The New York Yankees announced they had acquired Columbia University star baseball player Lou Gehrig on June 12, 1923, although the signing had occurred a little more than a month before.
Henry Louis Gehrig had the reputation of being the "Babe Ruth of the colleges" because he hit the ball farther than any other college player.
Gehrig made his Yankees' debut on June 15, 1923 as a ninth inning defensive replacement for first baseman Wally Pipp. It would not be the only time that Lou Gehrig replaced Wally Pipp.
Lou played for Hartford of the Eastern League in 1924 and 1925, hitting .304 and then .369. He joined the Yankees for his first full season in 1925, but not before there was a little intrigue.
The Yankees offered Gehrig to the Red Sox in return for first baseman Phil Todt. The Boston team rejected the offer.
Gehrig and Todt both started out as minor leaguers in 1921, although Gehrig didn't play in 1922 because he attended Columbia University. Lou had a .344 minor league average, while Todt batted .309.
According to Bill Nowlin of the The Baseball Biography Project, as well as the official Lou Gehrig site (www.lougehrig.com ), in early 1925, the Yankees wanted to send Gehrig to Boston in return for the services of first baseman Phil Todt.
Todt's obituary in The Sporting News also claims that the Yankees had offered Gehrig straight up to Boston. The reason seems unbelievable today.
The Yankees wanted to repay the Red Sox for allowing them to acquire Babe Ruth, a fact that makes one wonder how much of a rivalry existed between the teams 85 years ago.
Of course the trade was never made, through no fault of the Yankees. It must be remembered that the Red Sox have always been the Red Sox.
They are the organization that sent Sparky Lyle to the Yankees in exchange for Danny Cater.
They sent Bob Ojeda to New York's most beloved team for Calvin Schiraldi, a trade that resulted in the Red Sox debacle known as the 1986 World Series.
They sent future Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell to the Houston Astros for over-the-hill pitcher Larry Anderson.
And they sent Hall of Fame right-hander Ferguson Jenkins to the Texas Rangers for John Poloni.
In 1925, Red Sox owner Bob Quinn decided that the Red Sox would be better off with Phil Todt at first base instead of Lou Gehrig. Everyone knows how that turned out.
Todt played for Boston from 1924 until 1930. On Feb. 3, 1931, he was sent to the Philadelphia A's for cash.
In his eight seasons, Phil batted .258, averaging 10 home runs and 77 RBIs over a 162 game season. He was never voted into the Hall of Fame.
References:
Phil Todt Biography
Baseball Reference
The Sporting News, December 1, 1973.
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