The New Rochelle ALS connection: Lou Gehrig to Pat Quinn by Mike Damergis

When I was growing up in New Rochelle as a fan of the New York Yankees, I didn't know that the "Queen City of the Sound" was once the home of Lou Gehrig.

Yes, Lou Gehrig of the Yankees and the cleanup hitter following Babe Ruth in "Murderers' Row" lived at 9 Meadow Lane in New Rochelle.

I knew New Rochelle was founded by French Huguenots, and that the character of Rob Petrie from the "Dick Van Dyke Show" raised his family in town as well.

But the "Iron Horse," one of the all-time Yankee greats lived just blocks away from where I played stickball, baseball and football at the nearby parks.

At an early age, I remember reading about Gehrig and knew that he passed away from a horrible disease. Then I watched "Pride of the Yankees" as Gehrig was portrayed by Gary Cooper in the 1942 movie.

Gehrig would forever be part of my sports soul.

At Older Timers' Day at Yankee Stadium in 1976, I watched in amazement as Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford waved to the roaring fans. The fans cheered again as the black-and-white scoreboard panned to Mrs. Ruth and Mrs. Gehrig sitting in the stands. The two seemed as ancient as Julius Caeser to a 10-year-old four decades ago.

The Yankees were everything to me growing up in a divorced family. I didn't care much for school and it showed in my grades. But I had the World Champion Yankees to make me happy.

Players like Reggie, Catfish and Mickey (Rivers) would carry me through the summers.

When the new Yankee Stadium opened in 1976, I was there with my father, George, as the Bombers blasted the Twins 11-4.

No matter how rough things got, we went to every home opener from '76 through '82.

I thought some day I would play center field for the Yankees.

Well, that did not happen and I finally realized I needed to find a profession.

In high school it dawned on me, that if I couldn't be an athlete, I could be "an athletic supporter" as Eve Arden famously said in the 1978 movie "Grease."

Thirty-three years later, I was covering the last game at the now "old" Yankee Stadium for MLB Network Radio.

In some way, I felt like I was part of pinstripe history as the Stadium came to a close.

A few years after my career at XM, I was working at Iona College when alumnus Pete Kelly told me about Pat Quinn's plight. Quinn was also an Iona graduate from Yonkers, who played rugby during his time at the college.

Quinn, like Gehrig, was in the early stages of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis).

Kelly asked me to interview Quinn to gain awareness for ALS.

It was the most difficult interview I was ever asked to do.

How do you talk to a man whose end is near?

Again, Gehrig's image and voice of his farewell speech were ingrained in my mind.

The interview went well as Pat was a trooper discussing his disease. What ensued over the next few months was unbelievable.

Quinn, along with fellow ALS patient Pete Frates, raised over $200 million dollars with the "Ice Bucket Challenge" over the next few years.

Quinn and Frates are now gone. But they will forever live on for what they did to raise awareness for ALS.

Major League Baseball, 80 years later, is finally honoring the "Iron Horse" by making June 2 "Lou Gehrig Day."

Let's honor all the brave souls that suffer from this dreaded disease.