Major League Baseball to fight '4 ALS' awareness this July 4th

New York Yankee player Lou Gehrig gave his famous farewell speech to baseball fans in a ceremony between games of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium nearly 70 years ago. He had ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a disease that attacks the nerve cells (motor neurons) that control muscles. Gehrig died two years later.

Major League Baseball (MLB) announced earlier this year that in honor of Gehrig's memory, it has teamed with four major non-profit organizations to find a cure for ALS. The campaign, called "4♦ALS Awareness," will culminate with Gehrig's words being read at all Major League ballparks where games are played this coming July 4, during the seventh-inning stretch. As part of the 70th anniversary commemoration of Gehrig's famous speech, MLB will ask all players to wear a "4♦ALS" patch on their chest.

The four participating ALS organizations are The ALS Association, ALS TDI, Augie's Quest (the Muscular Dystrophy Association's ALS research initiative), and Project A.L.S.

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