Baseball History Comes Alive Now Ranked #2 by Feedspot Among All Internet Baseball History Websites and Blogs!
Guest Submissions from Our Readers Always Welcome!
Subscribe to Baseball History Comes Alive for automatic updates (sign-up block found in right side-bar)
As a Free Bonus for subscribing, you’ll get instant access to my two Special Reports: Memorable World Series Moments and Gary’s Handy Dandy World Series Reference Guide!
“Baseball Mothers” Photo Gallery
Click on any image below to see photos in full size and to start Photo Gallery:
-
- Lou Gehrig’s mother and father.
-
- Amanda Cobb, Ty Cobb’s mother
-
- Bob Feller with mother Lena and father William
-
- Sandy Koufax with his mother and father
-
- A young Hank Aaron with his mother and father, Herbert Aaron
-
- Yogi Berra with father and mother
-
- Paul and Lloyd Waner with mother and father
-
- Lou Gehrig with mother Christina, wife Eleanor, and father, Heinrich
-
- Lou Gehrig and mother Christina
-
- Marilyn Monroe learns how to cook Italian food from mother-in-law, Rosa DiMaggio, Joe DiMaggio’s mother
-
- Ralph Branca with his Hungarian mother and Italian father
-
- Mickey with mother Lovell and wife Merlyn
-
- Mickey at home with his mother
-
- Jackie Robinson, second from left, with mother Mallie and family in 1925
-
- Ted Williams with mother and brother
-
- Babe Ruth with wife Claire and his mother-in-law
-
- Birdie Tebbetts with mother
-
- Hank embraced by his mother after record setting home run
-
- Joe with first wife, Dorothy Arnold. Unlike Marilyn Monroe, Dorothy Arnold was willing to give up her acting career for Joe to be a wife and mother.
-
- Lou Gehrig and mother Christina
-
- Ernie Banks with his sons and parents, 1960
-
- Minnie Johnson with son Walter and family in 1925
-
- Jenny Speaker with son Tris
-
- Amanda Cobb in 1911 with son Ty and family
Happy Mothers’ Day From Old-Time Baseball Photos!
As has become my custom, I like to find a baseball history connection to each passing holiday. With today being Mothers’ Day, I didn’t have to look far. Here’s my little baseball contribution to the day: a salute to one of the most famous mothers in baseball lore,
Christina Foch Gehrig
Better known as “Mom” Gehrig, she’s the beloved mother of Lou Gehrig. Christina Foch (or Facke, not sure which spelling is correct), was born in Germany in 1881 and immigrated to America in 1899. Two years later she married Henry Gehrig, also a German immigrant.
Henry was a sheet-metal worker who was frequently unemployed due to recurring illnesses, possibly related to heavy drinking. Christina worked as a maid at a Columbia University frat house, and young Lou often tagged along as her helper. With Henry being unreliable, she apparently became the main breadwinner and disciplinarian in the family. From an early age, Gehrig helped his mother around
the house, always available to do whatever tasks his mother needed. As the photo to the right reveals, this included helping his mother with the dishes and/or folding laundry.
We often hear about the strong, loving relationship between Lou and his mother. One possible explanation is that Lou was her only surviving child. Two girls died at an early age from whooping cough and measles, and a son died in infancy.
After Lou became a Yankee, “Mom” Gehrig was a frequent visitor to the Yankees’ clubhouse. She would often make the trip to St. Petersburg, Florida, the site of the Yankees’ spring training camp. While there, she did what came naturally for her: cooking and housekeeping for Lou and other Yankee teammates. The story is told that when Christina became ill and was hospitalized towards the end of the 1927 season, Lou was contemplating sitting out the series so as to be at his mother’s side. At the time, Lou was quoted as saying: “She is worth more to me than any ball game or World Series that was ever invented.”
Lou lived at home until he was 30 and was often viewed as a shy “mamma’s boy.” All that changed when Eleanor Twitchell came into his life in 1931. Of course, Christina wasn’t particularly fond of Eleanor, and gave her the similar frosty reception she gave to all of Lou’s previous girlfriends. But this time was different, Lou was smitten by the worldly, fun-loving gal from Chicago, who, it was said, he met at Comiskey Park. They soon married and entered into a blissfully happy relationship up until the time of Lou’s death. As I like to say about Eleanor, “She met Lou as a ‘mamma’s boy’… and turned him into a man.” (Watch for more about Eleanor in a forthcoming essay).
Christina Gehrig’s Role in the Babe Ruth – Lou Gehrig Feud.
Some of you will remember my recent post about Claire Ruth. In case you missed it, here are a couple paragraphs from that post talking about the role Claire Ruth and Christina Gehrig played in the feud:
Away from the ballpark, Gehrig’s mother, Christina, took a liking to the Babe’s daughter from his first marriage, Dorothy. Mrs. Gehrig often inviting little Dorothy to spend afternoons with her at the Gehrig home. One of Dorothy’s overnight visits led to a fight that turned the families against each other for years.
The little girl arrived one afternoon with worn, old play clothes. Julia Stevens recalls that Dorothy had packed the things herself while her mother was out of town. But for Ma Gehrig, it was just another example of Claire Ruth’s favored treatment of Julia and her neglect of her adopted daughter. Julia Stevens recalled:
“Mrs. Gehrig said, ‘Claire Ruth’s daughter [Julia], she goes to the ballgames in silks and satins, and poor little Dorothy has nothing but rags to wear.’ When Mother heard about that, she said, ‘Tell Lou’s mother to keep her big mouth shut.’ And that was that. Lou wouldn’t stand for anyone speaking ill about his mother.”
It took Gehrig’s fatal illness in the late 1930s to reconcile the families. Later, Claire admitted that she had overreacted, apologetically accepting full responsibility for the rift between the two players—which, many contend, had numerous other causes besides the one indicated by Claire.
Again, Happy Mothers’ Day. Be sure to look through the photo gallery above for a Mother’s Day Tribute to many more “baseball mothers”!
-Gary Livacari
Information: From the Lou Gehrig Wikipedia page
Photo Credits: All from Google search
A real baseball Mother’s Day shout out to former MLB Casey Candaele, whose Mom Helen Callaghan played five years in the AAGPBL.
She won a batting title one year and stole 100 bases in her career. She belongs in a Mother’s Day League of her own…😁
Some wonderful pix. The faces, the clothing — delightful!