One of the more legendary tales in all of sports is the tale of Wally Pipp. A power-hitting first baseman for the New York Yankees, Pipp led the American League with 114 runs batted in and 19 triples in the 1924 season. The following year, as the Yankees were struggling in June, Pipp sat out a game.
His replacement? Lou Gehrig, who would go on and play in 2,130 games.
The reasons for Pipp sitting down that day have become blurred over the years. According to one version of the story, Pipp had a headache that June morning and asked the trainers for two aspirin to deal with the pain. When that was reported to the coaches, they told Pipp he could rest that day and they would give the young Gehrig a chance. Later in life Pipp recalled that those were the “two most expensive aspiring in history.”
Others thought Pipp was actually benched, as the power-hitter was batting just .244 at the time, and had hit for a woeful .181 in the previous three weeks.
Either way, Pipp sat down, Gehrig started in his place, and the rest is history.
Could something similar be happening in Chicago? After starting the first two games of the season for the Bears, Andy Dalton is out with a knee injury and Matt Nagy — to the delight of many — has announced that Justin Fields will start Sunday for the Bears against the Cleveland Browns.
Could Fields play the role of Gehrig in this modern version of the tale? If so, here is how he keeps the job.
