Few, if any, recall that in 1938, Lou Gehrig declared he was “through with baseball” and was giving up the game in search of “peace and quiet.”

Yes, those were Gehrig’s exact words, though they were spoken on the set of the Twentieth Century Fox production, “Rawhide.” In the movie, Gehrig’s lone film appearance, the diamond star “retires” and goes to his sister’s ranch in fictional Rawhide, Montana where, of course, bad guys surface and Gehrig ultimately brings them to justice.

These (3) movie stills capture Gehrig in his portrayal of the Western lawman. Each measures 10 x 8-1/16” and features the righteous Gehrig in a scene from the (then) well-received production. The vintage sepia-toned photos respectively show Gehrig on a staircase with pistol in tow; wrestling a gun from a (presumably) a local outlaw; and admiring the view at an outdoor roast. The photos show remarkable presentation with very minor creases.

Of note is the fact that in 2006, the American Academy of Neurology did extensive research on Gehrig as he appeared in “Rawhide” movie stills and footage. The study was conducted to reveal whether or not there were visible symptoms of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The conclusion was that Gehrig functioned normally. The film was shot in January, 1938. While the debilitating nature of Gehrig’s disease wasn’t readily apparent until the early portion of the 1939 season, it’s widely believed that the ailment began to take effect in 1938. His 1938 numbers (29 home runs, 114 RBI, .295 batting average) were impressive by everyday standards, but paled in comparison to Gehrig’s normal output.