Nathan Case 5/1/14 Section 26 The Iron Horse Bids Adieu: A Rhetorical Analysis of Lou Gehrig’s Farewell Speech1 It was July 4, 1939, the Fourth of July for the United States, yet on this day it was not about a celebration of America in Yankee Stadium; instead over 62,000 fans packed into the stadium to celebrate Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day. Two weeks before this day, Gehrig, the Yankees star first base man, was diagnosed with the incurable disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis more commonly known as ALS. The disease cut Gehrig’s heralded career short, forcing him to retire prematurely from the game he loved. Before that day’s game was set to begin, festivities were held around the pitcher’s mound where Gehrig’s number 4 jersey was retired, making him the first player ever in any sport to receive such an honor. However, the highlight of the ceremony occurred when the soft-spoken Lou Gehrig took to the podium to deliver an emotionally inspiring speech, which today still stands as one of the most memorable moments in baseball history. During the approximately 2 minute speech, he effectively utilized rhetorical elements to convey his beliefs, which were extremely relevant not only to his own life, but also to the rest of the people in the 1930s. Gehrig’s speech relied upon rhetorical elements in order to establish himself as “the luckiest man of the face of the Earth” despite “the bad break [he] got”, and promote messages of hope for all (Gehrig). The historical context of this speech carries great significance in the way Gehrig approached the speech as a rhetor. It was the late 1930’s and the American people were not only suffering from the effects of The Great Depression, but also preparing for involvement in World War II. Unemployment rates were staggering and the average American family saw its income drop from about $2,300 to $1,500 a year (The Depression Facts). As a result of the tough times, a mentality that people must work hard in life developed. Nothing was given to them and each and every penny they earned was well deserved. This cultural mindset boded Nathan Case 2 5/1/14 Section 26 well for Gehrig to establish ethos without having to say a word. For the seventeen seasons of his career, Gehrig played 2,130 consecutive games through a multitude of injuries including, but not limited to muscle pulls and broken extremities. Because of his determined style of play, Lou Gehrig earned the nickname “The Iron Horse.” People knew what Gehrig brought to the table making him a baseball icon and a hero to many, for they admired his mentality and his approach to playing baseball. He felt it was not only a game, but also his job and his duty to play everyday. In beginning his speech, Gehrig immediately established his credibility by opening with a direct address to his “fans.” With this word choice, Gehrig makes it known that this speech is meant for them, the people who have supported him throughout his career. He goes on to describe their nothing but positive support while he was a Yankee, and when finishing the sentence he affirms, “from you fans” (Gehrig). He again addresses his audience as fans to establish his purpose and remove the barrier between himself as a “celebrity” and his audience as hardworking; suffering in their lives outside of the baseball stadium. Garret Pelischek, in an Oshkosh Scholar Submission, emphasized the importance of Gehrig’s complete avoidance of looking for sympathy from the crowd. Lou Gehrig was a well-paid athlete, and any search for sympathy would have received a negative reception from an audience made up of people living through the hardships of The Great Depression (Pelischek). By avoiding a plee for sympathy, Gehrig maintained a close connection with his audience. Instead of searching for pity, he thanked them for all that they did over the years, and he looked to inspire them with messages of hope. While Gehrig paid careful attention to conserving ethos, the effective use of emotional appeals resonated with his immediate audience and the further extension of new audiences since the delivery of the speech in 1939. Gehrig uses references to his family to Nathan Case 5/1/14 Section 26 appeal to the emotions of the audience. Although he did not feel the effects of The Great Depression, Gehrig lived through it and comprehended the new emphasis on the family. Families became the foundation of the home and a staple of the American culture. In the last 3 portion of his speech, Gehrig highlights the importance of his own family by using anecdotes. For example, he emphasizes, “when you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed -- that's the finest I know” (Gehrig). This is relatable to many other husbands in the crowd, and such a statement goes to show his gratitude for his wife Eleanor. This served as an example for how other men should feel about their wives. Because a large majority of the crowds at the time were male, such a statement appealed to the masses. During his focus on family, it was apparent that Gehrig was emotional and paused on several occasions with teary eyes to collect his thoughts before finishing his sentences. Under some circumstances, such emotion may not be effective, as the crowd may not relate to the emotions of the speaker; however, on this day Gehrig’s emotions furthered the effectiveness of his pathos because the entire audience understood the importance of family. Without family, many would have found it much tougher to survive the economic downturn (The Depression Facts). Therefore, Gehrig’s pathetic appeals moved his audience to further relate with him as a human and not just as an iconic baseball player. In fact, many people were moved to tears themselves as they listened to his humbling words further illustrating this point. Pathos and ethos are the two prominently used rhetorical appeals, but under careful analysis, logos can be found in Gehrig’s speech. His claim as being a lucky man and the attempt to promote hope for his audience really did not call for an extensive use of facts and figures for support. However, logos can be found in the way Gehrig rationalizes his claim that he is the luckiest man on Earth. In Gallegos’s analysis of the speech, he asserts, “he has Nathan Case 5/1/14 Section 26 played major league baseball for seventeen years and enjoyed the kindness and encouragement he has received from his fans all these years” (Gallegos). By using these claims as support his audience can logically understand why Gehrig would consider himself such a lucky man. Not many people had the opportunity to play for the Yankees, who won 4 numerous World Series Championships in Gehrig’s time with club, and not many people had such successful careers backed by a faithful fan base. It is through logical explanation that Gehrig is able to make his claim reasonable. Lou Gehrig was by no means trained in public speaking, yet he was able to craft a speech filled with rhetorical appeals and elements. This may raise the question of Gehrig’s intentions in the speech. Did he really know what he doing? According to his wife Elanor, “he had spent the previous night working on his speech” (Kaden). She went on to say that Lou felt there was no need to take the written speech with him because his message was simple. Therefore, one should believe Gehrig did indeed take the time to organize his message. In this organization, he was careful with his word choice in order to remain completely optimistic. Only twice in his speech does he allude to ALS. However, he chose to refer to ALS as a, “bad break” rather than the pessimistic view of many others. Most people consider ALS to be more of curse because of its incurable nature. The avoidance of a more negative description of ALS allowed Gehrig to maintain his optimistic outlook. He also uses words such as, “honor”, “lucky”, “highlight”, and “tower of strength”, all of which carry a positive connotation. In addition, Gehrig made use of repetition to show how lucky he was. He did this by first stating “Sure I’m lucky” followed by reasons for his luck (Gehrig). The repeated use of this phrase prepared the audience for reasons to believe in his good fortune. The delivery of Gehrig’s speech played a major role in the reception of the speech. Hesitant and too emotional at first to even speak, he was finally able to deliver the speech Nathan Case 5 5/1/14 Section 26 after gaining control of his emotions. Throughout the discourse, Gehrig maintained a slow pace, taking frequent pauses, which allowed his message to sink into the minds of his audience. His tone remained positive and never once waivered up through his concluding sentence, “So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for" (Gehrig). Again, Gehrig made looked to support his central message of hope. In that line he also found a way he could parallel his life to the lives of his audience. While they struggled with financial burden, Gehrig struggled to stay alive, as life would soon be taken from him. Despite both of their circumstances, he notes there are many things that make life worth living. Therefore, it is his message of hope in a time of personal conflict that makes this speech memorable and timeless. Lou Gehrig, one of baseball’s greatest and idolized players, stricken with a deadly disease understood the circumstances surrounding his speech and effectively utilized rhetorical elements to deliver one of the most memorable moments in the history of baseball. Rather than focusing on his own condition, Gehrig intended this speech to apply to lives of his audience. Knowing his situation and theirs, Gehrig looked to prove to them that even in life’s darkest hour, there is always a reason to be thankful and hope for the future. He used his thankfulness of family to emotionally relate to the family-oriented cultural ideals of the time, and he used logical statements to support his claims. This combined with his great standing in the hearts of his fans led his speech to receive an immediate positive reception, and it has carried the same weight of positive acclaim over 70 years later. Even today as many people face hardships of their own, Gehrig’s messages of hope and thankfulness, applicable to any audience, serve as a reminder to every one that there is always something to look forward to on the horizon. Nathan Case 5/1/14 Section 26 6 Works Cited "The Depression Facts." Great Depression. Venturio Media, LLP, 28 Oct. 2012. Web. 06 Oct. 2013. Gallegos, Greg P. “Appeals to Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.” Abraham Lincoln High School. Denver, Colorado. n.d. Lecture Presentation. Gehrig, Lou. “Lou Gehrig’s Farewell Address.” Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day. Yankee Stadium. July 4, 1939. Speech. Kaden, S. "A Retirement Party like No Other in History." The Day He Retired. Tripod, 2002. Web. 05 Oct. 2013. Pelischek, Garret. Lou Gehrig’s “Farewell to Baseball” Address: Setting the Stage for a Genre. University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, 2010. Web. 05 Oct. 2013.