Local actor reenacts Lou Gehrig's speech at Rosenblatt

Actor Kevin Ehrhart portrayed Lou Gehrig

After reenacting Lou Gehrig’s famous “luckiest man” speech at Rosenblatt Stadium last night for the ALS Association, actor Kevin Ehrhart – who was donating his time for the event – exited the field behind home plate and walked up the steps to the main concourse. Fans high-fived him as he went and one woman stopped him with tears in her eyes to thank him.

His work with kids at the Rose Theater was his motivating factor for donating his time to give the speech.

“I’ve been an actor with the Rose Theater for 22 years and I just worked with kids, you know, I’ve spent my entire career doing that,” Ehrhart said. “And just knowing what ALS does – I’m just happy to do a little part to help out the association.

The full text of Gehrig’s speech exists, but only four lines exist on video, so reenacting mannerisms of the speech can be a challenge.

“The only footage they have is just a little of the beginning and a little of the end, so I got a little bit of that from him,” Ehrhart said. “I just made up the rest. All the emotion is kind of clear right in the text of the speech.

“Because of the fans who adore Lou Gehrig, I wanted to do it justice and make sure I did it right. Hopefully, everyone feels good about it. But it’s fun to do. It’s exciting.”

You can watch Ehrhart’s reenactment of the entire speech here: