YES Network.com

On the same day 16 years later, Gehrig's now-legendary streak of consecutive games played came to an end after 2,130 straight appearances.

Here are a few facts you may not have known about the great No. 4:

5. Gehrig was originally set to attend Columbia University on a football scholarship, not baseball. Before his freshman year, New York Giants manager John McGraw suggested Gehrig play professional summer league baseball under the pseudonym "Henry Lewis." He was eventually discovered, and was forced to sit out his entire freshman year. In 1922 Gehrig joined the Columbia football team as a fullback, until taking his talents to the baseball diamond.

4. On April 18, 1923, Babe Ruth helped christen the new Yankee Stadium on Opening Day with a home run. But across town at Columbia University's South Field, The Iron Horse struck out 17 batters in a game against Williams College. That 1923 season was Gehrig's only year with Columbia's baseball team, leaving to join the Yankees on June 15 that summer.

3. In a three-year span between 1930 and 1932, Gehrig amassed a total of 509 RBI - something only two other hitters (Hall of Famers Jimmie Foxx and Hank Greenberg) have ever managed to do in any three seasons, much less three consecutive ones. Gehrig's 1,995 career RBI are the most by any first baseman in MLB history.

2. Lou Gehrig became the first athlete in 1934 to appear on a Wheaties cereal box, "The breakfast of champions," launching a trend that continues to this day. Since then, hundreds of players and dozens of teams have earned the distinct honor of joining Gehrig on the list of Wheaties athletes.

1. In 1936, Gehrig posed for promotional photos in a leopard-spotted costume, as part of an audition for the feature film "Tarzan." After leading man Johnny Weissmuller walked away from the production, Gehrig's agent Christy Walsh encouraged him to try out. Gehrig, however, was not cast for the role, but did appear in a 1938 film titled "Rawhide," playing a less demanding role -- himself.