MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, MDA TEAM UP TO
DEFEAT DISEASE THAT FELLED LOU GEHRIG

TUCSON, Ariz., July 2, 2009 — This Independence Day, on the 70th anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech to baseball, Major League Baseball will conduct activities throughout the country to honor Gehrig’s memory and raise funds to support research into the disease that now bears his name, Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS. 

Gehrig, the legendary Yankees’ first baseman known as the “Iron Horse,” was forced into retirement by ALS in 1939. He delivered an emotional farewell speech to 62,000 fans in Yankee Stadium on July 4.

4♦ALS Events

The 15 MLB teams playing home games on July 4 will wear 4♦ALS patches and host readings of Gehrig’s farewell speech. MLB fundraising activities include raffling off luxury suites at the MLB home games, various in-stadium promotions and an online auction to be conducted after July 4, at www.mlb.com. Items to be auctioned off include the signed first base from each home game, in honor of Gehrig’s position.

Augie Nieto, co-chair with his wife, Lynne, of MDA’s ALS Division, will be on the field both before the San Diego Padres’ game and during the seventh-inning stretch.

At the San Francisco Giants game, people with ALS will read portions of Gehrig’s speech, accompanied by Giants players.

About 4♦ALS

4♦ALS benefits four organizations dedicated to stopping ALS: MDA’s Augie’s Quest, the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI), the ALS Association and Project A.L.S.

“Major League Baseball is making a difference in the fight against Lou Gehrig’s disease through this July 4 effort,” said Nieto, 51. “I like to think that Lou would be proud.” A pioneer in the fitness equipment industry, Nieto received an ALS diagnosis in 2005. 

About ALS

ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a deadly disease with no known cause or cure. Striking healthy adults in the prime of life, the disease kills nerve cells that control muscles, leading to weakness, and ultimately complete paralysis of all voluntary muscles, including those used for breathing and swallowing. Death often comes within three to five years of diagnosis.

About MDA and Augie’s Quest

MDA is a voluntary health agency supporting programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, advocacy and professional and public health education for muscular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases. Since starting its ALS program in the early 1950s in conjunction with Gehrig’s widow, Eleanor, MDA has expended more than $250 million on ALS research and services.

Augie’s Quest, MDA’s ALS research initiative, is an aggressive, cure-driven effort singularly focused on finding treatments and a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

To be part of the Augie’s Quest fundraising effort associated with the 4♦ALS program, visit augiesquest.org.