Lou Gehrig's Iron Will To Win; Strive Every Day: The baseball great helped power the Yankees to their dynasty.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)

Byline: MICHAEL MINK

Whether baseball legend or a new kid on the job, there's one thing everyone has to guard against: complacency.

And we'd all do well to remember it, said Lou Gehrig.

"My success came from one word -- hustle," Gehrig said. "There is no excuse for a player not hustling. Every player owes it to himself, his club and to the public to hustle every minute he is on the ball field. And that goes for the star as much as for the kid who is fighting to get a regular job."

"Success brought Lou no sense of attainments, no relaxation. . . . He was afraid if he loosened his grip for a moment, everything he had struggled for would slip away," said Gehrig's wife, Eleanor, in "Lou Gehrig: An American Classic" by Richard Bak.

At the plate, Gehrig (1903-41) was a charter member of the New York Yankees' powerful lineup from 1925 to 1938, known as Murderers' Row. The left-handed first baseman slugged 493 career home runs, 10 in the World Series and 23 grand slams. His 1,991 career runs batted in rank him third all time, and his lifetime batting average of .340 ranks 15th. After his playing career was ended abruptly by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 1939, the Baseball Hall of Fame waived its five-year minimum waiting period and immediately voted him in. In 1999, he was voted to Major League Baseball's All-Century team.

Despite his success as a hitter, Gehrig worked to improve. He often asked for tips from fellow players.