In Memory of Michael Goldsmith, Baseball Fan and ALS Activist

Michael Goldsmith, the baseball fan who penned the Newsweek My Turn column that became a literal game-changer for Major League Baseball, died this week at age 58.

Goldsmith suffered and finally succumbed to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, the degenerative condition robbed Gehrig of his major leagure career and robs 30,000 Americans at any give time of their ability to walk, speak, and eventually breath. It's a rare disease -- striking 2 out of 10,000 -- but a brutal one, agonizing for both those who suffer from the disease and those who love them.

Gehrig is the most famous face of ALS, but it was Goldsmith who suggested, in a NEWSWEEK My Turn column that ran on November 1, 2008, that baseball join the fight in a more public and organized way:

Major League Baseball has never taken comprehensive action against ALS. Defeating ALS will require the same type of determination, dedication and drive that Gehrig and Cal Ripken demonstrated when they set superhuman records for consecutive games played. With this in mind, why not make July 4, 2009, ALS-Lou Gehrig Day? Dedicate this grim anniversary to funding research for a cure; every major- and minor-league stadium might project the video of Gehrig's farewell, and teams, players and fans could contribute to this cause.