Who Was The First Athlete To Appear On A Wheaties Box?

The first living person to appear on a Wheaties box was Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig in 1934, says Smithsonian. He began his career with the Yankees in 1925 and quickly became a star player. In the same year in which he appeared on the Wheaties box, he won the triple crown (which is comprised of batting average, homes runs, and runs batted). What gave him the nickname "The Iron Horse" was his determination to play through injuries and illnesses. Such dedication allowed him to set the record for most consecutive baseball games played with 2,130. This record stood until 1995, when Cal Ripken surpassed that number. 

Gehrig was also the first player to have his number retired. For the past eight decades, no other Yankees player can use the jersey number four. Other team sports like basketball and football now do the same for players deemed worthy of it. Apart from being a baseball player whose records stood the test of time, he is also remembered for the debilitating disease that took him out of sports and then took his life.

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