New York City, New York : The Pride of the Yankees
- Makio Mukai
- Apr 25
- 8 min read
On the evening of August 16, 2017, I arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport after a 13-hour nonstop flight from Japan and headed straight to my hotel in New York City. It had been 10 years since I last visited New York City. As I headed from the airport to my hotel in Midtown Manhattan, I thought to myself, “ I'm going to enjoy New York City to the fullest after such a long time ".
From the next day, I ran around New York City every day, visiting various places and enjoying myself to the fullest. I even took a short trip across the Hudson River to New Jersey. Even though I was suffering from a significant jet lag, I was so excited that I didn't feel tired at all.
And then August 21 arrived. That morning, I was having a leisurely breakfast in the hotel's small restaurant. A news program was playing on a TV at the corner of the restaurant, but I only glanced at it from time to time and didn't really listen to the news. However, after a while, I noticed that the TV news program seemed to be announcing something important. "What? Did something big happen?" I thought, so I stopped eating my toast, drank some coffee to refresh my mind, and then focused on the news.
Surprisingly, that day, August 21, 2017, was the day when an astronomical event that would get the whole of the United States excited was going to happen! It was the day when a total solar eclipse could be seen in a wide belt-like area from the west coast to the east coast of the United States. Since New York was outside of that belt-like area, it couldn’t see the total solar eclipse, but it was said that it would be possible to see a partial solar eclipse. The news program was very detailed, stating that the partial solar eclipse that could be seen in New York would begin at 1:23 p.m., reach its peak at 2:44 p.m., and be completely over around 4 p.m. The news program also showed footage of interviews with New York City residents, and it was clear to see how excited the residents were to see the solar eclipse.
I don't have a particularly strong interest in astronomical phenomena, but I do have the average curiosity to see a solar eclipse if one occurs. However, I had an appointment that started at 11 a.m. that day. I didn't know what time that appointment would finish in the afternoon. That meant I didn't know if I'd be able to see the solar eclipse. So should I reschedule my appointment to another day? No, that was impossible. I'd have to watch the solar eclipse when completing my appointment, or after I'd finished my appointment, if the eclipse was still going on.
So what was that appointment? Let's go back to the day after I arrived in New York City, that is, August 17th. That day, I had dinner with a wonderful woman, Ayaka Shinozaki.
After graduating from junior high school in Japan, she moved to the United States alone to attend a prestigious high school near Boston. After graduating from high school, she went on to Columbia University, which has a campus in Manhattan, New York City. She became interested in physics after becoming fascinated with Einstein's theory of relativity, and majored in it. She graduated from Columbia University in the summer of 2017, and was scheduled to move to the UK in the fall to carry out her research.
I've known this wonderful woman since she was in junior high school, as she is the daughter of a friend of mine.
While we enjoyed our meal, we discussed the plan for my visit to Columbia University campus. Ayaka was going to show me around the campus even though she was busy before going to the UK. We decided to meet at the main gate of Columbia University at 11:00 a.m. on August 21, four days later, and Ayaka said with a smile, "I'll show you places related to Lou Gehrig." "Really?" "Yes." "That'll make me happy!"
Lou Gehrig studied at Columbia University and then joined the New York Yankees, where he was a very successful MLB player. He even won the batting triple crown. Although he was physically strong enough to achieve the amazing record of playing in 2,130 consecutive games, he suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a rare disease, and died at the age of 37 in 1941. It is well known that he was also a man of great character. Gehrig's turbulent life was made into a movie. "The Pride of the Yankees" (1942).
"The Pride of the Yankees" is one of my favorite movies. Since it's an old movie from over 80 years ago, the character portrayals are stereotypical, but I still love it. One reason is that the main character, Lou Gehrig, is played by Gary Cooper, my favorite actor , but that's not the only reason. It’s because I'm moved by the wonderful way that Lou Gehrig lived his life.
By the way, I have the original book on which this movie is based, "Lou Gehrig: Pride of the Yankees" (1942) by Paul Gallico. It's a hardcover published in 1942. I happened to find it listed as a used book on Amazon and bought it. The seller may not have known that this book is extremely valuable to an avid MLB fan like me, because it was listed for an unbelievably low price.
Now, August 21. I arrived at the main gate of Columbia University about 20 minutes earlier than the appointed time. The main gate was inscribed with "Pulitzer," which refers to Joseph Pulitzer, who is famous for the Pulitzer Prize. I was waiting for Ayaka to come, not knowing that I would be told that Pulitzer and Gehrig had a "strange connection".
When Ayaka showed me around the Columbia University campus, I was surprised at the number of libraries. It felt like there were libraries everywhere. Even in this IT age, I still don't doubt the significance of libraries, and I thought, "This is what's amazing about prestigious American universities." The main library, Butler Library, was a spectacular sight. There were so many rooms for students to study, the interior was elegant, and the collection of books was amazing. I don't think any university library in Japan could compare to the splendor of Butler Library.
In front of Butler Library was a large space called” South Field”. This is a field where Columbia University students play sports. We couldn't go inside because of maintenance work, but Ayaka stood near the field and said something surprising. "The home run that Lou Gehrig hit on this field is legendary." Ayaka continued, pointing to a building in the distance. "The ball hit that building and bounced off." Next, she pointed to the library on the opposite side of Butler Library. "And it flew all the way to that library." The building Ayaka first pointed to was the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism building, which was established through the will and donation of Joseph Pulitzer. By the way, the famous Pulitzer Prize was also established by the will and donation of Joseph Pulitzer, and is run by the Graduate School of Journalism. Ayaka also showed me around the Graduate School of Journalism building. …Whenever I read a book that won a Pulitzer Prize from now on, I will surely remember Gehrig's legendary home run.
In one corner of the campus, there were rows of residential-style buildings. Many of them had three Greek letters at the entrance. Ayaka said, "Here was the building of the club Gehrig belonged to, but unfortunately it has been demolished and replaced with a different building." I immediately thought of a certain scene in "The Pride of the Yankees" and was overwhelmed with emotion that it was here... I think many people have no idea what I'm talking about, so I'll explain it. But only briefly.
In American universities, there are organizations where students deepen their friendships and bonds while doing community service activities. The names of these organizations are often written in three Greek letters. Gehrig also joined a club called ΦΔΘ (Phi Delta Theta) at Columbia University. For some reason, in the movie "The Pride of the Yankees”, the club has a fictitious name, ΣΑΨ (Sigma Alpha Psi). ...I researched all of this myself, but I may be wrong. If I'm wrong, I'd appreciate it if you could let me know. In the movie "The Pride of the Yankees," there is a scene where the members have a heated debate over whether to allow Gehrig to join the club, because unlike the other members, Gehrig was born and raised in a financially disadvantaged family. ...I don't know if this episode actually happened, but remembering this episode from the movie, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with emotion when I visited the place where Lou Gehrig was a member.
By the way, there is an award called “Lou Gehrig Memorial Award”, which is officially recognized by MLB. Every year, the award is given to one major leaguer who is chosen for their excellent character, and it was created by the ΦΔΘ in honor of Gehrig, who was a member of the club at Columbia University.
After finishing our tour of Columbia University, Ayaka and I had a late lunch at a cafe near the university. We had a pleasant conversation about Ayaka's new life in the UK.
After parting ways with Ayaka and heading back to Midtown, I suddenly had a thought. I'd completely forgotten, but what happened to the solar eclipse? I quickly looked up at the sky, but couldn't see anything. I had no idea if anything out of the ordinary was happening. I looked at the clock. It was almost 2:30 p.m., which meant that the partial solar eclipse should reach its peak soon. I looked up at the sky again. I couldn't look directly at the sun because I wasn't wearing eclipse glasses, so I couldn't tell if there was a solar eclipse or not. I looked around, and there was not a single person looking up to watch the solar eclipse. I was a little surprised that no one was interested in the solar eclipse. I gave up on watching the solar eclipse, but I suddenly thought of Ayaka. She hadn't said anything about the solar eclipse. Was she not interested in the solar eclipse? That couldn't be. Since she majored in physics because she was fascinated by the theory of relativity, she must be interested in astronomical phenomena. I'll ask her about it next time I see her.
When I returned to Midtown, unlike the area around Columbia University, many people were looking up to the sky to watch the solar eclipse. Many were wearing eclipse glasses to watch the solar eclipse closely. I didn't have any eclipse glasses, so I just muttered to myself without looking up to the sky, "It's okay if I can't see the solar eclipse. Today I had an experience that was far more wonderful than seeing a solar eclipse. But from now on, whenever I think of Lou Gehrig, I'll always think of the solar eclipse."
( If I’ve made a mistake or left out something important, please let me know. I’ll try to make corrections or additions.)