Four score and seven years ago

As soon as Abraham Lincoln received a favorable battle report from Gettysburg in early July 1863, he at once paired the time of year with the time in which the United States had declared its independence from its mother country, and before long Lincoln did the arithmetic. The two events were separated by 87 years.

Months passed before Lincoln spoke on the subject of that battle and its consequences (in November), but his famous address on that occasion begins with the invocation of the length of time that passed between the two events: four score and seven years. This is likely the only reason the word "score" in that sense remains in the English language.

All of which, as we close in on the 250th anniversary of the same declaration of independence, induces me to ask: what happened just 87 years ago as I write?

That would be 1939. What happened on independence day that year? Four score and seven years ago, legendary first baseman Lou Gehrig delivered a farewell address to fans at Yankee Stadium, acknowledging medical news of a "bad break" while affirming that he considered himself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

We're told there was not a dry eye among the fans.

Four score and seven, Lou, and we still remember you.

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