This 1-of-1 of uncut film of the iconic “Luckiest Man” speech by New York Yankees captain Lou Gehrig features the longest single-source film recording of the address.

History's first minted NFT of what's widely regarded as the most famous speech in sports history, the token is part of a collection that represents the first New York Sports Hall of Fame NFT offering. The speech was delivered at Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day ceremonies at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939. At the time, Gehrig was dying of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the rare and incurable disease that became known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

The Lou Gehrig Speech Collection features three 1-of-1 tokens of remarks delivered at the Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day event, recorded by the same source. All three speakers — Gehrig, baseball legend and former Gehrig teammate Babe Ruth and Yankees manager Joe McCarthy — were inducted into the New York Sports Hall of Fame between 1989 and 1991.

Gehrig was voted into the Hall in 1989 for professional baseball and two years later for college baseball. Born, raised and educated in New York City, he played baseball and football at Columbia University.

Well known for its line, "the luckiest man on the face of the earth," Gehrig's 1939 address has long been praised for its historic standing. In a story published July 30, 1939, Daily News sportswriter Hy Turkin wrote of Gehrig's remarks, “If there were any angels perched on the fleecy clouds over Yankee Stadium on the sunblessed afternoon of July 4, 1939, they must have wept… That speech, objectively, was one of the greatest in history.”

During his years with the Yankees, from 1923 to 1939, the stoic and reliable Gehrig endeared himself to fans with his relentless excellence. He served as the Yankees’ captain over the last five years of his career. The Yankees won the World Series in 1923, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938 and 1939.

In 1934, Gehrig won the so-called Triple Crown, leading the American League — in fact, the majors — in batting average, home runs and RBIs. For a time, some regarded Gehrig as superhuman. That’s because of his most famous major league record, since broken, of playing in 2,130 straight games. His ubiquity came at a heavy price. Gehrig played through hand fractures, a broken thumb, broken toes and back spasms. The Iron Horse, as he was called, largely ignored injuries that were later confirmed by x-rays.

Gehrig’s consecutive games played streak ended May 2, 1939. He never played another major league game. After Gehrig was examined by Mayo Clinic doctors from June 13 to June 19, 1939, the Yankees reported that Gehrig was suffering from ALS.

On June 26, 1939, Yankees president Ed Barrow announced that Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day had been scheduled for July 4. The Yankee Stadium ceremony was held after the first game of a Yankees doubleheader against the Washington Senators.

Gehrig died less than two years later, 17 days shy of his 38th birthday.

The New York Sports Hall of Fame has rights to this and thousands of other historical pieces of content in its treasured archives. The Hall plans to mint at least one NFT for each of its more than 300 members.