The Alexander family chose to live like Lou when Neil Alexander was diagnosed with ALS in 2011 at the age of 47.
But that's not the end of Neil's story. Neil was determined from the moment he heard the words, “You have ALS,” that his certain death from the disease would not be his final chapter. Like his hero, Lou Gehrig, Neil wanted his children, Abby and Patrick, to remember him as courageous, strong, and—most importantly—grateful for the life he lived.
Through scores of lemonade stands, bike-a-thons, golf outings, swimming events, and parties, they raised more than $4 million in the local Pittsburgh community. With their funds, they helped establish the $5 million Live Like Lou Center for ALS Research at the University of Pittsburgh's Brain Institute and an endowment to provide significant grants to individuals with ALS and their families in Western Pennsylvania.
Since its inception, the brain institute has grown to include two primary investigators and leading laboratories of more than a dozen scientists. They have three patents pending and a spinoff therapeutics testing lab that went public in July 2022.
He chose to live life deliberately, intentionally, in as focused and as effective a way as possible. He called it “living like Lou” for baseball great Lou Gehrig, who handled his own ALS diagnosis with courage, determination, and gratitude.
Neil’s vision was always bigger than a single city. This same spirit forged a bond with Phi Delta Theta, a fraternity forever changed by Brother Lou Gehrig and guided by the principle of making a lasting impact. As conversations began, it was clear that Phi Delta Theta’s enduring commitment, coupled with Live Like Lou’s momentum, could ignite progress and possibility on a national scale.
Phi Delta Theta established the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in Major League Baseball in 1955. The award is given annually to the MLB player who best exemplifies the spirit and character of Brother Lou Gehrig, both on and off the field. The award was created to acknowledge an individual player’s outstanding commitment to his community and philanthropy. Since the award’s inception in 1955, each recipient’s name has been placed on the permanent Gehrig Award plaque, located at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.
In 2010, Phi Delta Theta launched the Iron Phi program to provide individual members an opportunity to strengthen their impact on the fight against Lou Gehrig’s disease by completing an athletic endeavor and raising at least $1,000 from their network of family and friends. As a result, more than 1,500 Phi Delts and friends of Phi Delts have accomplished their Iron Phi goal, and $3.2 million has been raised along the way.
