 Oh waiter. Yes, sir. I'll have a chopped sirloin steak, cottage-fried potatoes, asparagus with butter sauce, and a bottle of cold, perhaps blue ribbon. Yes, sir. Finest beer served. Anywhere. From Hollywood, perhaps blue ribbon. Finest beer served. Anywhere. Proudly presented. Screen Directors Playhouse, Production, Pride of the Yankees, Director Sam Wood, Star Gary Cooper, The Hollywood Screen Directors present the life of baseball's beloved Lou Gehrig. The motion picture story Pride of the Yankees starring Gary Cooper. The story of America is written in many places, in factories and offices and farms, and on the field of sport. One magnificent chapter was written on the baseball diamond, and its hero was the fellow they called the Iron Man. This is his story, starring Gary Cooper in his original role of Lou Gehrig, the Pride of the Yankees. That was the sound he loved. The clean, sweet crack of a bat saying howdy to the horse-hide cover of a baseball. The first time I ever heard that sound in connection with him was in the office of the athletic director at Columbia University. It came from a long way off, and was immediately followed by another sound much closer by. Holy smoke. A fly all the way in from Southfield. Who hit it, Coach? As the boy I've been telling you about, Blake. Lou Gehrig. My number one halfback on next year's football team. Football? For a kid who can hit a baseball this far, he's for the big leagues. Ah, Blake, lay off. No pro baseball for Gehrig. He's studying to be an engineer. Besides, I'm saving him for football. Oh, sure, sure, Coach. But you don't mind, just as a favor to the working press, you don't mind if I introduce the boy to Miller Huggins' manager of the New York Yankees, do you? He was another Babe Ruth. I knew it. I not only introduced him to Miller Huggins, I got him signed with a Yankees. I was with him that day in Chicago when he played in his first Major League game. I was in a box over the dugout with old man Twitchell, the hot dog king, and his daughter, Eleanor. Hey, you, Gehrig. Oh, me? You mean me? Yes, you. Come on, on the double. Yes, sir. Right up, Mr. Huggins. Hey, look out, watch those bats. I'm sorry, Mr. Huggins, I kind of slipped. All right, get in there on first base, Gehrig. Wait a minute. You all right? Yes, sir. So, don't take me out, Mr. Huggins. I've been waiting too long to get in. Okay, and watch where you're going. Yes, sir. Looks like you kind of started something, Mr. Twitchell. So, it seems, Mr. Blake, it's dreadful, isn't it? I seem to have tied a label under that rookie of yours. So, as she says to me, I'm... Some training table, Mr. Blake. Yeah, this is the RAS killer. You don't get things always come here after a game in Chicago. Good eats. And I'm hungry. Lou, oh boy, you did all right in there this afternoon. Kind of stumbled right in the thing, so to speak. Yeah, the fans will just remember you all the better. But that name, Tanglefoot, and that girl you were sitting with started it. That's Eleanor Twitchell. You see a lot of her, Lou. As a matter of fact, there she is now in the fire. Hi there, Mr. Twitchell. Hello, Ellie. Ah, the Yankees. I hear you got a rough game today, boys. Ah, we were jinxed. I'll never happen again. How about that Tanglefoot fellow, your new first baseman? Are there any more at home like him? Now, there's a girl that's writing for a fall, Mr. Blake. I don't think she saw you, Lou. I wouldn't say anything. Here she comes. Yeah, so she does. What are you up to? Well, hello, Mr. Blake. No, no, don't. Woo! Lady must have tripped. Why you? Tanglefoot? Ah, Mrs. Twitchell. Mr. Garrick. Okay, I guess we're all even. Well, Mr. Twitchell, and if we're now all even, maybe you'll sit down with me. Thank you. I like the way you stand up to a ball, Mr. Garrick. A lot of power there. You hear that, Blake? The lady knows the ball player when she sees one. Ah, yes, Mrs. Twitchell. He stands up at the bat real fine. Yes, he does. And he falls down on the bat. Pretty good, too. You're a tangled foot. Well, bye-bye, Chicago. Until the next time, Lou. Look, Mr. Blake, you know all about women. Oh, sure, sure. What does it mean when a girl says you're a reminder of a newfoundland puppy? Well, if it were an airdale or a police dog, that'd be fatal. But a newfoundland puppy, I'd see her again if I will. You see, Mrs. Twitchell, Mr. Blake told me I should be sure and see you again when I was in Chicago. Oh, but, Mr. Garrick, that was the last time. And the time before that. Hey, do you realize that this is my last night in Chicago this season and that this is goodbye? Six more cities to go before the World Series. Six more goodbyes. Six more what? Well, you play in seven cities when you're on the road. You must have a girl in every city, you know, like a sailor, a girl in every port. What's Miss Boston's name? I never said I had a girl in Boston. Have you? How about Philadelphia, St. Louis, Detroit, Cleveland, Washington, New York? You forgot Chicago. Chicago? Yes. Who? Well, aren't you my girl? Why, Mr. Garrick, whatever gave you that idea. Well, I've seen you every trip out here and this time four days in a row. And then you come out here with me tonight. Isn't that what best girls do? Yes, it is. Sure. Well, why don't you write me all about it from St. Louis when you're finished this season? The series wound up in St. Louis that year. The Yankees needed only one more game to clinch the world's championship. And I'll never forget the day of that last game. Yes, sir, this is the World Series that'll go down in history. Babe Ruth and Lou Garrick have each had a home run for a little boy bedridden in a St. Louis hospital. But here in the press box, I've just been informed that Garrick has promised two homers for that kid in the hospital. And here we are in the eighth inning and Garrick is at bat again. Will he do it? Here comes the pitch. And it's wide. Looks like they're going to pass him. Here comes the next pitch. And it's another wide one. Come on, pitch to me. Two men on base, two out. And it looks like they're going to walk Garrick his last time at bat in this World Series. Come on, give me one I can reach. It's three balls. Garrick waiting for the next pitch. And here it comes. It's way wide. But Garrick is reaching for it desperately. And there it goes. It's going, going. And he does it. Garrick's second homer scoring three runs and clinching this World Series. Oh, you did it. What a ball game. Thanks, Blake. I was lucky. Oh, here, Porter, I'll take it. Open it for me, Blake. Sure. It's from Chicago. What's it say? It just says love and it's unsigned. Out of my way, Blake. I am not going with you. Now, Lowe, come back here. Where are you going? To Chicago to see if a girl named unsigned has a home for a new Fallon puppy. Screen directors play out production of Pride of the Angles starring Gary Cooper. You are at Phoenix, Arizona. The big constellation taxis up to the airport. You, tired and bored from your long flight, walk down the steps from your plane into the dry desert air. So this is Arizona. The blazing sunshine feels mighty good and mighty hot. Perhaps while you're waiting for your baggage, you can find a cold bottle of, ah, there you are. That little blue sign in the window. Papst Blue Ribbon, finest beer served anywhere. Yes, during these late September days, you're just one of millions of men all over America to whom that Papst Blue Ribbon sign means welcome relief. Or Papst Blue Ribbon does something more than quench your thirst. It gives you taste. Blue Ribbon taste. The kind of taste you can't get anywhere else in the world, except in that Papst Blue Ribbon bottle. And fortunately, you can get that Papst Blue Ribbon bottle all over the world. Yes, you hear it everywhere in Phoenix and Philadelphia and Fresno and Fort Lauderdale. Papst Blue Ribbon, finest beer served anywhere. Your taste will tell you why. Now back to the screen directors playhouse production of Pride of the Angles starring Gary Cooper with Marine Tuttle as Ellie and Frank Lovejoy as Blake. There are two firsts now in Blue Garrett's life, baseball and his new wife, Eleanor. And for the life of me, I couldn't figure out which one came first. I was best man of the wedding, and now some years later, here I was still ringing their apartment bill. Oh, hello, Blake. Come in. Happy anniversary. Here for the bride. Thanks, Blake. At least you remembered. Oh, where's Lou? I was hoping he was with you. With me? Did he say that... Oh, now look, Ellie, I bet you this is the first time he's been late since he was married. This is the fourth time, Blake, and I know where he is. Oh, now don't talk like that, Ellie. Lou is true blue. Where are you going? I'm going to get it. Oh, you can't do that. I can. Oh, I can't believe it. Almost destroys my faith in human nature. Lou Garrett would... Hi, Ellie. Hi, Blake. Lou, I know where you've been. Now, wait a minute, Ellie. At least give them a chance to explain. What do you mean, explain? Ellie just wants to know what the score was. I want the truth, Lou. 23 to 22, so help me. Score, what are you two talking about? Sandlot baseball. I've been umpiring a kid's game on a vacant lot. I told you I knew where he was in my place. Why, you don't talk to me, you bourgeois. And you, Lou, playing with a bunch of kids in your anniversary. Gotta keep my hand in. I'm a baseball player. Yep, Blake was right. You still stand up at the back real fine, Mr. Garrett. Gosh. When you said that, the Chicago Raths getter where we met jumped right up in my lap. You've won a lot of records since then, Lou. Most valuable player in the American League. And the record I like best is that I haven't missed a game since I started playing for the Yankees. I know. Not even for a honeymoon. What's wrong with a honeymoon in the Yankee Stadium? Nothing, darling. Nothing. I loved every minute of it. You remember when the photographers took our picture after the wedding? After the game with me. One more kissing the bride, huh, Mr. Garrett? Like this? Hold it. Now how about another one, the bride kissing the groom? Oh, please, Mr. Garrett. Girl's got to breathe. Come on, I'll end your wrestling. Now what are you doing? Put your elbow on the table. Now, now try and push my hand back on the table. I'll do it this time. Come on. Say you're my tangle foot. Say it. I'm your tangle foot. I'm your tangle foot. Yeah, that's better. I'll win it. But I'll win someday, fair and square, and make you say it. Those were wonderful years for Lou Gehrig and wonderful years for baseball. A lot of changes had taken place on the Yankee team since Lou first signed with him. Miller Huggins was dead now, and Joe McCarthy was manager of the New York Club. Babe Ruth left the Yankees, and Lou Gehrig was captain of the team. But I was still with him the day he played his 2,000th consecutive game. Come on there, Iron Man. Want to be late for the game? Come in a minute, Blake. There's no hurry. No hurry, he says. On your 2,000th game? I wouldn't be surprised if the fans chipped in and bought you an automobile. Maybe they'll give me a yacht. Sure, an automobile and a yacht and a Statue of Liberty. I think I better go, Ellie. I'll go on, but I'm warning you. All you'll get is a horseshoe of roses. Oh, I don't be so cynical, Ellie. With good luck, Lou Gehrig on a ribbon. This 2,000th game today, I have the great pleasure of presenting to Lou Gehrig as a token of our greatest team, this beautiful horseshoe of roses. Good luck, Lou Gehrig. Hiya, Tanglefoot. Oh, no. A horseshoe of roses. Suitably inscribed. Oh, darling, come in. You look so funny with that horseshoe of roses around your neck. I wanted to knock a Homer for you the day, but maybe I tried too hard. I stuck out three times. Oh, if they only realized what was back of those 2,000 games they'd have given you the Yankee Stadium. Here's what to do with their old roses, Pat. Hey, look out. Pat's right back at you for having blue eyes. And this is for the time in Chicago you got beaned and went right on flame. And this is for being the best fan a man ever had. And that's for when you played 12 innings in St. Louis with a broken toe. Hey, hey, don't, don't. I'll indian wrestle you. Give me your hand. All right, come on. I'll see your tangle foot. Say it. Okay, I'm a tangle foot. I won! I made you say it fair and square I won. Now, don't pretend you let me. Oh, hey, my shoulder. Lou, what's wrong? I don't know. I must have sprained it. Does it hurt bad? Kind of like it's paralyzed. I felt sort of stiff at the game, and maybe that's why I struck out. You see that? Lou Gehrig struck out again. What's gotten into that guy anyway? He's slipping all right. What an exhibition. You call that baseball? Gehrig booted the game. Throw it right down a drain. I tell you, Lou, you ought to see a doctor. You owe it to the Yankees. Okay, Blake. Maybe you're right. Sorry to keep you waiting, gentlemen, but I wanted to have a look at these x-rays. How did I do, doctor? I'm afraid you'll have to give up baseball for a while. You see, Mr. Gehrig... Go ahead, doc. I'm a man who likes to know his batting average. Of course, I've only made a superficial examination of the tests. Is it three strikes, doc? It's three strikes. How much time have I got? Have her come in, please. Doc, I don't want her to know ever. I understand, but the newspapers... Leave everything to me, Lou. All right, come in. Hi, Ellie. Well, the verdict's in. I just got a little something, that's all. What is it? Well, I'll be cured of it before I learn how to pronounce it. Doc, can you pronounce it? We, uh... Doc's got to take one more x-ray, Ellie. We'll be right back. Just for the record, Mrs. Gehrig. Be right back. Blake, what did the doctor tell Lou? Well, nothing. Nothing at all. One of those little things with a big name. Tell me the truth, Blake. Well, that's the truth. Some kind of itis. In jail, the doctor said? When is Lou going to die, Blake? How did you know? I could read it in your eyes. All of you. Don't let him know that I know. That afternoon at the stadium, Lou Gehrig took himself out of the lineup. The fans heard the news for the first time. A hush came over the crowd. Lou Gehrig, the Iron Man, was through. After 2,130 consecutive games, 14 years, a legend in the history of baseball was finished. But the fans, the baseball public who loved him, weren't going to let him go out this way. Spontaneously, an idea sprang into being at tribute. Lou Gehrig Day at the Yankee Stadium. A tribute from the millions of men, women, and children whose hearts were with him. Listen to the news. It's sort of funny, Ellie, standing here in the dressing room tunnel for the last time. What do you mean, for the last time? Next season, you'll be back bigger than ever. Yeah, maybe. Lou, I just thought of something. We've never had a honeymoon. Why shouldn't we have one now? Better late than never, huh, Ellie? Yeah, we've got all the time in the world now, haven't we? All the time in the world. Ellie, I, here, I had this made up for you. A bracelet. Out of your medal. No, it's just some of the hardware I've collected. Ellie. I guess I've got a right to cry a little. It's so beautiful. I wanted you to have it, Ellie, because you've given me so much. You've been so, you're such... Oh, you're dope. Are you making love to me, big ape? Go on, Tanglefoot. And you... Okay, Tanglefoot. Bearing his uniform for the last time, Lou walked alone from the tunnel. When he reached the microphone, 62,000 voices stopped screaming. The entire stadium rose in silent tribute, waiting for him to speak. I have been walking on ball fields for 16 years, and I have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. I have had the great honor to have played with the greatest veteran ball players of all time. I have been given fame, and undeserved praise by my friends, the sportswriters. I have worked under the two greatest managers of all time, Miller Huggins and Joe McCarthy. I have a mother and a father who fought to give me health and a solid background in my youth. I have a wife, a companion, a companion for life, who has shown me more courage than I ever knew. People all say I've had a bad break, but today, today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. Lou turned at the man in the green and walked slowly across the ball field toward the tunnel. Not once looking back, walking out of baseball, not of his life, the champion. And all over America that afternoon, the hearts of millions more filled as they cheered him for the last time and said hail and farewell to our own Lou Gehrig, the pride of the Yankees. We've heard the last act of pride of the Yankees. Now here again is our star, Gary Cooper. Ladies and gentlemen, pride of the Yankees as a motion picture was a tribute to a great man. Tonight, it is a tribute to two great men. One of course was Lou Gehrig. The other was the director of pride of the Yankees, Sam Wood. Thank you, Gary. All of us in the screen director's guild respected Sam Wood and most of us loved him. I've known Sam for more than a third of a century. We first worked together in 1916. He was an extra and then I made him assistant director in my unit. I watched the development of a great talent that carried him into the ranks of the top directors. Sam was a pioneer in the motion picture industry and I've never known a more staunch supporter of individual freedom and the American way of life. He was a great director and a great citizen and a great man. All of us who knew him salute his passing. But we of the screen directors guild feel that this broadcast, the pride of the Yankees, which reflects his greatness as a director and as an American is the most sincere final tribute we can pay him tonight. Thank you, Mr. Cecil B. DeMille for your stirring tribute. This is the last performance of the summer series of screen directors playhouse to be presented under the sponsorship of Papst Blue Ribbon Beer. In the future, you'll be hearing this program on Mondays. Beginning next Monday, October 3rd, when the Hollywood screen directors present, the senator was in discreet, starring William Powell. For the exact time, consult the radio page of your newspaper. Speaking for the makers of Papst Blue Ribbon, I want to extend sincere thanks and congratulations to all the stars and players who have taken part in these fine dramas, to the screen directors who have supervised their production and to NBC. Also, a special note of thanks to Mr. Don Sharp for his splendid cooperation. Starting next week, the makers of Papst Blue Ribbon will bring you, at the same time and over the same network, that intensely humorous and human radio series entitled, The Life of Riley, starring William Bendix. For those within the range of television, Papst Blue Ribbon will also bring you on the NBC television network Tuesday nights, The Life of Riley. Remember, starting next week, Tuesday nights on television, Friday nights on radio, we invite you to enjoy The Life of Riley with Papst Blue Ribbon. Fine as beer served anywhere. Friday the Yankees was presented through the courtesy of Samuel Goldwin Productions, currently releasing Rosy Anna McCoy, starring Farley Granger and Joan Evans. Gary Cooper is currently starred in the Water Brothers Production Task Force. Included in tonight's cast with Lerene Tuttle as Ellie, Frank Lovejoy as Blake, Jim Nusser, Herb Bygren, Jerry Hausner, Ted Van Elst and Dan Riss. Friday the Yankees was adapted for radio by Warren Lewis, that original music was composed and conducted by Henry Russell. Screen Directors Playhouse is produced by Howard Wiley, with dramatic direction by Bill Karn. Don't forget, Screen Directors Playhouse will be heard henceforth on Mondays beginning next Monday, where the senator was indiscreet, starring William Powell. And next Friday night, make a date with William Bendix, at the same time and station, for The Life of Riley, as brought to you by the makers of Papst Blue Ribbon. Fine as beer served anywhere. Your taste will tell you why. Screen Directors Playhouse is brought to you by the Papst Brewing Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Newark, New Jersey and Peoria, Illinois. And sent your way with the best wishes of the Papst Blue Ribbon dealers from coast to coast. James Wallington speaking. You're tuned for the stars on NBC.