 MLB season wraps up and where the 2025 season will take Live Like Lou to continue generating awareness for Lou Gehrig's disease and leaving ALS better than we found it.