Rhetorical Analysis Of Lou Gehrig's Speech 'Luckiest Man'

This past Fourth of July marked the 75th Anniversary of the iconic farewell to baseball speech, “Luckiest Man”, delivered by Lou Gehrig at the Yankee Stadium in 1939. To this day this address is referred to as one of the most well-known athlete speeches ever given. The former Yankee player used ethical and emotional appeal during the course of his speech to touch the hearts of thousands of fans who loved and respected America’s beloved pastime. His profound use of rhetorical appeal made this speech a homerun. Lou Gehrig effectively utilized ethos and pathos to give one of the most impactful, inspirational, and remembered speeches of all time. Without the strong influence of pathos, “Luckiest Man” would have been just another speech. This

During “Luckiest Man”, he is addressing why he is retiring from his beloved sport of baseball. This was already an emotional event in the Yankee Stadium for every fan who enjoyed watching Gehrig play. Yet, he wasn’t asking for pity, and he didn’t focus on the disease. Instead, he took an opposite route and focused on positive moments and the great times he had throughout his career. He said, “When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift- that’s something.” He was showing the support and love he was receiving throughout the league, even from his largest opponents. The pathos displayed in the speech is absolutely heart-warming and evokes all kinds of emotions. Gehrig says “… I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for.” At this closing point of his

He was catching the attention of his fans and letting them know this speech was being given for them, since they helped him reach this point in his career through their unending support. Going into his farewell speech, Gehrig already had some reputable ethos. He was a very well-known athlete at the time, and the American people saw him as a diligent worker, as a man with perseverance, and as someone who displayed constant unpretentiousness and humbleness. People across the nation looked up to this man, before his “Luckiest Man” speech, because they wanted to possess similar qualities as him. Lou Gehrig addresses various people in his life who have impacted him throughout the duration of his major league baseball journey. He spoke about Jacob Ruppert, Ed Barrow, Miller Huggins, and Joe McCarthy who were all respected and known in the time era. Later in his speech, he talked about how blessed he was to have a mother-in-law, a mother and a father, and a wife who all fully supported him and were there for him throughout everything. Using this rhetorical appeal created a nice rapport with the