Historical Neurology
VIDEO
Lou Gehrig, Rawhide, and 1938
Melissa Lewis, BS; and Paul H. Gordon, MD
Abstract—Lou Gehrig was one of the most talented baseball players of all time; yet he is also remembered for ALS, the
disease that took his life and still bears his name as its eponym. There is speculation about when his symptoms began.
Some authorities believe that Gehrig showed signs of ALS when he starred in the film Rawhide in January 1938, which
would mean that he played the entire 1938 season with symptomatic ALS. Additionally, some photographs of Gehrig
showing atrophy of hand muscles have been dated incorrectly because of misinterpreted logos on his uniform. We
examined the film and photos taken of Gehrig from 1937 to 1939 to determine whether he showed signs of weakness in the
film and when visible evidence of ALS could be documented. Specific scenes from Rawhide were chosen to grade Gehrig’s
motor function using the ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS). Dates of photos and uniform logos were verified with
the Baseball Hall of Fame. Examination of Rawhide showed that Gehrig functioned normally in January 1938. His
ALSFRS score, modified to account for limitations of on-screen activities, was normal. The New York Yankees wore logos
in 1938 that were labeled with the year 1939 to advertise the 1939 World’s Fair; the uniforms displayed a centennial patch
during the 1939 season. A photograph of Gehrig from October 1939 showed hand atrophy. Photos from the spring of 1938
showed normal hand muscles and leg function, implying that visible signs first appeared after May 1938.
NEUROLOGY 2007;68:615–618
Lou Gehrig signed with the New York Yankees in
1923 and in June 1925 began a streak of 2,130 con-
secutive games that ended only when he became
weak 14 years later. Despite numerous injuries, he
won four Most Valuable Player titles, played in
seven World Series, and compiled exceptional
statistics.
1
In addition to his fame as a baseball player, Geh-
rig is also widely remembered for the disease ALS,
which took his life and, in the United States, bears
his name. In contracting ALS, he raised public
awareness of the disease. Eleanor Gehrig, his wife,
with the aid of her executor, George Polack, later
gave his name and part of their estate to support a
research center at Columbia University, the Eleanor
and Lou Gehrig MDA/ALS Research Center
2
(Lewis
P. Rowland, MD, personal communication).
Gehrig was a superb athlete, but he was also a
stoic man. His quiet nature and lack of examination
by a neurologist in New York when he first had
weakness
3
have made it difficult to identify his first
symptoms.
4
He died in 1941, just 2 years after he
stopped playing, and some photographs of Gehrig
showing hand atrophy were taken while he was still
in uniform.
4,5
Some authorities believe that hand
muscle atrophy and leg weakness were evident as
early as the winter prior to the 1938 season when he
starred in the film Rawhide; he used a Gowers ma-
neuver to rise from the ground several times in the
film.
6,7
Eleanor Gehrig and other players noticed
symptoms with certainty after the 1938 season.
2,8
Methods. We examined the film Rawhide, which was shot in
January 1938,
4,7
and inspected photos taken of Gehrig from 1937
to 1939 to elucidate the timing of Gehrig’s first publicly visible
signs of ALS. Specific scenes from the movie were chosen to grade
muscle function using the ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALS-
FRS). Unambiguous scenes were selected to examine his hands for
evidence of atrophy and to assess limb function, with the time of
each scene noted. His Mayo Clinic records have been kept confi-
dential and could not be reviewed (Eric Sorenson, personal
communication).
We reviewed published photos
4,5
and others in the Baseball
Hall of Fame that were taken of Gehrig in the years 1937 to 1939
to determine when they were taken and whether there was evi-
dence of hand atrophy or leg weakness. The dates of the photos
were verified with the Baseball Hall of Fame, where photographs
are identified by a date stamped on the back or by an accompany-
ing news article (John Horne, library associate at the Hall of
Fame). Information on the dates of uniform logos was obtained
from a Major League Baseball uniforms book
9
and from patch
expert Tom Schieber (senior curator at the Hall of Fame).
Results. Examination of Rawhide. Gehrig’s perfor-
mance in Rawhide demonstrated good physical function.
His ALSFRS score, modified to account for limitations of
on-screen activities, was normal (score ⫽ 32/32; table). It
was not possible to grade dressing, hygiene, or turning in
From the Eleanor and Lou Gehrig MDA/ALS Research Center, Department
of Neurology, Columbia University, New York.
Supported by the Wings Over Wall Street Fund.
Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.
Received July 13, 2006. Accepted in final form November 6, 2006.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. P.H. Gordon, Neurolog-
ical Institute, 710 W. 168 St., 9th fl., New York, NY 10032; e-mail:
Additional material related to this article can be found on the Neurology
Web site. Go to www.neurology.org and scroll down the Table of Con-
tents to the February 20 issue to find the title link for this article.
Copyright © 2007 by AAN Enterprises, Inc. 615
bed because Gehrig did not perform these activities in the
film.
Gehrig showed no bulbar signs in the film. His speech
was normal; he spoke clearly and shouted on several occa-
sions (1:30, 49:50). He took a bite and chewed a sandwich
(43:00).
Gehrig demonstrated normal upper body strength
throughout a bar fight in which he lifted an adult man
overhead and threw him to the ground (22:00). Other shots
showed normal bulk in the muscles of both hands (12:10 to
12:30, 24:40; see video segments 1 and 2 at www.neurolo-
gy.org). Although left-handed, Gehrig wrote with his right
hand. He signed an autograph showing normal writing
ability and no atrophy in the right hand (1:40). Later, he
handled teacups with ease (24:25); he also tied several
knots in a rope (18:35), which, taken together with the tea
scene, were used to substitute for the action of handling
utensils.
Throughout the film, Gehrig exhibited good leg
strength. He mounted and dismounted a horse, walked
briskly (13:20), ran, and squatted to the ground (18:15). He
climbed and descended stairs (47:50, 48:15) and was able
to bend beneath a hitching post (48:15). Several times Ge-
hrig rose from a seated position without using his arms
and hands to push himself up. He exited a car (11:55),
hopped to a stand from a seated position (16:30; video
segment 3), and later rose from a bench while clapping his
hands (41:50; video segment 2). At the end of the film, he
leaped over a chair (57:56; video segment 4).
Gehrig’s breathing seemed normal during action scenes,
and he maintained strong voice volume during conversa-
tion. He also showed normal diaphragm excursion when he
sighed visibly in one scene (12:07).
Examination of photos. The New York Yankees wore
logos in 1938 that were labeled with the year 1939 to
advertise the 1939 World’s Fair, while all professional
baseball uniforms displayed a centennial patch celebrating
100 years of baseball during the 1939 season (figure 1). A
photograph from May 1938 shows normal left hand bulk
and suggests normal leg function (figure 2). A photograph
of Gehrig taking a swing in September 1938 implies good
leg strength (figure 3). Photographs from 1937 are consis-
tent with the ones from 1938, whereas photographs from
the 1939 season show visible hand atrophy. One previously
Table ALS Functional Rating Scale for Lou Gehrig (January
1938)
1. Speech
4 normal speech processes
3 detectable speech disturbance
2 intelligible with repeating
1 speech combined with nonvocal communication
0 loss of useful speech
2. Salivation
4 normal
3 slight but definite excess of saliva in mouth, may have nighttime
drooling
2 moderately excessive saliva, may have minimal drooling
1 marked excess of saliva with some drooling
0 marked drooling, requires constant tissue
3. Swallowing
4 normal eating habits
3 early eating problems, occasional choking
2 dietary consistency changes
1 needs supplemental tube feedings
0 NPO (exclusively parenteral or enteral feedings)
4. Handwriting
4 normal
3 slow or sloppy, all words legible
2 not all words legible
1 able to grip pen, unable to write
0 unable to grip pen
5a. Cutting Food and Handling Utensils (patients without gastrostomy)
4 normal
3 somewhat slow and clumsy, needs no help
2 can cut most foods, slow or clumsy, some help needed
1 foods cut by someone else, can still feed slowly
0 needs to be fed
5b. Cutting Food and Handling Utensils (patients with gastrostomy)
4 normal
3 clumsy, able to perform all manipulations
2 some help needed with closures and fasteners
1 provides minimal assistance to caregiver
0 unable to perform any aspect of task
6. Dressing and Hygiene
4 normal
3 independent self care with effort or decreased efficiency
2 intermittent assistance or substitute methods
1 needs attendant for self care
0 total dependence
7. Turning in Bed and Adjusting Bedclothes
4 normal
3 somewhat slow or clumsy, needs no help
2 can turn alone or adjust sheets with great difficulty
1 can initiate, cannot turn or adjust sheets
0 helpless
8. Walking
4 normal
3 early ambulation difficulties
2 walks with assistance
1 nonambulatory functional movement only
0 no purposeful leg movement
9. Climbing Stairs
4 normal
3 slow
2 mild unsteadiness or fatigue
1 needs assistance
0 cannot do
10. Breathing
4 normal (no change in breathing compared to prior to ALS onset)
3 shortness of breath with minimal exertion (eg, walking talking)
2 shortness of breath at rest
1 intermittent (eg, nocturnal) ventilator assistance
0 ventilator dependent
Modified Score: 32/32
ALS Functional Rating Scale: Lou Gehrig, January 1938. Based on his perfor-
mance in the movie Rawhide, the relevant questions on the ALS Functional
Rating Scale were answered. The activities of dressing/hygiene and turning in
bed/adjusting the bedclothes could not be assessed owing to limitations in his
on-screen actions. Gehrig was given a score of 32 of 32 on a shortened scale.
Figure 1. Uniform logos. The uniform logo on the left dis-
plays an advertisement for the 1939 World’s Fair. The
three New York teams wore this logo on the sleeve of their
uniforms in 1938. The photo on the right shows the cen-
tennial patch that was worn by all professional baseball
players in 1939. The logos can be used to discriminate be-
tween photos taken of Gehrig in 1938 and 1939.
616 NEUROLOGY 68 February 20, 2007
published photograph with hand atrophy
5
could not be
dated with certainty, but was most likely shot in October
1938 (John Horne, Baseball Hall of Fame). The first iden-
tified photograph showing clear hand atrophy where both
the month and the year are known was taken in October
1939 (figure 4).
Conclusion. Gehrig’s reserved nature makes it
difficult to construct a clear timeline of the onset and
progression of the disease. Newspaper quotes from
Gehrig suggest that he attributed his decline to de-
conditioning and that he minimized his early symp-
toms.
10
Opinions about his symptoms by his
contemporary ball players have the benefit of
hindsight.
11
Gehrig’s fame as a star baseball player, matched
by his legacy in ALS, makes correcting the historical
record of his life important. By directly examining
film footage and photographs, we documented his
physical condition in 1938 and 1939 to the extent
possible from publicly available images.
Several scenes from the film Rawhide illustrate
exceptional strength and coordination consistent
Figure 2. Gehrig at first base, May
1938. This photograph depicts Gehrig’s
normal-appearing left hand muscula-
ture. His stance supports normal leg
function.
Figure 3. Gehrig mid-swing at Comis-
key Park, September 1938. The deep
squat captured in the photo lends sup-
port to good leg function.
February 20, 2007 NEUROLOGY 68 617
with his profile as top athlete. A scene in which he
lifted an adult man over his head has been viewed
frame by frame to ensure that Gehrig and not a
stunt double performed the feat.
4
Gehrig suffered
numerous injuries to his hands during his career,
which explains the deformity of his left fifth fin-
ger,
2,12
but his hands showed normal musculature in
the film.
Several occasions in which Gehrig placed his
hands on his legs or the arms of a chair as he stood
up seem to reflect his acting technique rather than a
physical need. In other instances, Gehrig rose from a
seated position without the use of his hands. A photo
snapped mid-swing from September of 1938 season
shows Gehrig in a deep squat, a stance that would be
difficult for someone with leg weakness to perform.
Contributing to the complexity of establishing a
clear timeline for his symptoms, the literature con-
tains occasional photographs of Gehrig that were re-
ported as taken in 1939 when in fact they were shot
in 1938. The 1939 World’s Fair patch, identified by
the Baseball Hall of Fame, was worn by the three
New York City teams in 1938. The 1939 uniforms
bore a centennial patch, allowing for discrimination
between years but not the month.
9
An analysis of his batting average, probably the
most sensitive measure of symptom onset in a pro-
fessional baseball player, showed that he began the
1938 season at a lower but steady percentage com-
pared with previous years and that his average de-
clined markedly after June 1938.
6
It is likely that
denervation severe enough to cause visible atrophy
or leg weakness would follow, not precede, a decline
in as sensitive a measure of athleticism as batting
average.
A careful examination of the western film Raw-
hide provides compelling evidence that baseball
great Lou Gehrig functioned normally in January
1938; we found no evidence of hand atrophy or leg
weakness in the film. Uniform patches, correctly
identified, can be used to discriminate between pho-
tos of Gehrig taken in 1938 and 1939. Photos taken
as late as September 1938 show apparently good leg
strength, and images from late 1938 and 1939 show
hand atrophy. Photographs taken in May 1938
showed normal hand bulk and imply that there was
no visible evidence of ALS prior to mid-season 1938.
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Figure 4. Gehrig with Yankees manager
Joe McCarthy, World Series 1939. This
photograph taken in October 1939
shows visible hand atrophy and can be
used as a point of comparison with ear-
lier photos.
618 NEUROLOGY 68 February 20, 2007
