Lou Gehrig’s “Farewell Address to Baseball” was a short speech directed at baseball fans to discuss his life and career. At the time, he was recently diagnosed with a disease later called Lou Gehrig’s disease or ALS. A nervous system disease that weakens muscles and impacts physical function. The life expectancy of a person with Lou Gehrig’s disease averages about two to five years from the time of diagnosis. I choose this speech to analyze because I am a big baseball fan and this is arguably the most iconic baseball speech of all time. Lou Gehrig wasn’t just a great baseball player but a inspiration to many. On July 4, 1939, Lou Gehrig gave his famous, “Farewell Address to Baseball,” speech to 61,000 fans at Yankee Stadium. This was two…show more content… A reason for this could be because the it was said at old Yankee Stadium. During the speech, Gehrig’s words loudly echoed throughout the stadium. Which emphasized the speech and made it more epic. Gehrig says, “When you have a wife who had been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dream existed -- that’s the finest I know.” This metaphor showed his appreciation towards his wife. He used pathos in his speech when he talks about his life threatening disease. This causes the crowd to be more sympathetic to Gehrig and his speech. In conclusion, Gehrig uses of rhetorical strategies helps support his statements in the speech.
Throughout the speech, Gehrig’s posture was slouched over. He was visibly ill, but not to the point that he looked like he was dying. His eye contact was looking down during the speech but at times looking up to the fans. His voice boomed throughout the stadium which gave the speech more feeling and made it feel alive. Gehrig’s nonverbal delivery made the fans more sadden with few not having tears come down their faces.
“Farewell Address to Baseball” will forever be remembered as a great speech. Gehrig’s verbal and nonverbal delivery of the speech played a huge role in making the speech iconic. In conclusion, Lou Gehrig won’t just be remembered as a great baseball player, but a inspiration to many
