From Wikipedia:
On June 1, 1925, Gehrig entered the game as a pinch hitter, substituting for shortstop Paul "Pee Wee" Wanninger. The next day, June 2, Yankee manager Miller Huggins started Gehrig in place of regular first baseman Wally Pipp. Pipp was in a slump, as were the Yankees as a team, so Huggins made several lineup changes to boost their performance. Fourteen years later, Gehrig had played 2,130 consecutive games. In a few instances, Gehrig managed to keep the streak intact through pinch hitting appearances and fortuitous timing; in others, the streak continued despite injuries. For example:
- On April 23, 1933, a pitch by Washington Senators pitcher Earl Whitehill struck Gehrig in the head. Although almost knocked unconscious, Gehrig remained in the game.
- On June 14, 1933, Gehrig was ejected from a game, along with manager Joe McCarthy, but he had already been at bat and received credit for playing the game.
- In a June, 1934 exhibition game, Gehrig was hit by a pitch, just above the right eye and was knocked unconscious. According to news reports, he was out for five minutes. Helmets were not heavily introduced until the 1940s. He left the game, but was in the lineup the next day.[34]
- On July 13, 1934, Gehrig suffered a "lumbago attack" and had to be assisted off the field. In the next day's away game, he was listed in the lineup as "shortstop", batting lead-off. In his first and only plate appearance, he singled and was promptly replaced by a pinch runner to rest his throbbing back, never taking the field. A&E's Biography speculated that this illness, which he also described as "a cold in his back", might have been the first symptom of his debilitating disease.[35]
In addition, X-rays taken late in his life disclosed that Gehrig had sustained several fractures during his playing career, although he remained in the lineup despite those previously undisclosed injuries.[36] On the other hand, the streak was helped when Yankees general manager Ed Barrow postponed a game as a rainout on a day when Gehrig was sick with the flu—even though it was not raining.[37]
Gehrig's record of 2,130 consecutive games played stood until September 6, 1995, when Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. broke it.[38]
Seems like maybe Gehrig wasn't such a saint about the way he achieved his streak? In the modern game that "rain delay" stunt just wouldn't fly; teams don't have that kind of power anymore. And none of Ripken's games were anything like the infamous lumbago game. Though to his credit, and it is technically mentioned but glossed over in the Wiki text, he did get a hit. So that was probably more valuable than if he hadn't played in the game at all.