In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Stephen Hawking's final message

Famous cosmologist Stephen Hawking—who lived for half a century after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease—delivered a final speech just before he died in 2018. In the video, Hawking talks about the importance of science and reason in...

Defying the odds, Stephen Hawking outlived his ALS diagnosis by over 50 years

When diagnosed with ALS, Stephen Hawking was given two years to live. However, he survived with the progressive neurodegenerative disease for over 50 years, highlighting the disease's variability and complexity.

Stephen Hawking's condition explained

Diagnosed with ALS at 21 and told he had two years to live, Stephen Hawking went on to change our understanding of black holes and the universe, living 55 more years and defying every expectation.

How ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) might work, and what scientists are learning about it

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects the nerve cells (neurons) controlling muscle movement. As the motor neurons degenerate, they stop sending signals to the muscles, causing progressive muscle weakness and, eventually, death. This three-minute animation focuses on the mechanisms within the motor neurons that cause them to degenerate. By understanding these mechanisms, researchers hope to one day find a cure for ALS.

Talese’s story on Joe DiMaggio examined the sports star’s life post-retirement

The profile, written in the aftermath of his popular “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,” similarly offered a close look at an American icon after their prime. In DiMaggio’s story, however, the Yankees player seeks to vanish into obscurity and live a quiet life, golfing and mourning his ex-wife Marilyn Monroe.

Some say baseball's drug problem goes back to the late 1800s

At age 32, pitcher James “Pud” Galvin was feeling tired and decided to take "the Brown-Séquard elixir," which contained a testicular fluid from dogs and guinea pigs, believed to invigorate tired bodies. It might've worked: Galvin pitched a two-hit shutout the next day.

Baseball legend Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak, which ended at 56, cost him a sponsorship deal with Heinz.

"Guessing what the pitcher is going to throw is 80 percent of being a successful hitter. The other 20 percent is just execution."

- Baseball star Hank Aaron (1934-2021)

'I swing big, with everything I've got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can.'

- Baseball legend Babe Ruth (1895-1948)

Jackie Robinson's iconic 42 is the only number that's been retired leaguewide, meaning no current players can wear it except in his honor.

The story of Vince Lombardi, coaching legend

Born in Brooklyn in 1913, Vince Lombardi is best known for his time as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1959 to 1967, when he led the team to five national championships over seven years. His all-out approach and inspiring one-liners have left an indelible mark on the game, causing the league to name the NFL's highest trophy—the one awarded to the Super Bowl winner—after him. Read up on the legend here.

Explore some of the best baseball books, including Michael Lewis' influential 'Moneyball' and Bob Uecker's autobiography 'Catcher in the Wry.'

Check out a list of the top 100 players in baseball history, from Barry Larkin to Babe Ruth.

How Stephen Hawking’s voice became iconic

Stephen Hawking relied on a voice synthesizer after losing the ability to speak due to complications with ALS. Despite technological advances, he refused to change the "Perfect Paul" voice, making it a cornerstone of his public identity.

Experience a century of America's healthcare advances with this medical visualization, tracing a sampling of healthcare innovations from head to toe.

Watch writer John Steinbeck's Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

The origin story of the Paralympic movement and its founder, Dr. Ludwig Guttmann

Dr. Ludwig Guttmann, the founder of the Paralympic movement, revolutionized the treatment of spinal injuries. His belief in the power of sports for rehabilitation led to the creation of the Paralympic Games, now celebrated every Olympic year. This in-depth article from The History Press details the life and achievements of Dr. Guttmann, and includes historical photos and videos of the veterans-turned-athletes whose lives he changed.

100 moments that shaped baseball history

Published in 2018 by baseball historian Jacob Kornhauser, this list examines the defining moments throughout more than a century of play on the field, from Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis purportedly throwing a no-hitter while on acid to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier.

In 1970, Pittsburgh Pirates' pitcher Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter—a rare feat that was just the 174th in MLB history—while high on LSD.

'A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.'

- Jackie Robinson, the first Black MLB player (1919-1972)

Stephen Hawking's early rowing days shaped the bold persona for which he became known

Before gaining fame as a physicist, Hawking was a coxswain at Oxford, where the sport helped him find his social footing and develop leadership skills, even as his motor neuron disease began to emerge.

Despite the rules, a Nobel Prize in medicine has been awarded posthumously

Ralph Steinman, whose work revealed how dendritic cells activate immune responses, passed away just days before being named a Nobel laureate. Although Nobel Prizes cannot be awarded posthumously, the committee made an exception because they believed he was alive at the time of the decision.

Vince Lombardi: the coach who put Green Bay on the map

Vince Lombardi experienced a legendary rise from his Brooklyn youth to the sidelines of Lambeau Field. His final years of life included a three-peat with the Green Bay Packers, his brief tenure as head coach in Washington, and a sudden, tragic death from cancer.

Camus was a soccer goalie as a teenager

The writer played for Algiers Racing University but had to quit after contracting tuberculosis. He remained a fan, though, once suggesting that the game taught him important lessons about morality. In the 1957 interview below, he briefly reflects on his time as a goalie and speaks about his recent Nobel Prize.

Before 1920, during the Deadball Era, a single baseball was used throughout a Major League game, leading to a notoriously dirty style of play.

Magic Johnson's announcing he had HIV changed public perception of the disease

When Lakers superstar Magic Johnson announced he had HIV in 1991, the disease was highly misunderstood. Commissioner David Stern had behind-the-scenes conversations with Johnson about publicly handling his eventual announcement, leading to the start of the condition's destigmatization.

After FDR was paralyzed by polio in 1921, Eleanor Roosevelt became active in politics and supported his political ambitions

FDR contracted polio at age 39 and permanently lost the use of his legs. Eleanor Roosevelt persuaded him to stay in politics, then took on the task of maintaining his public profile—attending events, building relationships, and serving as his "eyes, ears, and legs" across the country.

Eugene O'Neill is the lone American playwright to win the Nobel Prize

The writer was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1936, with the prize committee noting "the power, honesty, and deep-felt emotions of his dramatic works, which embody an original concept of tragedy."

Olympic track runner Jesse Owens recounts his win in Hitler's Germany in 1936

Jesse Owens won four gold medals at these Games, but nearly failed to qualify for the long jump event. Despite the polarizing political climate, German athlete Luz Long offered advice and encouragement to Owens—his direct competitor—resulting in a lasting friendship Owens later called his "greatest Olympic prize."

Catching up with hobby icon Sy Berger

In 1952 baseball card company Topps printed two series of cards. The first series sold well, but the late-season series, numbered 311-407 and included Mickey Mantle, didn’t. Read the first-hand account of how Topps couldn't’ even give the late-season series cards away and dumped an estimated 500 cases into the Atlantic Ocean in 1959. Decades later, it created a scarcity that drove the price of that Mantle card to $12.6 million.

The story behind the greatest outburst in sports history

It's a line that's still perplexing all these years later: "Who do you think you are? I am!" Those words were uttered by Pete Weber, an iconic bowler who was somewhere between John McEnroe and Happy Gilmore. This oral history from the Ringer provides some context for the bizarre insult and a backstory that turns what appears to be a non sequitur into a triumphant celebration.

Interface device implanted into ALS patients restored some of their abilities

Most people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, require assistance with daily life due to loss of motor control. The electrode-coated, stent-like device used motor mapping data and machine learning to translate brain activity into actions.

America had a national leprosarium—a leper colony—in Louisiana until 1999

Public health officials forcibly sent those diagnosed with leprosy to the Louisiana Leper Home in Carville, first founded in 1894. Listen to an interview about this site, its evolution, and how its residents advocated for themselves—including regaining the right to vote.

A quote by Magic Johnson

"Celebrate the life you had, not the life you could've had."

'Moneyball' author Michael Lewis believes sports betting is a problem for young men

The noted journalist and author of "Moneyball," "The Big Short," and "The Blind Side" has now fixed his discerning eye on the sports-betting industry. In this interview, he explains why he sees sports betting as a problem for American society, especially boys and young men, and why he believes the government needs to regulate the nascent industry more seriously.

Why ‘Shoeless Joe’ Jackson was banned from Major League Baseball

Few baseball stars are more infamous than "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, one of the game's greatest hitters. Jackson was part of the Chicago White Sox team (notoriously dubbed the "Black Sox") accused of fixing the 1919 World Series. This resource breaks down the criminal trial that investigated those allegations. Curiously, Jackson and his teammates were acquitted, but Major League Baseball commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis still banned them from the league for life.

A quote by athlete Walter Payton

"When you're good at something, you'll tell everyone. When you're great at something, they'll tell you."

Listen to Gay Talese read from ‘Frank Sinatra Has a Cold’

The writer revisits his 1966 profile on Frank Sinatra, one of the most popular magazine stories ever written. The story uncovered aspects of Sinatra’s life previously unknown to most people, such as having a personal staff of 75 people, including one person to take care of his hairpieces.

The story behind one infamous World Series moment

“The Bartman Incident” during Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS forever changed the life of Cubs fan Steve Bartman, who quickly descended into anonymity. This 2005 ESPN story attempts to find answers behind the notorious Bartman.

In 1999, King survived a near-fatal car accident

In 1999, a distracted driver hit writer Stephen King as he walked on the side of the road near his house in Maine. He recounts the event in his famous memoir, "On Writing." This interview with Katie Couric took place five months after the accident and shows King in a fragile state, wondering about the long-term effects on his mind. When Couric asks if he'll try to work the incident into his work, he smiles. "Sooner or later," he says, "everything goes in."

Dorothea Lange contracted polio when she was 7, something she said informed her approach to photograph.

Retired professional soccer players are showing signs of potential neurological impacts in midlife, according to a study presented at the July 2026 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in London.

'Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead.'

Meyer Wolfsheim in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby"

The first MLB All-Star Game was designed by a sports journalist who believed the spectacle would boost baseball's reputation during the Great Depression.

Liza Minnelli's 'New York, New York' used to play after the Yankees lost

For a time, Minnelli's version of the song was played following defeats. After each Yankees victory, it was Frank Sinatra's version. Ultimately, the team stopped using Minnelli's version, though Sinatra's is still played after every Yankees win.

'The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.'

- Roger Bannister (1929-2018)

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address became one of the most famous speeches in American history

Delivered by Lincoln on Nov. 19, 1863, at the dedication of a national cemetery, the 272-word Gettysburg Address reframed the war as a struggle for equality. The speech would be cited as a moral touchstone for later movements such as women's suffrage and civil rights.

In 1985, New York Mets star Keith Hernandez said 40% of his MLB peers used cocaine, highlighting an open secret about drug use in the league.

MLB pitchers were charged with benefiting from sports betting

In November 2025, two pitchers for the Cleveland Guardians were charged with coordinating with sports bettors to enrich themselves and others. In many instances, they shared the kinds of pitches they would throw at specific points in the game. Bettors then placed money on those actions.

Legionnaires' disease is named after a 1976 outbreak at a state convention of the American Legion in Philadelphia.