The untold story behind the first great sports film... The Pride of the Yankees: Lou Gehrig, Gary Cooper, and the Making of a Classic
On July 4, 1939, baseball great Lou Gehrig stood in Yankee Stadium and gave a speech that contained the phrase that would become legendary: "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth."
He died two years later and his fiery widow, Eleanor, wanted nothing more than to keep his memory alive. With her forceful will, she and the irascible producer Samuel Goldwyn quickly agreed to make a film based on Gehrig's life, "The Pride of the Yankees." Goldwyn didn't understand -- or care about -- baseball. For him this film was the emotional story of a quiet, modest hero who married a spirited woman who was the love of his life, and, after a storied career, gave a short speech that transformed his legacy. With the world at war and soldiers dying on foreign soil, it was the kind of movie America needed.
Using original scripts, letters, memos, and other rare documents, Richard Sandomir tells the behind-the-scenes story of how a classic was born. The search to find the actor to play Gehrig; the stunning revelations Eleanor made to the scriptwriter Paul Gallico about her life with Lou; the intensive training Gary Cooper underwent to learn how to catch, throw, and hit a baseball for the first time.
On a warm summer evening, Richard Sandomir led our intimate Clubhouse conversation and brought "The Pride of the Yankees" to life. Listen in...
56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports
"New York Mets: 50 Amazing Seasons"
The Baseball Photographs of Bruce Murray Sr.
"Lipman Pike: America's First Home Run King" with Richard Michelson
"Baseball Haiku" with Cor van den Heuvel at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse
"High Heat" with Tim Wendel at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse
"The Baseball" with Zack Hample at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse
"The Imperfect Diamond" with Lee Lowenfish
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Halos in the infield ( an angels baseball podcast )
The 3 Old Reds Fans Podcast
Have A Seat with Jason Benetti and Dan Dickerson
Talkin’ Baseball (MLB Podcast)
Baseball Today