The Philadelphia Phillies bill their annual "Phillies Phestival" as a "fun-filled autograph and auction party for all ages", and this year's event will take place this evening at Citizens Bank Park on what is an open date in the Phils MLB schedule.
The goal of the Phestival is to raise funds to help battle the devastating, deadly, incurable neuromuscular condition of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) known in the colloquial as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
The latter designation comes from the New York Yankees legendary Hall of Fame 1st baseman Lou Gehrig, whose career and life were very publicly and tragically cut short by the disease back in 1941.
From June 1st, 1925 through April 20th, 1939, Gehrig appeared in a record 2,130 consecutive games, a record that would stand for more than five decades until broken by Cal Ripken Jr.
But during the 1938 season, Gehrig began to sense that something was wrong. By the start of the 1939 season, it was obvious to him and everyone else as his performance and physical condition began to seriously deteriorate.
At the world-renowned Mayo Clinic, he was officially diagnosed with ALS on June 19th of that year, his 36th birthday.
