Cal Ripken, Jr.

Calvin Edwin "Cal" Ripken, Jr. was a 19-time All-Star shortstop and third baseman of the Baltimore Orioles, nicknamed the "Iron Man" of baseball, and one of the most admired athletes of our time. He is perhaps best known for breaking New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played, a record many deemed unbreakable. Ripken surpassed the 56-year-old record when he played in his 2,131 consecutive game on September 6, 1995, between the Orioles and the California Angels in front of a sold-out crowd at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. To make the feat even more memorable, Ripken hit a home run in the previous night's game that tied Gehrig's record and another home run in his 2,131st game, which fans later voted as the "most memorable moment" in the history of Major League Baseball. That evening, before a national television audience, he received a 22-minute standing ovation from the over-flow crowd at Camden Yards, and then his teammates pushed him onto the field for a victory lap. He circled the field, hugging and shaking the hands of hundreds of fans. Ripken played in an additional 501 straight games over the next three years, and his streak ended at 2,632 games when he voluntarily removed his name from the lineup for the final Orioles home game of the 1998 season. A 19-time All-Star and member of the 3,000 hit club, Ripken is considered one of the best shortstops and third basemen to ever play the game. When inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, he was a first ballot inductee with the third highest voting percentage (98.53%) in Hall of Fame history. Cal Ripken participated in the 1997 Achievement Summit in Baltimore, and spoke to the student delegates about his career as a baseball player and the personal attributes that led to his great success on the field.