THE SILENT KILLER | By the mid-1930s, Gehrig had somehow contracted amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an extremely rare disease that was silently but steadily destroying his nerves. The first sign that something was wrong was his sub-par 1938 season, though many observers reckoned he was simply getting old. By the start of the 1939 season, however, he was barely able to lift his legs off the ground, as evidenced by his flat-footed gait in an early season game against Boston.

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