Cal Ripken Jr. | Academy of Achievement

<!doctype html> <html lang="en-US"> <head><script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=HxkREWBo" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("https://achievement.org/achiever/cal-ripken-jr/","20210905051909","https://web.archive.org/","web","/_static/", "1630819149"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=S1zqJCYt" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta http-equiv="x-ua-compatible" content="ie=edge"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="57x57" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-57x57.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="114x114" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-114x114.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="72x72" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-72x72.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="144x144" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-144x144.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="60x60" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-60x60.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="120x120" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-120x120.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="76x76" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-76x76.png"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="152x152" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/apple-touch-icon-152x152.png"/> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/favicon-196x196.png" sizes="196x196"/> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/favicon-96x96.png" sizes="96x96"/> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/favicon-32x32.png" sizes="32x32"/> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/favicon-16x16.png" sizes="16x16"/> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/favicon-128.png" sizes="128x128"/> <meta name="application-name" content="Academy of Achievement"/> <meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#000000"/> <meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/mstile-144x144.png"/> <meta name="msapplication-square70x70logo" content="https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/mstile-70x70.png"/> <meta name="msapplication-square150x150logo" content="https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/mstile-150x150.png"/> <meta name="msapplication-wide310x150logo" content="https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/mstile-310x150.png"/> <meta name="msapplication-square310x310logo" content="https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/favicon/mstile-310x310.png"/> <link href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909cs_/https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Source+Sans+Pro:400,600,400italic,600italic,700,700italic&display=swap" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> <meta name="robots" content="index, follow, max-image-preview:large, max-snippet:-1, max-video-preview:-1"/>  <title>Cal Ripken Jr. | Academy of Achievement</title> <meta name="description" content="On September 6, 1995, the crowd packed Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards to see baseball history in the making. When the legendary Lou Gehrig retired in 1939, he had played 2,130 consecutive games. His record had stood for 56 years, and for most of those years, fans and commentators believed it would never be broken. But Cal Ripken, Jr. arrived that September day having matched Gehrig’s record, persevering season after season through grueling schedules and repeated injuries. When the day’s game reached its record-breaking mid-point, the assembled fans cheered Ripken for 22 minutes as he circled the field, accepting the congratulations of his ecstatic fans. The celebration of Ripken’s achievement remains one of the most memorable moments in sports history. Cal Ripken’s career is remarkable in other ways too. In 20 seasons he played for only one team, the Baltimore Orioles. He played in 19 All-Star games, was twice named Most Valuable Player in the American League and in the All-Star Game, twice received a Gold Glove as best shortstop in the American League, and holds the records for most hits by a player as shortstop. Most of all, he earned the respect and admiration of men and women in all walks of life for the persistence and resilience that earned him the nickname “the Iron Man of Baseball.” Now retired from the field, he is devoted to bringing the excitement and inspiration of baseball to young people in all communities."/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/cal-ripken-jr/"/> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Cal Ripken Jr. | Academy of Achievement"/> <meta property="og:description" content="On September 6, 1995, the crowd packed Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards to see baseball history in the making. When the legendary Lou Gehrig retired in 1939, he had played 2,130 consecutive games. His record had stood for 56 years, and for most of those years, fans and commentators believed it would never be broken. But Cal Ripken, Jr. arrived that September day having matched Gehrig’s record, persevering season after season through grueling schedules and repeated injuries. When the day’s game reached its record-breaking mid-point, the assembled fans cheered Ripken for 22 minutes as he circled the field, accepting the congratulations of his ecstatic fans. The celebration of Ripken’s achievement remains one of the most memorable moments in sports history. Cal Ripken’s career is remarkable in other ways too. In 20 seasons he played for only one team, the Baltimore Orioles. He played in 19 All-Star games, was twice named Most Valuable Player in the American League and in the All-Star Game, twice received a Gold Glove as best shortstop in the American League, and holds the records for most hits by a player as shortstop. Most of all, he earned the respect and admiration of men and women in all walks of life for the persistence and resilience that earned him the nickname “the Iron Man of Baseball.” Now retired from the field, he is devoted to bringing the excitement and inspiration of baseball to young people in all communities."/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/cal-ripken-jr/"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Academy of Achievement"/> <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2021-02-08T18:35:13+00:00"/> <meta property="og:image" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ripken-Feature-Image-81394623-760x304.png"/> <meta property="og:image:width" content="760"/> <meta property="og:image:height" content="304"/> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary"/> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@achievers1961"/> <script type="application/ld+json" class="yoast-schema-graph">{"@context":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/#organization","name":"Academy of Achievement","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/","sameAs":["https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-academy-of-achievement","https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChe_87uh1H-NIMf3ndTjPFw","https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_of_Achievement","https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://twitter.com/achievers1961"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/#logo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/12.png","contentUrl":"/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/12.png","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Academy of Achievement"},"image":{"@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/#logo"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/#website","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/","name":"Academy of Achievement","description":"A museum of living history","publisher":{"@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/search/{search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/cal-ripken-jr/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ripken-Feature-Image-81394623.png","contentUrl":"/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ripken-Feature-Image-81394623.png","width":2800,"height":1120,"caption":"UNITED STATES - JUNE 04: Baseball: Closeup of Baltimore Orioles Cal Ripken in action vs Detroit Tigers, Detroit, MI 6/4/1989 (Photo by Tony Tomsic/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (SetNumber: X38420 TK1 R2 F25)"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/cal-ripken-jr/#webpage","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/cal-ripken-jr/","name":"Cal Ripken Jr. | Academy of Achievement","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/cal-ripken-jr/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2021-01-12T22:06:49+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-08T18:35:13+00:00","description":"On September 6, 1995, the crowd packed Baltimore\u2019s Oriole Park at Camden Yards to see baseball history in the making.\u00a0 When the legendary Lou Gehrig retired in 1939, he had played 2,130 consecutive games.\u00a0 His record had stood for 56 years, and for most of those years, fans and commentators believed it would never be broken. But Cal Ripken, Jr. arrived that September day having matched Gehrig\u2019s record, persevering season after season through grueling schedules and repeated injuries. When the day\u2019s game reached its record-breaking mid-point, the assembled fans cheered Ripken for 22 minutes as he circled the field, accepting the congratulations of his ecstatic fans.\u00a0 The celebration of Ripken\u2019s achievement remains one of the most memorable moments in sports history. Cal Ripken\u2019s career is remarkable in other ways too.\u00a0 In 20 seasons he played for only one team, the Baltimore Orioles.\u00a0 He played in 19 All-Star games, was twice named Most Valuable Player in the American League and in the All-Star Game, twice received a Gold Glove as best shortstop in the American League, and holds the records for most hits by a player as shortstop. Most of all, he earned the respect and admiration of men and women in all walks of life for the persistence and resilience that earned him the nickname \u201cthe Iron Man of Baseball.\u201d Now retired from the field, he is devoted to bringing the excitement and inspiration of baseball to young people in all communities.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/cal-ripken-jr/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/cal-ripken-jr/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/cal-ripken-jr/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Achievers","item":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Cal Ripken Jr."}]}]}</script>  <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://s.w.org/"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/web/20210905051909cs_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/dist/styles/main-fb4131a9f6.css"> <script src="/web/20210905051909js_/https://achievement.org/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js?ver=3.5.1" id="jquery-core-js"></script> <script src="/web/20210905051909js_/https://achievement.org/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery-migrate.min.js?ver=3.3.2" id="jquery-migrate-js"></script> <script async src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909js_/https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=UA-2384096-1"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [ ] ; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag( 'js', new Date () ) ; gtag( 'config', 'UA-2384096-1'); gtag( 'config', 'AW-1021199739'); </script> </head> <body data-rsssl="1" class="achiever-template-default single single-achiever postid-68669 cal-ripken-jr sidebar-primary">  <header class="main-header bg-black"> <div class="search-container clearfix"> <div class="container"> <a class="brand" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/"> <img class="logo" src="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/logo@2x.png" alt="Academy of Achievement"/> </a> <div class="search-form__container"> <form action="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/" method="get" class="search-form"> <input type="search" name="s" id="search" class="form-control transparent-input" placeholder="Search" autocomplete="off" value=""/> <label for="s"><i class="icon-icon_search"></i></label> </form> </div> <ul id="menu-header-navigation" class="header-menu list-unstyled"><li class="menu-item menu-home"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/">Home</a></li> <li class="active menu-item menu-item-has-children menu-our-members"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/">Our Members</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li class="active menu-item menu-member-interviews"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/">Member Interviews</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-the-arts"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.the-arts">The Arts</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-business"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.business">Business</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-science-exploration"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.science-exploration">Science & Exploration</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-public-service"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.public-service">Public Service</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-sports"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.sports">Sports</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-achiever-universe"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/universe/">Achiever Universe</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="menu-item menu-item-has-children menu-the-summit"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/summit/">The Summit</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li class="menu-item menu-summit-overview"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/summit/">Summit Overview</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2019"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/summit/2019/">2019</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2017"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/summit/2017/">2017</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2014"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/summit/2014/">2014</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2012"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/summit/2012/">2012</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2010"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/summit/2010/">2010</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2009"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/summit/2009/">2009</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2008"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/summit/2008/">2008</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2007"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/summit/2007/">2007</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2006"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/summit/2006/">2006</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2005"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/summit/2005/">2005</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2004"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/summit/2004/">2004</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-2003"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/summit/2003/">2003</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="menu-item menu-item-has-children menu-our-history"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/our-history/">Our History</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li class="menu-item menu-about-the-academy"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/our-history/">About The Academy</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-academy-patrons"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/our-history/patrons/">Academy Patrons</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-delegate-alumni"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/our-history/alumni/">Delegate Alumni</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-directors-our-team"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/our-history/director-staff/">Directors & Our Team</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-golden-plate-awards-council"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/our-history/awards-council/">Golden Plate Awards Council</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-golden-plate-awardees"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/">Golden Plate Awardees</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="menu-item menu-item-has-children menu-keys-to-success"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/">Keys to Success</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li class="menu-item menu-overview"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/">Overview</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-passion"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/passion/">Passion</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-vision"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/vision/">Vision</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-preparation"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/preparation/">Preparation</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-courage"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/courage/">Courage</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-perseverance"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/perseverance/">Perseverance</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-integrity"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/integrity/">Integrity</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-the-american-dream"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/the-american-dream/">The American Dream</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-recommended-books"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/recommended-books/">Recommended Books</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-find-my-role-model"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/find-my-role-model/">Find My Role Model</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <div class="nav-toggle"> <div class="icon-bar top-bar"></div> <div class="icon-bar middle-bar"></div> <div class="icon-bar bottom-bar"></div> </div> <div class="search-toogle icon-icon_search" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#searchModal" data-gtm-category="search" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Header Search Icon"></div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="" role="document"> <div class="content"> <main class="main"> <div class="feature-area__container"> <header class="feature-area feature-area--has-image ratio-container ratio-container--feature"> <figure class="feature-box"> <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image feature-area__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ripken-Feature-Image-81394623.png [(max-width:544px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ripken-Feature-Image-81394623-1400x560.png [(max-width:992px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ripken-Feature-Image-81394623.png"></div> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <figcaption class="feature-area__text ratio-container__text container"> <div class="feature-area__text-inner text-white"> <h2 class="serif-8 feature-area__text-subhead back"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever">All achievers</a></h2> <h1 class="serif-1 entry-title feature-area__text-headline">Cal Ripken Jr.</h1> <h5 class="sans-6 feature-area__blurb">Baseball Hall of Fame</h5> </div> </figcaption> </div> </div> </figure> </header> </div>  <nav class="in-page-nav row fixedsticky"> <ul class="nav text-xs-center clearfix" role="tablist"> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link active" data-toggle="tab" href="#biography" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Biography">Biography</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#profile" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Profile">Profile</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#interview" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Interview">Interview</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#gallery" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Gallery">Gallery</a> </li> </ul> </nav> <article class="post-68669 achiever type-achiever status-publish has-post-thumbnail hentry careers-athlete careers-baseball-player"> <div class="entry-content container clearfix">  <div class="tab-content"> <div class="tab-pane active" id="biography" role="tabpanel"> <section class="achiever--biography"> <div class="banner clearfix"> <div class="banner--single clearfix"> <div class="col-lg-8 col-lg-offset-2"> <div class="banner__image__container"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/what-it-takes/id1025864075?mt=2" target="_blank"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <img class="lazyload banner__image" data-src="/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/WhatItTakes_ripken-256-190x190.jpg" alt=""/> </figure> </a> </div> <div class="banner__text__container"> <h3 class="serif-3 banner__headline"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/what-it-takes/id1025864075?mt=2" target="_blank"> Listen to this achiever on <i>What It Takes</i> </a> </h3> <p class="sans-6 banner__text m-b-0"><i>What It Takes</i> is an audio podcast produced by the American Academy of Achievement featuring intimate, revealing conversations with influential leaders in the diverse fields of endeavor: public service, science and exploration, sports, technology, business, arts and humanities, and justice.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <header class="editorial-article__header col-md-8 col-md-offset-2 text-xs-center"> <i class="icon-icon_bio text-brand-primary"></i> <h3 class="serif-3 quote-marks">There’s a value that everybody understands in their own life: the importance of showing up and committing to something.</h3> </header> </div> <div class="row"> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar clearfix"> <h2 class="serif-3 p-b-1">The Iron Man of Baseball</h2> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Birth</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> August 24, 1960 </dd> </div> </aside> <article class="editorial-article col-md-8"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><p>Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland, and grew up nearby in Aberdeen. His father, Cal Ripken Sr., had set out to become a professional baseball player; when his playing career was cut short by injuries, he became a coach and manager in the Baltimore Orioles organization. Cal Jr. grew up around the game; his father taught him the fundamentals, and by his teens, was working out with minor league players in the Orioles system. Ripken was an outstanding player on his high school team, the Aberdeen Eagles, pitching the winning game in the state championship. His pitching skills alone attracted interest from colleges around the country as well as professional teams.</p> <figure id="attachment_69033" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69033" style="width: 1634px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-69033 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ripken-young-sidebyside.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69033 lazyload" alt="" width="1634" height="1065" data-sizes="(max-width: 1634px) 100vw, 1634px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ripken-young-sidebyside.jpg 1634w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ripken-young-sidebyside-380x248.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ripken-young-sidebyside-760x495.jpg 760w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ripken-young-sidebyside-1536x1001.jpg 1536w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ripken-young-sidebyside-1520x991.jpg 1520w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ripken-young-sidebyside.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69033" class="wp-caption-text">Young Cal Ripken, Jr. “born with a bat and ball in his hands,” in Aberdeen, Maryland.; 7-year-old Cal Ripken, Jr.</figcaption></figure> <p>On graduating from high school in 1978, Ripken was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the second round of the year’s Major League Baseball draft. For the next three years, he worked his way up through the Orioles farm system, from the Bluefield Orioles in the Appalachian League to the Single-A Miami Orioles in the Florida State League to the Charlotte Orioles in the Double-A Southern League. While playing in the minors, he matured into a prodigious hitter. In his last season with Charlotte, he set the team record for home runs in a single season. His team won the Southern League championship and Ripken was named to the league’s All-Star team.</p> <figure id="attachment_69043" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69043" style="width: 2242px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-69043 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Aberdeen-Indians-sidebyside-1.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-69043 size-full lazyload" alt="" width="2242" height="1005" data-sizes="(max-width: 2242px) 100vw, 2242px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Aberdeen-Indians-sidebyside-1.jpg 2242w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Aberdeen-Indians-sidebyside-1-380x170.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Aberdeen-Indians-sidebyside-1-760x341.jpg 760w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Aberdeen-Indians-sidebyside-1-1536x689.jpg 1536w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Aberdeen-Indians-sidebyside-1-2048x918.jpg 2048w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Aberdeen-Indians-sidebyside-1-1520x681.jpg 1520w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Aberdeen-Indians-sidebyside-1.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69043" class="wp-caption-text">1970: 10-year-old Cal Ripken, Jr., second from right, middle row, with the Aberdeen Indians.; Ripken in 7th grade.</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1981, Ripken trained with the Baltimore Orioles but was assigned to the Rochester Red Wings of the Triple-A International League at the start of the season. As the Red Wings’ third baseman, he played the longest game in the history of professional baseball. This epic contest between the Red Wings and the Pawtucket Red Sox on April 18, 1991, and lasted into the early hours of the next day. Still tied after 32 innings, the two teams met again on April 23 to play 33rd and final inning.  After eight hours and 25 minutes of total playing times, Pawtucket prevailed, but Ripken had made an impression and was named the International League’s Rookie of the Year.</p> <figure id="attachment_69056" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69056" style="width: 1910px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-69056 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-sidebyside-My-Freshmen-year-of-high-school.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69056 lazyload" alt="" width="1910" height="995" data-sizes="(max-width: 1910px) 100vw, 1910px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-sidebyside-My-Freshmen-year-of-high-school.jpg 1910w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-sidebyside-My-Freshmen-year-of-high-school-380x198.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-sidebyside-My-Freshmen-year-of-high-school-760x396.jpg 760w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-sidebyside-My-Freshmen-year-of-high-school-1536x800.jpg 1536w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-sidebyside-My-Freshmen-year-of-high-school-1520x792.jpg 1520w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-sidebyside-My-Freshmen-year-of-high-school.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69056" class="wp-caption-text">16-year-old Cal Ripken, Jr., before he was drafted, with Cal Ripken, Sr. at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.; Ripken pitching for Aberdeen High School in Maryland, in 1978, where he played both varsity baseball and varsity soccer.</figcaption></figure> <p>Midway through the 1981 season, Ripken was called to join the Orioles in Baltimore.  He played his first major league game on August 10, as a pinch runner, scoring the winning run in a game against the Kansas City Royals. Early in his minor league career, he had moved from shortstop to third base; at Baltimore, the process was reversed. He began the 1982 season on third but was moved to shortstop by manager Earl Weaver.  At the time it was an unusual choice on Weaver’s part. Most shortstops in the major leagues were smaller players, chosen for speed and agility. At six feet, four inches tall, Ripken was as large a man as most spectators had seen play the position, but he so distinguished himself that other teams followed the Orioles’ example, and tall shortstops are no longer uncommon.</p> <figure id="attachment_69060" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69060" style="width: 1949px" class="wp-caption alignright"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-69060 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Red-Wings-018-Rochester-Redwings-AAA-of-the-Os-1981.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69060 lazyload" alt="" width="1949" height="1536" data-sizes="(max-width: 1949px) 100vw, 1949px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Red-Wings-018-Rochester-Redwings-AAA-of-the-Os-1981.jpg 1949w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Red-Wings-018-Rochester-Redwings-AAA-of-the-Os-1981-380x299.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Red-Wings-018-Rochester-Redwings-AAA-of-the-Os-1981-760x599.jpg 760w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Red-Wings-018-Rochester-Redwings-AAA-of-the-Os-1981-1536x1211.jpg 1536w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Red-Wings-018-Rochester-Redwings-AAA-of-the-Os-1981-1520x1198.jpg 1520w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Red-Wings-018-Rochester-Redwings-AAA-of-the-Os-1981.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69060" class="wp-caption-text">In 1981, Ripken was added to the Orioles’ 40-man roster but sent to the Rochester Red Wings of the Triple-A International League to start the season. That year, he was named the International League Rookie of the Year.</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1982, Ripken won the American League’s Rookie of the Year award. By the following year, he was leading the league and setting records as a defensive player and as a hitter. In the 1982 season, he also took the first step to a more momentous record; although he sat out the second game of a double-header that season, he would not miss another game for the next 13 years.</p> <p>In 1983, Cal Ripken was named the American League’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) — the first time in major league history that a player had won Rookie of the Year and MVP in consecutive seasons. The Orioles made it to the World Series, with Ripken making the final out against the Philadelphia Phillies to win the fifth game of the series and give the championship to Baltimore. The following season, Ripken signed a long-term contract with the Orioles, set his league’s season record for assists (583), and steadily improved his hitting average.  In 1985, Ripken sprained his ankle in the second game of the season, but finished the game and was back on the field for the very next game, two days later. The baseball world was on notice: injury or no injury, Cal Ripken was going to show up.</p> <figure id="attachment_69096" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69096" style="width: 1707px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-69096 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-SR-WITH-BILLY-AND-JR-WP-GettyImages-490425103-scaled.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-69096 size-full lazyload" alt="" width="1707" height="2560" data-sizes="(max-width: 1707px) 100vw, 1707px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-SR-WITH-BILLY-AND-JR-WP-GettyImages-490425103-scaled.jpg 1707w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-SR-WITH-BILLY-AND-JR-WP-GettyImages-490425103-253x380.jpg 253w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-SR-WITH-BILLY-AND-JR-WP-GettyImages-490425103-507x760.jpg 507w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-SR-WITH-BILLY-AND-JR-WP-GettyImages-490425103-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-SR-WITH-BILLY-AND-JR-WP-GettyImages-490425103-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-SR-WITH-BILLY-AND-JR-WP-GettyImages-490425103-760x1140.jpg 760w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-SR-WITH-BILLY-AND-JR-WP-GettyImages-490425103-1520x2280.jpg 1520w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-SR-WITH-BILLY-AND-JR-WP-GettyImages-490425103-scaled.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69096" class="wp-caption-text">1987: Baltimore Orioles’ manager Cal Ripken, Sr. (7) with sons (L-R) Billy Ripken (5) and Cal Ripken, Jr. (8) during spring training at Miami Stadium in Florida. (Photo by Ronald C. Modra and Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure> <p>Ripken finished the 1985 season leading the league in double plays and putouts. The Orioles finished last in 1986, but Ripken enjoyed a 17-game hitting streak and surpassed his friend and teammate Eddie Murray with a season total of 25 home runs. The 1987 season was a Ripken family reunion of sorts, with Cal Ripken Sr. managing the team and Cal Jr.’s brother Billy taking the field alongside him. When Cal Sr. took a flagging Cal Jr. off the field in mid-game, it ended his record-setting streak of 8,243 consecutive innings played. That record still stands, and the mid-game break did not interrupt the young ballplayer’s steadily growing record of consecutive games played.</p> <figure id="attachment_69100" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69100" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-69100 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-AUG-Ripken-Jr.-hurdles-Cleveland-Indians-Andy-Allanson-GettyImages-515213826.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69100 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1508" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-AUG-Ripken-Jr.-hurdles-Cleveland-Indians-Andy-Allanson-GettyImages-515213826.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-AUG-Ripken-Jr.-hurdles-Cleveland-Indians-Andy-Allanson-GettyImages-515213826-380x251.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-AUG-Ripken-Jr.-hurdles-Cleveland-Indians-Andy-Allanson-GettyImages-515213826-760x503.jpg 760w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-AUG-Ripken-Jr.-hurdles-Cleveland-Indians-Andy-Allanson-GettyImages-515213826-1536x1016.jpg 1536w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-AUG-Ripken-Jr.-hurdles-Cleveland-Indians-Andy-Allanson-GettyImages-515213826-2048x1355.jpg 2048w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-AUG-Ripken-Jr.-hurdles-Cleveland-Indians-Andy-Allanson-GettyImages-515213826-1520x1005.jpg 1520w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-AUG-Ripken-Jr.-hurdles-Cleveland-Indians-Andy-Allanson-GettyImages-515213826.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69100" class="wp-caption-text">1987: Baltimore Orioles’ shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr., hurdles Cleveland Indians’ Andy Allanson as he throws to first to complete a double play on a ball hit by Indians’ Brett Butler in the second inning of the game in Baltimore. (Getty)</figcaption></figure> <p>Cal Ripken Sr. left his coaching position at the Orioles the following season, although brothers Cal Jr. and Billy continued to play together, setting a joint hitting record as the greatest “brother act” in the history of the American League. Cal Ripken’s performance was a highlight of the 1988 All-Star game as well. Although he experimented with a variety of batting stances over the years to overcome occasional slumps in his performance at home plate, his fielding was consistently impressive. In 1989, he played 47 consecutive games without an error. In 1990, he moved into second place in the ranking of most consecutive games played, a record set by the venerated Lou Gehrig in 1939.</p> <p>Ripken’s batting continued to improve and his all-around mastery of the game made his 1991 season exceptional. He won the year’s Home Run Derby, was the American League’s MVP for the second time, led the American League to victory in the All-Star game, won the All-Star Game MVP Award, and received his first Gold Glove Award as the leading shortstop in the American League. In 1992 Ripken signed a five-year, $30.5 million contract with the Orioles — the largest contract in baseball history up to that time — and won a second Gold Glove award.</p> <figure id="attachment_69108" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69108" style="width: 1739px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-69108 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-Ripken-Murray-GettyImages-56403237-scaled.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69108 lazyload" alt="" width="1739" height="2560" data-sizes="(max-width: 1739px) 100vw, 1739px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-Ripken-Murray-GettyImages-56403237-scaled.jpg 1739w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-Ripken-Murray-GettyImages-56403237-258x380.jpg 258w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-Ripken-Murray-GettyImages-56403237-516x760.jpg 516w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-Ripken-Murray-GettyImages-56403237-1043x1536.jpg 1043w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-Ripken-Murray-GettyImages-56403237-1391x2048.jpg 1391w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-Ripken-Murray-GettyImages-56403237-760x1119.jpg 760w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-Ripken-Murray-GettyImages-56403237-1520x2238.jpg 1520w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-Ripken-Murray-GettyImages-56403237-scaled.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69108" class="wp-caption-text">1980s: Baltimore Orioles’ Cal Ripken, Jr. and Eddie Murray at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. (© Getty)</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1993, the Orioles moved from their old home at Memorial Stadium to the new Oriole Park at Camden Yards, in downtown Baltimore, blocks from the city’s Inner Harbor. Ripken scored his 2,000th hit that season, and proved his resilience once again, returning to the field the day after injuring his knee in a scuffle with the opposing team. After a brief slump, his hitting improved dramatically after the 1993 All-Star game, and was even better in the 1994 season, when he broke the record for most career home runs as a shortstop and played his 2,000th game.</p> <figure id="attachment_69115" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69115" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-69115 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-sept-5-wp-GettyImages-81369291.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69115 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1513" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-sept-5-wp-GettyImages-81369291.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-sept-5-wp-GettyImages-81369291-380x252.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-sept-5-wp-GettyImages-81369291-760x504.jpg 760w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-sept-5-wp-GettyImages-81369291-1536x1019.jpg 1536w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-sept-5-wp-GettyImages-81369291-2048x1359.jpg 2048w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-sept-5-wp-GettyImages-81369291-1520x1009.jpg 1520w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-sept-5-wp-GettyImages-81369291.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69115" class="wp-caption-text">September 6, 1996: Baltimore Orioles’ Cal Ripken, Jr. #8 steps on the field at Oriole Park at Camden Yards before breaking Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games record. (Photo: Chuck Solomon and Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1995, fans counted the games as Ripken approached Lou Gehrig’s seemingly unbreakable record of 2,130 consecutive games played. On September 6, 1995, President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore joined a packed stadium of Oriole fans to witness the record-breaking event. Major League Baseball games are officially counted for the record after the first half of the fifth inning. When the moment came, a giant banner on the wall of the B&O Railroad warehouse overlooking Camden Yards switched from 2,130 to 2,131, marking Ripken’s achievement.  He acknowledged the fans with a gracious speech and the entire stadium of 50,000 people gave Ripken a 22-minute standing ovation as he took a long lap around the field, slapping hands with fans and players alike.</p> <figure id="attachment_69119" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69119" style="width: 2560px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-69119 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1996-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-FANS-TEAMMATES-IN-DUGOUT-GettyImages-1197381482-scaled.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69119 lazyload" alt="" width="2560" height="1698" data-sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1996-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-FANS-TEAMMATES-IN-DUGOUT-GettyImages-1197381482-scaled.jpg 2560w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1996-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-FANS-TEAMMATES-IN-DUGOUT-GettyImages-1197381482-380x252.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1996-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-FANS-TEAMMATES-IN-DUGOUT-GettyImages-1197381482-760x504.jpg 760w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1996-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-FANS-TEAMMATES-IN-DUGOUT-GettyImages-1197381482-1536x1019.jpg 1536w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1996-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-FANS-TEAMMATES-IN-DUGOUT-GettyImages-1197381482-2048x1358.jpg 2048w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1996-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-FANS-TEAMMATES-IN-DUGOUT-GettyImages-1197381482-1520x1008.jpg 1520w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1996-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-FANS-TEAMMATES-IN-DUGOUT-GettyImages-1197381482-scaled.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69119" class="wp-caption-text">September 6, 1995: Cal Ripken, Jr. in front of the dugout waving to fans after he surpassed Lou Gehrig as baseball’s greatest Iron Man by playing in a record-breaking 2,131st consecutive game. (© Walter Iooss Jr. / Sports Illustrated)</figcaption></figure> <p>Because Lou Gehrig’s life and career were cut short by the neuromuscular disease ALS, the Orioles and private donors marked the occasion by initiating the Cal Ripken/Lou Gehrig Fund for Neuromuscular Research at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University. The following year, Ripken broke an international record as well. Gehrig’s record had been for consecutive games played in American baseball, but Sachio Kinugasa had played 2,215 consecutive games in the Japanese leagues. Ripken played his 2,216th game on June 14, 1996, breaking the world record with previous record-holder Kinugasa in attendance.</p> <figure id="attachment_69123" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69123" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-69123 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-HIGH-FIVING-FANS-WP-GettyImages-81803195.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69123 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1490" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-HIGH-FIVING-FANS-WP-GettyImages-81803195.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-HIGH-FIVING-FANS-WP-GettyImages-81803195-380x248.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-HIGH-FIVING-FANS-WP-GettyImages-81803195-760x497.jpg 760w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-HIGH-FIVING-FANS-WP-GettyImages-81803195-1536x1004.jpg 1536w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-HIGH-FIVING-FANS-WP-GettyImages-81803195-2048x1338.jpg 2048w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-HIGH-FIVING-FANS-WP-GettyImages-81803195-1520x993.jpg 1520w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-HIGH-FIVING-FANS-WP-GettyImages-81803195.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69123" class="wp-caption-text">September 6, 1995: Baltimore Orioles’ Cal Ripken, Jr. circles the ballpark celebrating with fans after breaking Lou Gehrig’s record for most consecutive games played. (Photo: Walter Iooss Jr. and Sports Illustrated, Getty Images)</figcaption></figure> <p>In the 1996 season, Ripken played half a dozen games at third base, and in the next season, Ripken moved permanently from shortstop to third base. Although he was now suffering from painful nerve damage, he continued to rack up consecutive games and was still hitting impressively. He ended his historic streak of consecutive games at 2,632, having exceeded Gehrig’s record by 502.</p> <figure id="attachment_69112" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69112" style="width: 1596px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-69112 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-GettyImages-1197381461.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69112 lazyload" alt="" width="1596" height="2436" data-sizes="(max-width: 1596px) 100vw, 1596px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-GettyImages-1197381461.jpg 1596w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-GettyImages-1197381461-249x380.jpg 249w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-GettyImages-1197381461-498x760.jpg 498w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-GettyImages-1197381461-1006x1536.jpg 1006w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-GettyImages-1197381461-1342x2048.jpg 1342w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-GettyImages-1197381461-760x1160.jpg 760w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-GettyImages-1197381461-1520x2320.jpg 1520w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-GettyImages-1197381461.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69112" class="wp-caption-text">September 6, 1995: When the game became official after 4½ innings, the 2,131 banner was unfurled from the warehouse in right field. The Orioles relievers sprinted in from the bullpen to congratulate him. Ripken emerged from the dugout, patted his heart, hugged his wife and children, and waved to his father. (Walter Iooss Jr./Getty)</figcaption></figure> <p>Ripken was injured early in the 1999 season and endured the loss of his father at age 63. A second injury forced him off the field at the end of the season, but despite these setbacks, Ripken enjoyed the highest batting average of his career: .340. In April 2000, he scored three hits in a game against the Minnesota Twins, the third being his 3,000th hit in the major leagues. A back injury kept him off the field that summer, and although fans selected him for the league’s All-Star team, his injury forced him to miss an All-Star game for the first time since his first season with the Orioles. The following June, he announced the 2001 season would be his last.</p> <figure id="attachment_69103" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69103" style="width: 1886px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-69103 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-DEC-18-ISSUE-SI-wp-SI-Cover-GettyImages-93615409-scaled.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69103 lazyload" alt="" width="1886" height="2560" data-sizes="(max-width: 1886px) 100vw, 1886px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-DEC-18-ISSUE-SI-wp-SI-Cover-GettyImages-93615409-scaled.jpg 1886w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-DEC-18-ISSUE-SI-wp-SI-Cover-GettyImages-93615409-280x380.jpg 280w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-DEC-18-ISSUE-SI-wp-SI-Cover-GettyImages-93615409-560x760.jpg 560w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-DEC-18-ISSUE-SI-wp-SI-Cover-GettyImages-93615409-1132x1536.jpg 1132w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-DEC-18-ISSUE-SI-wp-SI-Cover-GettyImages-93615409-1509x2048.jpg 1509w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-DEC-18-ISSUE-SI-wp-SI-Cover-GettyImages-93615409-760x1032.jpg 760w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-DEC-18-ISSUE-SI-wp-SI-Cover-GettyImages-93615409-1520x2063.jpg 1520w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-DEC-18-ISSUE-SI-wp-SI-Cover-GettyImages-93615409-scaled.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69103" class="wp-caption-text">December 18, 1995: Sports Illustrated cover featuring Cal Ripken, Jr. “Sportsman of the Year.”(Photo: Getty Images)</figcaption></figure> <p>He returned to the All-Star game in 2001, playing shortstop once again and setting the record for most All-Star game appearances by a shortstop. In his first turn at bat, he received a standing ovation and hit a home run on the first pitch. For the second time, he was named MVP for the All-Star game. The terror attacks of September 11, 2001 caused a number of baseball games to be postponed, but the schedule change allowed Ripken to play his last game at Baltimore’s Camden Yards. His 20 seasons in Major League Baseball, all played with the Baltimore Orioles, were now at an end.</p> <figure id="attachment_69092" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69092" style="width: 1713px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-69092 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1998-book-cover-2280-The-Only-Way-I-Know-scaled.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69092 lazyload" alt="" width="1713" height="2560" data-sizes="(max-width: 1713px) 100vw, 1713px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1998-book-cover-2280-The-Only-Way-I-Know-scaled.jpg 1713w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1998-book-cover-2280-The-Only-Way-I-Know-254x380.jpg 254w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1998-book-cover-2280-The-Only-Way-I-Know-508x760.jpg 508w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1998-book-cover-2280-The-Only-Way-I-Know-1028x1536.jpg 1028w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1998-book-cover-2280-The-Only-Way-I-Know-1370x2048.jpg 1370w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1998-book-cover-2280-The-Only-Way-I-Know-760x1136.jpg 760w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1998-book-cover-2280-The-Only-Way-I-Know-1520x2272.jpg 1520w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1998-book-cover-2280-The-Only-Way-I-Know-scaled.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69092" class="wp-caption-text">1998: <em>The Only Way I Know</em> by Cal Ripken Jr. and Mike Bryan. In this memoir, Ripken tells the story of his journey to the major leagues: of his early childhood and life with a baseball manager for a father; his stint in the minors, working his way up from the Rookie Leagues to Triple-A; and to the permanent call from the Baltimore Orioles.</figcaption></figure> <p>Over the course of his career, he scored 3,184 hits, 431 home runs, and 1,695 runs batted in. Although he played third base for his last seasons, Ripken’s reputation as one of the greatest shortstops in the history of the game was already secure. He holds the record for most home runs hit as a shortstop (345) and was selected as the starting shortstop for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, his first year of eligibility.</p> <figure id="attachment_69087" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69087" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-69087 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/01_20-2672-2280-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-receiving-his-Golden-Plate-award-from-Host-Co-Chairmen-Tom-Clancy-and-Peter-G.-Angelos-at-the-1997-Summit.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69087 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1520" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/01_20-2672-2280-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-receiving-his-Golden-Plate-award-from-Host-Co-Chairmen-Tom-Clancy-and-Peter-G.-Angelos-at-the-1997-Summit.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/01_20-2672-2280-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-receiving-his-Golden-Plate-award-from-Host-Co-Chairmen-Tom-Clancy-and-Peter-G.-Angelos-at-the-1997-Summit-380x253.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/01_20-2672-2280-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-receiving-his-Golden-Plate-award-from-Host-Co-Chairmen-Tom-Clancy-and-Peter-G.-Angelos-at-the-1997-Summit-760x507.jpg 760w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/01_20-2672-2280-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-receiving-his-Golden-Plate-award-from-Host-Co-Chairmen-Tom-Clancy-and-Peter-G.-Angelos-at-the-1997-Summit-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/01_20-2672-2280-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-receiving-his-Golden-Plate-award-from-Host-Co-Chairmen-Tom-Clancy-and-Peter-G.-Angelos-at-the-1997-Summit-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/01_20-2672-2280-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-receiving-his-Golden-Plate-award-from-Host-Co-Chairmen-Tom-Clancy-and-Peter-G.-Angelos-at-the-1997-Summit-1520x1013.jpg 1520w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/01_20-2672-2280-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-receiving-his-Golden-Plate-award-from-Host-Co-Chairmen-Tom-Clancy-and-Peter-G.-Angelos-at-the-1997-Summit.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69087" class="wp-caption-text">1997: Cal Ripken, Jr. receiving the Golden Plate Award presented by Host Co-Chairmen bestselling author Tom Clancy and Baltimore Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos during the Academy’s International Achievement Summit.</figcaption></figure> <p>Today, Cal Ripken Jr. is the President and CEO of Ripken Baseball, Inc., an organization whose ventures include ownership of baseball camps and minor league teams, including the Aberdeen Iron Birds, as well as the design and construction of ballparks. Along with Andre Agassi, Muhammad Ali, and others, Ripken was a founder of Athletes for Hope. His other charitable activities include the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, founded with his brother Billy, to honor their father’s memory by enabling children from underserved communities to attend baseball camps and learn the game that has meant so much to the Ripken family. He has traveled to China for the State Department as an ambassador of American sport and appears regularly on television as a baseball analyst for TBS Sports.</p> <figure id="attachment_69081" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69081" style="width: 1480px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-69081 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2019-wp-ripken-just-show-up-book-cover-portrait.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69081 lazyload" alt="" width="1480" height="2266" data-sizes="(max-width: 1480px) 100vw, 1480px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2019-wp-ripken-just-show-up-book-cover-portrait.jpg 1480w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2019-wp-ripken-just-show-up-book-cover-portrait-248x380.jpg 248w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2019-wp-ripken-just-show-up-book-cover-portrait-496x760.jpg 496w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2019-wp-ripken-just-show-up-book-cover-portrait-1003x1536.jpg 1003w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2019-wp-ripken-just-show-up-book-cover-portrait-1338x2048.jpg 1338w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2019-wp-ripken-just-show-up-book-cover-portrait-760x1164.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2019-wp-ripken-just-show-up-book-cover-portrait.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69081" class="wp-caption-text">2019: <em>Just Show Up: And Other Enduring Values from Baseball’s Iron Man</em> by Cal Ripken Jr. and James Dale. Ripken outlines eight rules for the game of baseball and life, drawn from the lessons he has learned on and off the field.</figcaption></figure> <p>He has written a sports advice column for the <em>Baltimore Sun</em>; in addition to his autobiography, <em>The Only Way I Know</em>, he has written a slew of other books including <em>Play Baseball the Ripken Way</em> (co-authored with his brother Billy) and <em>Parenting Young Athletes the Ripken Way</em>. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the electronic game publisher ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda Softworks.  ZeniMax was acquired by Microsoft in 2020 for an estimated $7.5 billion.</p> <p>Cal Ripken’s son by his first marriage, Ryan Calvin Ripken, is a professional baseball player in the Baltimore Orioles organization. Cal Ripken Jr.’s wife, Laura Ripken, is a circuit court judge in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. They live in the state’s capital city, Annapolis.</p> </body></html> <div class="clearfix"> </div> </article> </div> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane" id="profile" role="tabpanel"> <section class="clearfix"> <header class="editorial-article__header"> <figure class="text-xs-center"> <img class="inductee-badge" src="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/inducted-badge@2x.png" alt="Inducted Badge" width="120" height="120"/> <figcaption class="serif-3 text-brand-primary"> Inducted in 1997 </figcaption> </figure> </header> <div class="row"> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar"> <dl class="clearfix m-b-0"> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Career</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> <div><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.baseball-player">Baseball Player</a></div> <div><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.athlete">Athlete</a></div> </dd> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Birth</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> August 24, 1960 </dd> </div> </dl> </aside> <article class="col-md-8 editorial-article clearfix"> <p>On September 6, 1995, the crowd packed Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards to see baseball history in the making. When the legendary Lou Gehrig retired in 1939, he had played 2,130 consecutive games. His record had stood for 56 years, and for most of those years, fans and commentators believed it would never be broken. But Cal Ripken, Jr. arrived that September day having matched Gehrig’s record, persevering season after season through grueling schedules and repeated injuries. When the day’s game reached its record-breaking mid-point, the assembled fans cheered Ripken for 22 minutes as he circled the field, accepting the congratulations of his ecstatic fans. The celebration of Ripken’s achievement remains one of the most memorable moments in sports history.</p> <p>Cal Ripken’s career is remarkable in other ways too. In 20 seasons he played for only one team, the Baltimore Orioles. He played in 19 All-Star games, was twice named Most Valuable Player in the American League and in the All-Star Game, twice received a Gold Glove as best shortstop in the American League, and holds the records for most hits by a player as shortstop.</p> <p>Most of all, he earned the respect and admiration of men and women in all walks of life for the persistence and resilience that earned him the nickname “the Iron Man of Baseball.” Now retired from the field, he is devoted to bringing the excitement and inspiration of baseball to young people in all communities.</p> </article> </div> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane" id="interview" role="tabpanel"> <section class="clearfix"> <div class="col-md-12 interview-feature-video"> <figure> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lacnfm3lpok?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.00_44_53_00.Still024-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.00_44_53_00.Still024-760x428.jpg"></div> <div class="video-tag sans-4"> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> <div class="video-tag__text">Watch full interview</div> </div> </div> </figure> </div> <header class="col-md-12 text-xs-center m-b-2"> <i class="icon-icon_bio text-brand-primary"></i> </header> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar"> <h2 class="serif-3 achiever--biography-subtitle">The Iron Man of Baseball</h2> <div class="sans-2">Washington, D.C.</div> <div class="sans-2">August 18, 2020</div> </aside> <article class="editorial-article col-md-8">   <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>When did you first know or imagine that you wanted to play baseball professionally?</strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/Quv8u2IeHxI?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.00_45_20_08.Still025-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.00_45_20_08.Still025-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/passion/">Passion</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Since I was a small kid, I wanted to be a baseball player in the worst way. My dad was a manager in the minor leagues, which many times I could go to work with him, put a uniform on at ten years old, shag in the outfield, and watch these minor leaguers try to become big league players. And I thought the coolest job, at that time, was what they were doing, was playing in the minor leagues. And then I was lucky enough to have talent and get drafted in the minor leagues.</p> <p>So now I’m going through the minor leagues, which I’m pretty familiar with, and once I got to the big leagues, the minor leagues don’t – didn’t at the time, prepare you for all the other stuff that went with it. Meaning, you get into a big stadium for the first time and you walk out on the field, and you’re looking up, it feels like you’re on a stage, and you’re giving a performance. As opposed to before, you were at a smaller field, less people in the stands, and you were still playing a game. All of a sudden, now, it feels pretty magical.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><figure id="attachment_69136" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69136" style="width: 1536px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-69136 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/et-Aberdeen-019-Cals-high-school-days-at-Aberdeen-high.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69136 lazyload" alt="" width="1536" height="1954" data-sizes="(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/et-Aberdeen-019-Cals-high-school-days-at-Aberdeen-high.jpg 1536w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/et-Aberdeen-019-Cals-high-school-days-at-Aberdeen-high-299x380.jpg 299w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/et-Aberdeen-019-Cals-high-school-days-at-Aberdeen-high-597x760.jpg 597w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/et-Aberdeen-019-Cals-high-school-days-at-Aberdeen-high-1207x1536.jpg 1207w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/et-Aberdeen-019-Cals-high-school-days-at-Aberdeen-high-760x967.jpg 760w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/et-Aberdeen-019-Cals-high-school-days-at-Aberdeen-high-1520x1934.jpg 1520w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/et-Aberdeen-019-Cals-high-school-days-at-Aberdeen-high.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69136" class="wp-caption-text">Cal Ripken, Jr. earned a varsity spot on the Aberdeen Eagles baseball team his freshman year at Aberdeen High School where Ripken studied and played baseball and soccer. The team won the state championship in 1978.</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>Do you think your father taught you something more than the fundamentals of the game?</strong></p> </body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/r6iDhkGAv-U?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.00_37_48_17.Still021-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.00_37_48_17.Still021-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/vision/">Vision</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: So the question is: Can you really teach awareness? Because sometimes – You can teach all kinds of things, how to throw a baseball, how to catch a baseball, how to hit a baseball, how to hold it, all that, but some of the other things, can you really teach someone to be aware in the moment? Like where multiple things are happening, you know? On the baseball field I felt that I had that sort of awareness, I could sit back on a play, there was a play developing where a guy was going to get thrown out at third. I could sit in the cut-off spot and I could move back a little bit, and then I could start to take in some data.</p> <p>I could see the ball coming in at a certain time, the runners coming in at a certain speed, looks like a race is developing between these two. I could see if the ball is fading or it has good pace on it. Is it accurate? Is it going to bounce good to the third baseman? Should I let it go or should I not? And then I could see the runner come in that hit the ball and I could see them running past first base, and I could see, okay, he’s out if I cut the ball off. And so there’s a lot of people that can’t take all that in at that same time. So, I kept thinking, how do you teach awareness? How do you teach, you know – And I think it’s such a good thing to be aware in this space.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>What’s that like when you’re at bat, waiting for the pitch?</strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/z3LhXV-LlTg?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.00_43_25_13.Still022-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.00_43_25_13.Still022-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/vision/">Vision</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: When you’re in the zone, and I can tell you, it seems like things happen in slow motion. You know, if somebody is throwing the ball, and you’re hitting the ball really well, you might have 50,000 people in the stands going nuts. You might be a great big moment in the game and we talked about pressure a little bit, and all of a sudden, you’re trying to deal with that pressure. And all of a sudden you get into this spot, and then all of a sudden everything goes quiet, and the pitcher gets ready to throw the ball, and the ball comes out of his hand, and it seems like it’s tumbling towards you. And then you’re looking at it and you might think, “Okay, I think he’s going to throw a breaking ball here,” and then you, “No, that’s a fastball.” And then I think I’ll swing and then you — pow! — and the ball comes off your bat and goes wherever really hard, and then as you start to run to first base, the crowd comes back, and the speed comes back in the game, or whatever else, and you get on second base, and you go, “How did I do that?”</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><figure id="attachment_69143" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69143" style="width: 1170px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-69143 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Cal-Ripken-Sr.-Baltimore-Orioles.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-69143 size-full lazyload" alt="" width="1170" height="1790" data-sizes="(max-width: 1170px) 100vw, 1170px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Cal-Ripken-Sr.-Baltimore-Orioles.jpg 1170w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Cal-Ripken-Sr.-Baltimore-Orioles-248x380.jpg 248w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Cal-Ripken-Sr.-Baltimore-Orioles-497x760.jpg 497w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Cal-Ripken-Sr.-Baltimore-Orioles-1004x1536.jpg 1004w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Cal-Ripken-Sr.-Baltimore-Orioles-760x1163.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Cal-Ripken-Sr.-Baltimore-Orioles.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69143" class="wp-caption-text">1987: Baltimore Orioles manager Cal Ripken, Sr. and Cal Ripken, Jr. during spring training at Miami Stadium in FL.</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>Is it luck?</strong></p> </body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/vM2UlvEegqc?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.00_46_58_04.Still026-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.00_46_58_04.Still026-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/preparation/">Preparation</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: It’s not luck to hit a home run. It’s not luck to hit and it’s not luck to be successful. There’s some lucky aspects to it. If I hit a ball right here on my fist and it breaks my bat, and it jams over the shortstop’s head and lands in, you can call that a lucky hit, or if I swing and smother the ball, and it turns out to be a perfect bunt down the third base line and you get an infield hit, you can say that was a lucky hit. But there’s nothing lucky about standing in the box and trying to hit someone that’s throwing 95 miles an hour and trying to mix the pitches in.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>Eddie Murray was a mentor of yours and a great player. What advice did he give you?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: You know what? Eddie was probably the best leader by example and not so much by words. You know, sometimes if he said something, you know, then you had to stand up and listen to it, but for the most part, he taught me the importance of being there every single day. I got credit for the streak that I played in all these games in a row for 17 years. But Eddie averaged…</p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/VkaFpH3fMFs?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.01_02_05_29.Still029-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.01_02_05_29.Still029-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/integrity/">Integrity</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Eddie averaged… he was an “every day player,” and the definition of an every day player – at that time – was every single day. And if you were a player like Eddie Murray, who hit fourth in your lineup, switch-hitter, clutch guy, power guy, the lineup felt right when he’s in the lineup. It didn’t feel right if he wasn’t in the lineup. So, he understood his presence on the team, he understood his value, and even though he was a little banged up, a little hurt maybe, got hit with a pitch, or slid into a base wrong, he always saw the importance of his presence being in the lineup, and he would make that known to me. He said, “You need to play. They’re all counting on you. We’re all counting on you.” And so following his example really started that thing called “the Streak.”</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><figure id="attachment_69148" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69148" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-69148 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-shortstop-GettyImages-56403226.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69148 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1529" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-shortstop-GettyImages-56403226.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-shortstop-GettyImages-56403226-380x255.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-shortstop-GettyImages-56403226-760x510.jpg 760w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-shortstop-GettyImages-56403226-1536x1030.jpg 1536w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-shortstop-GettyImages-56403226-2048x1373.jpg 2048w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-shortstop-GettyImages-56403226-1520x1019.jpg 1520w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-shortstop-GettyImages-56403226.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69148" class="wp-caption-text">1980s: Orioles’ shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. jumping through the air on a double play against the Milwaukee Brewers.</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>You had a herniated disc. You had a hyper-extended elbow, sprains in your ankle, your hand and your wrist, bruises from being hit by the ball, even a broken nose, and you kept on playing. That was a lot of physical pain that you had to play through, wasn’t it? </strong></p> </body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/aV5g9qWp9wk?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.01_00_38_19.Still028-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.01_00_38_19.Still028-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/perseverance/">Perseverance</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: A person that plays baseball and plays 140 games or 145 games has the same sort of aches and pains and goes through that someone that plays 162. So I would say, you only feel 100 percent in the first day of spring training. Then every sort of day after that, because you do it on a daily basis, you come down to some level. Now, some players can play at 80 percent or 85 percent and play really well. Some people don’t feel like they can. I was of the mentality that I could play even though I was hurt. And if you push yourself through some of those moments, you find out that you can, and when you do perform really well, when you feel like you’re not 100 percent, that gives you confidence each and every time to come back and answer the call.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>Lou Gehrig’s record of 2,130 consecutive games played went unchallenged for 56 years, but in the 1995 season it was clear that you were poised to pass it. What was that like?</strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/dTRxaj6Tf6I?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.00_54_50_21.Still027-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.00_54_50_21.Still027-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/integrity/">Integrity</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Well, I have a controlling kind of personality, and so early on I wanted to kind of control things so I could deal with them, right? Anywhere if the media was getting out of control, in a sense, I had to bring some control to that. So during the early part of that year, when I went into a series, we developed a routine where we talked to the media for the first day, and it would buy me an opening for the next two days where I could keep things sort of normal.</p> <p>But as the season went on there was this finish line that started to develop. Now, I never played to a finish line, I always played today, to play the game, and played as hard as I could, and didn’t worry about being injured, and all that, and then got up the next day and did the same thing. But then all of a sudden, during that timeframe, there was a finish line of celebration that was being planned, and I didn’t like that. I didn’t want to think about that. I wanted to stay in the mindset that we have a challenge today, we have a team challenge, and I’m going to try to meet that challenge of the day and be there for my teammates. That’s the simple approach that I used.</p> <p>But there is pressure that started to develop, expectation to get to a finish line to break Lou Gehrig’s record. And I tried to absorb that. There was some people that said, well, you should just play to the tying game and then take the next game, and then give tribute to Lou Gehrig, and I thought that would be the most alien thing to do because I didn’t do it because I tried to break Lou Gehrig’s record. I play because I think that’s the job, you should come to the ballpark ready to play, and I think that was an honorable position to have. That you’re an every day player and you’re trying to help your team win. So, the emotions started to build and I didn’t know how to deal with all these things except try to ignore it.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><figure id="attachment_69155" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69155" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-69155 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-wp-GettyImages-81347766.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69155 lazyload" alt="" width="2280" height="1503" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-wp-GettyImages-81347766.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-wp-GettyImages-81347766-380x251.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-wp-GettyImages-81347766-760x501.jpg 760w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-wp-GettyImages-81347766-1536x1013.jpg 1536w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-wp-GettyImages-81347766-2048x1350.jpg 2048w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-wp-GettyImages-81347766-1520x1002.jpg 1520w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-wp-GettyImages-81347766.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69155" class="wp-caption-text">September 6, 1995: Cal Ripken, Jr. takes a lap after the fifth inning of his 2,131st consecutive game played. (Getty)</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>It was one of the greatest moments in sports history when you played your 2131st game and broke that record. There was a 22-minute standing ovation. What do you remember about that day?</strong></p> </body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/GozIx9G6HsE?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.00_35_53_13.Still020-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.00_35_53_13.Still020-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: So the game became official halfway through the game, which was alien to me, because that game is not over, so I’m thinking, okay, how can we stop the game because – you know – we’re still playing. So, when the game becomes official, at the end of the fifth, if you’re up, it’s four and a half, if you’re the home team, if you’re up in the score that becomes an official game, or if you’re losing you go to through five complete – games. At that time, we were winning, so after four and a half, I come off the field, we’re hitting the bottom of the fifth.</p> <p>And the record is acknowledged. The banner on the warehouse goes down, everybody claps and cheers. I recognize everybody, you know, thank you very much, thank you very much. It’s the biggest curtain call you’ll ever get. You know, you might do something good and hit a homerun and be called out of the dugout for the fans to cheer for you a second time, but I kept getting called out of the dugout, and the ovation stood for 22 minutes.</p> <p>That’s a long, long time to say, “Thank you, thank you.” And in my mind, “Thank you, please, let’s just get the game back on, and then I’ll celebrate as long as you want after the game is over.” That was sort of how I was viewing this and everybody was kind of reacting to it, and it wasn’t until Bobby Bo (Bonilla) and Rafael Palmeiro, that were talking about it, you need to take a lap around this field or we’ll never get this game started. And I go, “That’s ridiculous, I’m not doing that.”</p> <p>And then finally Bobby Bo, in his big old boisterous voice and his physicality, they decided to push me down the line to get me started, and then I did it as an obligation at first, I said, “Maybe they’re right.” And I started shaking hands and then the magic really started to happen, because the celebration that happened in a big 50,000 feeling, sort of sense, and you were down here, all of a sudden was more personal. So I recognized people’s faces, I recognized people’s names as I went through, a lot of people had been there for years, I had been there for years.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><figure id="attachment_69159" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69159" style="width: 1394px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-69159 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-2001-Iron-Man-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Jonathan-Newton-for-The-Washington-Post.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-69159 lazyload" alt="" width="1394" height="2089" data-sizes="(max-width: 1394px) 100vw, 1394px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-2001-Iron-Man-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Jonathan-Newton-for-The-Washington-Post.jpg 1394w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-2001-Iron-Man-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Jonathan-Newton-for-The-Washington-Post-254x380.jpg 254w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-2001-Iron-Man-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Jonathan-Newton-for-The-Washington-Post-507x760.jpg 507w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-2001-Iron-Man-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Jonathan-Newton-for-The-Washington-Post-1025x1536.jpg 1025w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-2001-Iron-Man-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Jonathan-Newton-for-The-Washington-Post-1367x2048.jpg 1367w, /web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-2001-Iron-Man-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Jonathan-Newton-for-The-Washington-Post-760x1139.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-2001-Iron-Man-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Jonathan-Newton-for-The-Washington-Post.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69159" class="wp-caption-text">“Iron Man” Cal Ripken, Jr. retired after the 2001 season with 3,184 hits, 603 doubles, 431 home runs, 1,995 RBI and 19 All-Star Game selections. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. (Jonathan Newton, WashPost)</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>You shook hands one-on-one all around the edge of the field.</strong></p> </body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/jbKWpsSKI_I?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.01_04_07_15.Still030-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.01_04_07_15.Still030-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: You realized there was all these signs, there was one in the right field fence where somebody tried to reach down from where they are and they fell over, and I thought they fell all the way to the bottom, which would have been a good eight to ten feet, and it just so happened that it wasn’t, the ground behind the fence was much higher, and so they popped up again, and scared me, and I started laughing, and we went around the ballpark.</p> <p>And then to have an opportunity to stop, embrace all the other team, you know, every one of the California Angels stood in line, and I talked to every one of them, had a chance to celebrate with my little family, they were young. Ryan was a little over two and Rachel wasn’t quite six. And so they were taking it all in and he had a chance to celebrate that. And then I thought one of the super special moments was my dad was up in the skybox, I had a skybox there, and we put him in the skybox, and I caught his eye, you know, during this 22 minutes.</p> <p>And from an old school standpoint, my dad wasn’t someone who said, “I love you” and all that kind of stuff, but you could see that he did, in his actions you could tell. But he wasn’t that lovey-dovey sort of a dad, and that was sort of his time, but in that moment, looking back and forth, there was a thousand of those type words that were flying back and forth. So that was a really special moment. It feels like it took about ten minutes, but it was probably like ten seconds, but that was a really cool moment. So there were tons of those moments.</p> <p>I always think when people talk about some of the great things that happen to you in your career on the field. What were the most meaningful ones? And the first and foremost was I caught the last out of the World Series as a 23 year old guy, we won the World Series, that’s part of your dream to be a big league player is to win the World Series, and we did. And so it was the greatest feeling of fulfillment, joy, you know that finality that you did it. And so that feeling is, is unparalleled, that stands all by itself.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>What is the magic of baseball to you? </strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/9VK4T2R0BB4?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.00_44_54_28.Still023-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ripken_Cal_2020_MasterEdit.00_44_54_28.Still023-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Baseball to me – you can be of any size and shape to play the game. It’s really interesting, you look at the history of players, you have MVPs that are (José) Altuve, and Dustin Pedroia, or small guys but swing a good bat, good high ball hitters. They can have a big influence on the team. Any size, any shape. Other sports, you know, it’s good to be tall if you’re playing basketball, you know, it’s good to be super quick. In football it’s good to be big and strong, or the fastest person on the field.</p> <p>You know, there are almost some physical aspects of those games in order to play at the highest level. Baseball you can be any size, any shape, and you can give it a try. And there’s an individual part of baseball that when you’re at the plate, you’re all by yourself, you know, you’re trying to do it. In the field, the groundball is hit to you, no one else is helping you field that groundball.</p> <p>But it’s the way that you play together that you can blend that individual contribution to a team dynamic which I think is the coolest part. So, the nature of the game, it’s not slow to me, it’s a cerebral game, it’s a lot of thinking that goes on, but you can take a lot of individual performance and blend them, you know, they call it chemistry in baseball, that you’re blending those talents, and personalities, for a desired effect so you can win. And there’s no better feeling than winning.</p> </div> </div>     <aside class="collapse" id="full-interview">    <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>Could you tell us about your first day in the majors?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I made my first trip onto the field, and it’s really weird when you look at my career, you would have never guessed this, my major league debut was as a pinch runner for Ken Singleton at second base, like, in the twelfth inning of a game. So Earl Weaver sent me out of the dugout and said, “Go run for Singleton.” So I went out…</p> <p>I was 20 years old, turning 21 later that month, but that was before my 21st birthday, and when you ran out on the field for the first time in a real game, like I had taken batting practice, and tried get used to the stadium, now all of sudden people are in the stands, it’s a real game, and the lights are on you. I went out, looking around, and I was in awe, I mean, I was thinking, “Gah!” And then I was so nervous, ‘Don’t mess up, don’t mess up.”</p> <p>And that was in Baltimore. And Frank White, the second baseman for the Kansas City Royals, he put a pickoff play on the very first play that I was on second base, and I got back safely, and he tagged me, and he laughed, and he laughed, he goes, “Just checking, kid.” You know, he was gauging whether I was too scared to do the right thing. So there was a base hit down the right-field line, and I scored the winning run in that game.</p> <p><strong>So that was your first Major League game?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Yeah, that was my debut, as a pinch runner, and I would guess that’s the only time that I ever went into the game as a pinch runner.</p> <p><strong>When that game ended, was your heart pounding? Were people saying you had a lot to live up to?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: No, no. The expectations and the pressures hadn’t happened at that point, it was almost like you got your feet wet. I felt like I didn’t really get to play, I got to pinch run, and then I just ran around third, and touched home plate, and we won the game, so that was all cool. We were in a celebratory sense, but I wanted to contribute. I wanted to be in the game, I wanted to play.</p> <p><strong>Your father never played in the majors, did he?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Yeah, he got hurt in the minor leagues as a catcher, couldn’t throw for four or five years, at a point when he was 24, 25. They offered him a coaching position, a managing position in the minor leagues. He took it. So his dream was cut short, but he helped fulfill other people’s dreams getting them to the big leagues. Many times being a dad, many times being an instructor, many different things that would help a young man get to the big leagues. That was his role for the first 14 years of my life.</p> <p><strong>Was he the biggest influence on you?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Oh yeah, I think so.</p> <p><strong>Was it hard to work for your father?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I didn’t think so. I mean, most people think of our situation, my dad was in professional baseball, but he was in the minor leagues. So he didn’t have this big reputation of being a star player, but we were looked at a little bit, um, my brother Billy and I, because we got to the big leagues, I think when you have an experience in Little League, and the coach of a Little League team shows favoritism for his son, who might not deserve to play, there’s this sort of feeling that comes over them, and they associate that.</p> <p>So, in a professional sense, there was a little bit of that, it was that my dad must have pulled some strings to get you into professional ball, even in the minor leagues when I was leading the team in most offensive categories, and I was considered a prospect, they were – some players who were married, some of their wives said, “Well, he’s only here because his dad got him here.”</p> <p><strong>How do you deal with that?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: It was an added incentive to prove them wrong, in many ways. We all get motivated from different times, but my motivation was to prove those people wrong, and that wasn’t my first priority. My first priority was to make my dad proud of me, and I think most sons want to make their dads proud of them, and in that sport I had an opportunity, and I did.</p> <p><strong>What kind of influence did your father have on you?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: You know, I’m very analytical, and I know my dad is very analytical, tries to figure out things, and tries to understand many different things, and I think he helped me in examining different things in life by pointing them out. There’s a lot of people that can’t take all that in at that same time. So I kept thinking, how do you teach awareness? And I think it’s such a good thing to be aware in this space.</p> <p><strong>Can you give us an example?</strong></p> <p>So I remember being in the car with my dad a number of times, and a piece of lumber would be hanging out someone’s trunk, and they’d have a red flag on it, and he’d say, “Why do you think that red flag is on that the back of that lumber?”</p> <p>And I’d look at it for a minute, I wouldn’t know, and I’d give them a couple of possibilities, and he said, “No, because it sticks out and you want to give attention that it’s sticking out of the back of your car, so, it’s a safety thing.” And one time, the one that blew me away, and I think I wrote about it in my book, is we were in a parking lot and he looks over and sees two of the light standards are bent and the other ones around are not bent.</p> <p><strong>Like a street light?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: A street light, it’s in the middle of a parking lot, and he looks at it for a minute, and he goes, “Why do you think those two lights are bent?” And I go, “I don’t know. Somebody backed into them or something like that.” He goes, he goes, “No.” And he couldn’t figure it out at first, but he sees someone that’s painting the curb that maintains the parking lot and all that kind of stuff, so he walks over to him, and he says, says, “Those lights are bent.” Or something like that. And he saw the snow plow over there — it was in the winter time — and he goes, “Where do you push your snow?” And the guy said, “I push the snow to the middle. We try to keep it to the outside and we push them against those lights.” And so then his answer came to him pretty quickly is, “The snow plow pushes the things up and it bent. The force of the snow plow bent the lights.” And so he came back and he told me.</p> <p><strong>And you were a kid.</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: But I was a kid. So by making his curiosity, his intellectual curiosity about how things work, why things were the same way — it was sort of a constant conversation.</p> <p><strong>When you first got the call, when you were called up to the Majors, can you remember that day?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Yeah, yeah. There are many great stories and I wish I had one that — they deceive you a little bit, and you kind of think that you might be getting released — but then you’re going to the big leagues. There’re all kinds of games that a minor league manager sometimes plays in giving you the news. But in my particular case, the strike in 1981 had baseball stopped, and we were playing in the minor leagues then. They agreed to terms and they came back. So now that baseball was going to happen again, and, I played a game in Syracuse – Syracuse, New York, I played for the Rochester Red Wings. We were on a road trip, but we drove back to Rochester that night. And I remember it was really late at night, 2:30, something like that in the morning. You’re getting ready to go home from the ball park, where the bus came back, and the manager calls me into the office, and says, “Congratulations, you’re going to Baltimore tomorrow.”</p> <p><strong>In the middle of the night?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Two-thirty in the morning, yeah.</p> <p><strong>Playing minor league games, did you routinely stay up till 2:30 in the morning?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Well, you work at night. So you play a game at 7:00. Sometimes the game goes past 10:00 or 10:30. Sometimes you work out, your adrenaline is going, you eat afterwards, and then by the time you go to bed it’s 2:30, 2 o’clock in the morning. This particular time, we commuted to Syracuse, which then you add a bus trip in after the game, to come back to your home ballpark, and then you get in your car and drive home. You’ve already eaten at a fast food place on the way back, but yeah, it was — 2:30 in the morning didn’t seem weird to me because that’s part of your schedule.</p> <p><strong>And what time did you get up?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I don’t think I slept much – 6:30 or 7:00, and I was in the car driving down to Baltimore from Rochester, about a six-hour drive.</p> <p><strong>Did you drive yourself?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I drove myself, yeah. So you had all these thoughts of excitement. What’s it going to be like? What’s my opportunity?</p> <p><strong>Did you call your father? </strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Yeah, I called. I think I woke them up. I think my dad might have already known, because he was on the big league team and they probably had a discussion on who they were going to call up. So he probably knew. I’m pretty certain he knew before.</p> <p><strong>Do you remember what he or your mom said to you?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: No, my dad was very professional, “Congratulations, well-deserved.” You know, “Now it starts,” something like that. So it was almost like I wanted my dad to jump up and down, but my dad was very professional. No favoritism whatsoever. “You earn your way, very honorable…” and he didn’t show that sort of fatherly emotion on the field. But I will tell you, when I hit my first home run, and I’m running around the bases, and he’s the third base coach, and I get to shake hands, I could tell he was my dad.</p> <p><strong>Was it your dad who told you the story about Wally Pipp?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Wally Pipp! Talk about using it to make a point for someone else, and the commitment to what they do, no matter what they do. It doesn’t have to be in sport. My dad told me that story a long time ago, and there is some truth to that that. “If you don’t play in a game…” I think probably the first time my dad told me this, I was in the minor leagues.</p> <p>Wally Pipp was a power hitting first baseman that supposedly took a day off — he had a headache or something and took a day off, and then gave an opportunity to a guy named Lou Gehrig, and Lou Gehrig came in and never came out. So essentially Wally Pipp lost his job because he took a day off. And my dad, through the minor leagues, would say, “Okay look, if you want to take a day off and you think you’re tired, and you sit down, and the guy that replaces you gets three hits in a game that night, what do you think the manager is going to do tomorrow? He’s going to want to play the guy that got three hits. Don’t let that guy get three hits.” You know, it’s almost a territorial view of your spot. You’ve earned your spot, you got in there, don’t let anybody else take that away from you. So there is internal competition that exists, not just playing against the other team, but the competitions of your own. There’s people that want to take your job all the time.</p> <p><strong>Did you really think of that when you were playing all those games?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: In the early days I did, yes. And I will give you another example. I played shortstop and — Earl Weaver moved me to shortstop — I think it was presented as a temporary move. I played shortstop at almost 6’5, 225 pounds, which no other person at that time, at that size, had success playing the position.</p> <p><strong>They were mostly shorter guys. You had to be quick.</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: They had nicknames: Peewee, Scooter, you know? All those guys. Or “the Wizard” — Ozzie Smith — is probably the best that could play that position. Acrobatic, small, could move really well. All of a sudden, when I played that position, it was thought of that I was going to bolster the offense. I was an offensive player. I took great pride in my defense and I did really, really well at defense, and my success at the position might have changed the mindset a little bit for other bigger guys to be considered at that position, but I will tell you every year I went to spring training, there was always some whippersnapper shortstop that was coming in from a trade or coming in through the minor leagues that was going to take my job and move me back to third.</p> <p>So it was almost like you had to ward that off. You had to say, “Oh, I’m competing to stay at shortstop.” And there were many, many different times where different managers came in, different people, and they had a different opinion whether I could play shortstop. Now I played shortstop for 15 straight years, so that temporary move lasted quite a bit, but it wasn’t without some sort of pushing off the competition to maintain that position.</p> <p><strong>When you have a clutch play that you blew or you have a particularly bad night…</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Never happened. Never happened to me.</p> <p><strong>How do you get over it? Do you stay up at night and kick yourself?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Well, that’s a process you learn as well. When you play every single day, you can prolong a slump by hanging your head and moping around, you know, after having had a bad night, you struck out so much. My dad used to always say, “Tomorrow is a new day.” And it’s easier said than done, but you have to be able to clean the slate from the game before, and then almost start anew, have a new point. It’s valuable to learn from what happened, from your mistakes, so you don’t make those kinds of mistakes again, you can apply some of that learning. But once you start a new game, you can’t carry that bad feeling from the game to the next game.</p> <p><strong>Do you have any other tricks or tips to pass on? </strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: No, just the Oriole Way, and probably translated into the Ripken Way, in some ways, through my dad because my dad was part of the Oriole Way. You never get too happy when you’re going well, you never get too low when you’re not. You try to keep an even keel. You look at each and every day as a new opportunity.</p> <p><strong>But how do you do that? It’s so hard.</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: It is not easy. It’s easier said. But you have to clean the slate sometimes. Many times if I was troubled, I’d be in the clubhouse a long time. You know, I need to leave it at work, and if I’m troubled, I talk it out, I think about it, I go over all the different things. And sometimes I wouldn’t come home, wouldn’t leave the clubhouse. I didn’t want to go home with that baggage. So I had to, I had to deal with it, however it made me feel.</p> <p>There were times, I will give you one story which I was – and sometimes you work at it extra hard. You would not punish yourself for something in the weight room for having not done something on the field. One such day I was struggling so bad, I had the game-winning opportunity to drive somebody in, struck out in a key situation in the game, felt like the whole outcome of the game was on my shoulders.</p> <p>So I was so frustrated, I had my baseball uniform on, I went in, and I ran on the treadmill for like an hour and a half in my uniform, and it was almost like I wanted to — I had the physical need to get this out, and I was like I was punishing myself for not coming through in the clutch. And people kept coming in and out and looking at me. I don’t know what they were thinking about me doing that, but that was my way of physically dealing with that.</p> <p><strong>And it worked?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: It worked.</p> <p><strong>Is the idea that you don’t want to get too high because you know you’re not going to stay there?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Yeah. If you start bragging, or singing your own praises, or walking around like you’re on top of the world, I always felt that you’re going to be humbled just as quickly. So you’ve got to handle the feeling of superiority sometimes with the same feeling. Like, if you’re hitting really well, you can face the best pitchers in the league, and you feel pretty good. You feel you got a chance. If you’re not hitting really well, other pitchers that you normally hit, you can’t hit either. You can’t hit anybody. So it really starts from within yourself.</p> <p><strong>In baseball you don’t hit more than you hit, right?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: No. I mean if you fail 70 percent of the time, you had a great year. You’re dealing with failure seven out of ten times as a hitter.</p> <p><strong>During your slump there were news reports or headlines, “Ripken, maybe he should get off the field. Maybe he’s doing this for him and not the team.” Were you ever worried that, yes, I’m playing through the pain, but maybe it’s not the best thing for the team?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Well, I told you I was very analytical, so I would consider all things, and analyze things, but I kept coming back to the same approach, which is that I think that everybody should come to the ballpark. I didn’t make the lineup out. I didn’t. It’s the manager’s job, and “the Streak” wasn’t created by me saying, “You, manager! You, Earl Weaver! You put me in the lineup every day!” The job of a player, in my opinion, is to come to the ballpark, because you’re part of a team, and then the manager chooses who you play. So by the manager’s choices — and there were several different managers — their choices put me in the lineup and I performed. So then you earn your right, deserve your chance, and then there’s a reason why the manager’s writing you into the lineup.</p> <p><strong>Did Frank Robinson ever speak to you about it?</strong></p> <p>So “the Streak” was created by these decisions, daily decisions by managers. Now, at some point some managers say, “Well, the Streak is too big and I just had to keep writing his name into the lineup.” I would think that that is sort of shirking your responsibility as a manager. You have a job to do, I have a job to do. All I did was come to the ballpark all the time, but in moments of slump — and the game is a series of slumps. I had plenty of slumps. You have to – Do you believe that you can find the answers by sitting on the bench and then maybe practicing, or you need a mental break and all that? There are all kinds of players. I never thought the answers were in the batting cage or on the bench watching somebody else play.</p> <p>And the manager would put me in the lineup for a lot of reasons. So, you mentioned Frank Robinson a minute ago. Frank Robinson probably paid me the biggest compliment, and I didn’t know this until after the fact. He said “There were plenty of times when I was a manager where I thought I needed to give you a day off, and I needed to take you out of the lineup. You were struggling as a hitter, you were agonizing over that, and I thought it would be good for you individually if I took you out, and then let you regroup and maybe you’ll come back and hit better.” But he said, “But selfishly, I sat down and I thought about all the other things you did in the course of a game, all the other values that you bring to the table each and every day, is that I didn’t want to take you out. One of the easiest of my jobs as a manager was, I had to wait for someone to come to the ballpark to see if they could play. I had to check with them to see if they could play.” He said, “With you, I knew you could play and I just put you in the lineup.”</p> <p>So I think there were these intangible values that — nowadays you’re analyzing everything, so statistically oriented, — and I’m a stat guy. I’m a data guy. I love that, and I love using that to your advantage, but there are intangible values. I mentioned earlier, Eddie Murray’s presence, hitting number four in the lineup, he could be 0 for 75 — which I don’t think he ever was — but even if he was 0 for 75, he allowed me to stay in my slot, he allowed everybody else to stay in their slot. And I tell you what, when the manager looked at the sixth inning of the ballgame and he looked at, do I change my pitcher or not? And we got Eddie Murray coming up, he affected the manager’s decision just by his presence.</p> <p><strong>Do you think in the days of <em>Moneyball</em> and everybody talking about stats to the tenth power in baseball, that there is too much emphasis on just the math?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Yeah. I think things shift and evolve, and sometimes the balance of things gets out of whack. There’s good baseball understanding. The thing about all the numbers and the stats and all that kind of stuff, is you got to figure out how do they help me be a better baseball player? What do I apply? How do we become a better team? And sometimes there might be too much emphasis on the stats, and the baseball stats and maybe some of the analysis is not really good. But then it’s also — sometimes you rely too much on the subjective, and your feeling on what happens, whether I should pinch hit this guy or not, and you might go the other way. So, my dad used to say, “In baseball, every ten years or so there’s sort of a cycle, that somebody will think that this hasn’t been tried before, and they try something in the game only to find out that the game has been going on a long time and this has been tried.” So I don’t look at it as all or nothing. There is sort of a change right now where the numbers guys are looking at how to teach to the numbers and how to do all that kind of stuff, and the baseball piece will start to come back and it’ll all merge in a way that everybody is happy with.</p> <p><strong>Is that why there is so much baseball trivia?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I think the beauty of being able to compare statistics over time, baseball has been ahead of other sports, like the home run records and stuff like that. Now steroids have probably changed people’s view of some of these records. It used to be 30 home runs was a big home run year, and then all of a sudden, the number went up — 500 home runs was almost — there were only a few people in the history of baseball that did that. Now steroids have changed some of the inflation of some of those numbers.</p> <p><strong>How damaging was that scandal, when people found out that their heroes had been taking steroids?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: How damaging to baseball? I think for those that really looked at comparing great players from one era to other eras, I think it took the air out of them. In a lot of ways, and in some ways the athlete is bigger, stronger, faster anyway, and the game evolves, and I’m probably most proud of that I was able to put a little bit of mark on the game and hopefully make the game better for the next people that play the game.</p> <p><strong>What mark do you think you made on the game?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Whether it’s “the Streak,” or whether it’s my success as a shortstop, whether it’s — I got 3,000 hits — whatever I was able to do that might better the game or leave a positive mark on it, I personally think the game should get better and better over time, as the athletes understand the game. Conditioning is better. Steroids kind of put a blurp in there. I don’t know to what extent it still is in the game or not.</p> <p><strong>How many balls have you been hit by?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: That’s kind of a funny story. Some people just stand there and get hit. Some people think it’s a manly sort of thing, saying, “Okay, it’s not going to hurt me. I’ll take the ‘hit by pitch’ and go to first base.” I was never of that opinion. I would rather get out of the way of the ball, and I was pretty good at getting out of the way. I stood off the plate a little bit.</p> <p>It’s kind of funny, my son when he first started playing baseball as a — I don’t know — eight-year-old, there was a period he got hit and he was kind of scared of the ball. And I was trying to say, “It’s part of the game. You can’t hit by being scared or thinking you’re going to get hit. You have to have the confidence that you can get out of the way.” So I took a tennis ball or a squishy ball in there, and I gave him some techniques, and I started to throw the ball inside, and then I said, “Look, I’m going to try to hit you with this soft ball now. See if I can.” So we invented a game called — sort of dodge ball, a little bit — and he became pretty good at getting out of the way.</p> <p>And I said, “Is there anybody on your team that gets hit all the time?” And I said, “Yeah, this catcher gets hit all the time.” And I go, “Why do you think it is?” And he says, “Because he just stands, he doesn’t get out of the way.” I said, “Right. You don’t have to worry about it because you can get out of the way of the ball.” So that’s how I thought. I got hit enough times. I got hit in the head, I think, seven times. I counted it up one time, and every single time I got hit in the head I was looking for a breaking ball, which you have to wait, and convince yourself that it’s going to break.</p> <p><strong>What does it feel like when it’s coming at you, going 90 miles an hour more?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Sometimes it starts right here, and if you’re waiting longer to make sure it breaks, and all of a sudden, it’s not the pitch you’re looking for, then it’s a fastball, and you put yourself in danger. So each time that happened it doesn’t feel good. When it hits you in the helmet, you’re thankful that you have a helmet on, number one.</p> <p><strong>You talk about looking at the ball as it comes at you. Let’s talk about your eyesight.</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: My eyesight? I always prided myself on it. I could see really well, and I could pick up spin really well.</p> <p><strong>Is it better than normal eyesight?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Yeah, it’s like 20-10, I think.</p> <p><strong>How has that helped you?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Well it has to be able to help you, because you have to identify the ball and sometimes the spin of the ball. You have to see it. I will tell you, I was happiest when we went into spring training. Sometimes you get poked and prodded from the medical staff and all that kind of stuff as part of your spring training. They’re doing all kinds of tests on you and all that kind of stuff, which is good, and one of the tests is your eye test. I remember, after you get your eye tested for the first couple of times and the same people do the eye test, they start bragging on you that you can see this line or your eyes are really that good, and it always made me feel good. They always built me up so when I took the eye test and performed really well and read the bottom line or something on it, they would stick their chest out and be proud of me.</p> <p><strong>You have very light-colored eyes. Was that ever an issue?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I always thought that day games were difficult for me, because the glare, whether it’s bouncing off your cheeks, I always felt like I had to squint. So I always try to put eye black under my eyes, and I even tried to wear some glasses, but it was difficult to play in the daytime sometimes for me, because it felt like you would wear your eyes out by squinting. You would wear the muscles out.</p> <p><strong>Hank Aaron said he would rest in a dark room before a game to save his eyes.</strong></p> <p>Sometimes, early on in my baseball career, since there’s a lot of downtime in traveling, and you’re on the road, and you’re on a plane, and all that kind of stuff… I got drafted straight out of high school. I was a good student in high school, but I didn’t get a chance to go to college. So I thought that I would use my opportunity with some downtime to educate myself, to read on subjects about history or things that you wanted to read about. I found myself reading a lot, and feeling good that I was educating myself, but I was wearing my eyes out.</p> <p>So you get to home plate, at 7 o’clock at night, after you’ve read in your hotel room, and all of a sudden, you’re not as alert, and you’re not crisp, it’s not clear. It feels like things are blurry. And I kept thinking, “Okay, I got to stop this reading.” And then when I stopped doing that, and then you would stay in a dark room, similar to Hank (Aaron). You had to understand, and this is part about learning about yourself, is you have to understand the most important time for my eyes to be really alive is when I’m at home plate. So you geared your behaviors during the course of the day so that you can have the best chance to see.</p> <p><strong>So would you stay a dark room before a game?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: No, I didn’t take the analysis to that deep of a level. I just tried not to do things that would tire your eyeballs out.</p> <p><strong>What would do that, besides reading?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Reading a computer. I bought a laptop computer and I was learning about databases and word processing, and I was educating myself with this laptop.</p> <p><strong>Do you listen to a lot of audio books now?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I do. I found out that a quiet room, dark shades in a room, and even watching a movie didn’t tire my eyes out as nearly as much as doing some of the other stuff that required you to be in front of a computer. But audio books is one of the ways that I did that, and in those days, they were all cassettes, and you have all these different… Nowadays, you can just do it digitally, and it’s a whole lot better. Have someone read to you and just close to your eyes. That was the way that I got around it.</p> <p><strong>What interested you?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I had a big interest, mostly in non-fiction stuff. I like historical… A book on tape or something, you can go in the car – that’s another thing I did — I put in a book on tape, a self-help book sometimes, or whatever else, and you would listen 30 minutes on the way there, and the way back. So that handled my education without hurting my eyes.</p> <p><strong>The football field is always exactly the same. The dimensions of the basketball court are always the same, but a quirky thing about baseball is that ballparks can be very different. There are hitters’ parks, there’s one where the infield is shorter, right. You don’t have to hit as far. They’re all different.</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: The mound is always 60 feet, six inches. It’s supposed to be 12 inches tall, but many stadiums push it up a little higher. It’s interesting. I thought Seattle looked like their mound was like 20 inches tall and you have Randy Johnson standing on top of that, and it seemed like he was throwing at a different angle, but the bases are always the same, and the mound is the same.</p> <p>So you have those references that you can play. Especially as an infielder that’s important to understand where you play as it relates to those constant references. But the fences were different. Playing in Fenway Park was really cool. It was a museum type experience because the Big Green Monster, it was so close, it changed the way you played a little bit, it changed some of the responsibilities. Like, as a shortstop, a fly ball to left field, and the left fielder goes back against the wall, and it hits off the wall, and he doesn’t quite catch it. The closest person to that ball is me, as a shortstop, and normally in any other ballpark that’s not the case, the centerfielder is coming over, I have a responsibility to be someplace else.</p> <p><strong>But did you like Fenway?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I loved the understanding that took. That you had to look at the ballpark and you had to change your game a little bit, and some of your responsibilities. We talk about awareness. You had to be aware of these things so you could react to them properly. It used to be you went into Fenway, they hit a ball off the wall it was a double, because our left fielder didn’t know how to play the ball off the wall. If we hit a bullet off the wall, it’s a single. It was a little thing.</p> <p>You go to the Metro Dome in Minnesota. The ball could be lost in the lights or in the lights in the ceiling, ceiling mostly, because it has a big old ceiling, and the ceiling color is the same as the ball, so if a high fly-ball went up, and you took your eye off it, and tried to pick it back up again, you couldn’t. So, you had to remind yourself of those things. The Minnesota Twins, I’d watch them, and they all would get together in a cluster. Like say the ball was up and it was in the middle of the diamond, you got the first baseman, you got the second baseman, the shortstop kind of converging, and they’re looking, “Do you see it?” “No, I don’t see it. Do you see it?” “Yeah, I see it. Okay, I’ll take it.”</p> <p>So there was this extra conversation that took place where they grouped it, because they understood what happened, and if the ball hit the turf it bounced really high. If you knew of all those things you could take advantage of those. And Minnesota had a home field advantage. They hit a blooper to right-center field, they weren’t thinking just a single, that the guy was going to come in, they were thinking it was going to hit and hang in the air, and we’ll take that extra base. So I loved figuring out different ballparks and how you can make that ballpark work for your game.</p> <p><strong>Which ballpark was your least favorite?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I don’t know if I had a least favorite. Fenway was interesting and it was a cool place, but you banged your head on the dugout every inning because it was older and it was built for the player that was smaller at that time. I was six foot four, so I left there with a bunch of bruises on my head. Old Tigers Stadium was similar, you know, the dugouts were small, and it was hard to see the whole game, but it was really a cool space in which to play.</p> <p>I will tell you, Yankee Stadium you had your ups and downs in, because I had been in that ballpark when we were really good and they were not. So there wasn’t a whole lot of action going on, there wasn’t a whole lot of interest going on, and so it wasn’t that great. I had been in that ballpark when we were really bad and the Yankees were really good, and then they all yell at you, and they beat up on you, and that’s not fun.</p> <p>But when you’re good and they’re good, the same year, same time, and you go into a September series, basically with the American League East title on the line — that happened a few times in my career where this four-game series could change the way that the whole season happens, the fans in New York were so reactive they didn’t need any scoreboard to prompt them to cheer. They knew when a big pitch was happening, and a one-to-one pitch in the first inning, in a key situation and that place would be rocking. So there were times when, in order to play, you have to zone all that out. You’re hitting and you’re fielding, and all that kind of stuff, you can’t be worrying about all that.</p> <p>There were times in Yankee Stadium when I was walking to the mound, pitcher and coach were coming out to talk to the pitcher for a second, calm him down to buy a little time. We might have a lead in a game by one run, they just have their lead-off hitter on base, and all of a sudden, they can anticipate, Derek Jeter was coming to the plate, or something. They’re anticipating that something good was going to happen and this place is rocking. You could take yourself out of the baseball mode, and it felt like it was the loudest outdoor place, and it felt like the stands were kind of bouncing a little bit, and you would think to yourself, “Man, this is cool!” And then you’d walk back to the position of shortstop and try to zone it all out again.</p> <p><strong>How do you get down from that excitement level?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: You learn how to do that because you learn yourself, but there were moments that you allowed yourself to take in how cool it was, but most of the time you had to keep that game face on.</p> <p><strong>What was the most emotional moment you’ve ever had on the field?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Hmm, you want an example, don’t you?</p> <p><strong>Yeah, that would be nice if you could remember a moment.</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I homered in (games) 2129, 2130 and 2131. So I hit a home run in three straight games, and it was really important to perform, but I mean, my adrenaline was pumping pretty hard, and you had to try to calm that feeling down, that emotional feeling of expectation that was happening.</p> <p>My last All-Star Game. You would think after all these years, 21 years, I’m in my last All-Star Game in Seattle. I come to the plate and they give me a standing ovation, and then I have to step out of the batter’s box and acknowledge. It’s my last year, I said I was retiring. It was a send-off, and it was part just a great cheer, and I remember stepping back and I got a little emotional, because you’re starting – In your last year, when you announce that you’re retiring, every time you do something, it’s the last time you’re doing it in some ways. It’s the last time I’m going to Chicago, the last time I’m going to Toronto, last time I’m going here, and you’ve had all this time. It’s my last All-Star Game.</p> <p>So when I was up there, I could feel the emotions filling up inside of me, and then pulling back. It was a cool and special moment, but then you had to hit! So then you had to get back in there and hit. So you have to talk about how quickly you change. You have to take all this great stuff that’s going on, and go boom! And get back in there, and lucky enough on the first pitch I hit a home run, and I run around the bases, and sometimes it’s one of those things. A “How did I do that?” sort of thing.</p> <p><strong>That ball was going over 90 miles an hour.</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Yeah, 95 miles an hour.</p> <p><strong>How do you see a 90 mile-an-hour ball?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I wish I could tell you exactly how I do it, because I would have done it every pitch, but what I’m saying is when you get comfortable in your environment, and you get comfortable playing, and you can relax to a point where your concentration goes to that level, then you’ve achieved the ultimate. So the idea is: To what degree can I keep myself in that moment? And I found myself, over the years, you say, “How did I hit in pressure?” I don’t think I was much greater than anybody else in pressure.</p> <p>I mean, I came through with some clutch hits and I rose to the occasion on a number of times, and people thought that was amazing, but I remember getting an opportunity to play in All-Star Games from a very early time. I ended up playing 19 All-Star Games. I was going to say, “Do you know how many I played in?” But in the early days, I was scared to death because you make the All-Star team, there’s one game being played that day, all the other games people are off for the All-Star break, and you have the best of the American League playing the best of the National League in the All-Star Game. And, so all your players are watching, everybody around the world is watching, and I kept thinking, “Don’t embarrass yourself.”</p> <p>So I was very cautious, you know saying, “Okay, don’t take chances. Don’t embarrass yourself. Don’t be overaggressive at home plate.” But then I found out, by doing that you couldn’t succeed. You have to take some chances, and so I learned how to control some of my emotions, and I learned that if I stayed within myself and I breathed a little bit and say, “Okay, don’t try too hard.” I talk to myself. Sometimes I get out of the box and go, “Okay, calm down.”</p> <p><strong>What else do you say to yourself?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Sometimes I’d call myself names if I did something wrong.</p> <p><strong>Any you can repeat here?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: No! I was pretty hard on myself, but you would calm yourself down just by having that little conversation, reminding yourself of things. Okay, you’re in the moment. If I put a good swing on the ball, good things happen. You don’t try to hit a home run, just the hit ball hard, and if you reminded yourself then you could control that at-bat.</p> <p><strong>Who was the hardest pitcher to hit?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Almost all of them. I will say the guys that are in the Hall of Fame now, they end up seeing — every induction year when you go up, they’re generally all the number ones. There is truth. The number one starter on the team — and if you’re lucky you might have two number one starters — the number one starter on your team are at a different level, and then everybody else is… Although they’re good and they have great stuff, they’re not the same challenge. The Randy Johnsons, the Nolan Ryans, the Roger Clemenses, all those guys that were very difficult to hit. The challenge is going to be at the highest level. Pedro Martinez probably had the best year and had the best stuff of anybody I’d ever seen. He had the best fastball that year in the league, he had the best curveball, and he had the best changeup. And even if you guessed right, it was very difficult to square the ball up and have success off him. And he was on such a big roll.</p> <p><strong>Can you remember anything someone said to distract you when you were trying to bat? </strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: God, that’s such a touchy issue! There should be some honor in the game that when you’re playing, and you’re competing against somebody in the other way, that there’s certain things that you wouldn’t do. But I’m not saying the catcher never tried to get inside your head, or you didn’t try to get inside his head a little bit, but for the most part, there was a respect that they didn’t rag on you when you were trying to hit and all that kind of stuff.</p> <p>I remember my dad’s story and the times when he played, and he was a catcher, he would do that, or somebody tried to do that to him, he would step out of the batter’s box and said, “Look, if you keep talking I’m going to hit you right in the mask with this bat!” And then it would stop all the chatter and then go back in. But I can tell you, you can use any sort of getting inside your head to your advantage by proving somebody wrong. And many times, because you do it so often, you’re playing the game so often that if you’re struggling, there was an old saying that is you should let them struggle. Don’t wake them up. You can wake somebody else up by doing those things that you’re talking about or provoking them. Or sometimes throwing at you, you might wake the hitter up to a point of concentration, and then you pay for it.</p> <p><strong>Wake them up by insulting them or trash talking them?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Yeah. Sometimes, however the game, however the competition goes. If someone is going through the motions and trying to figure out how to hit, and they’re not hitting, and they’re in a slump, you want to let a sleeping dog lie.</p> <p><strong>If they’re on the other team? </strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Right, and maybe there are sometimes you can motivate. Earl Weaver was very good at motivating his own players, sometimes waking them up. So managers had different techniques, but I never had a problem. I learned myself. I think the most important thing about playing, and playing at a high pressure situation, or playing at the highest level is to understand yourself, and to understand yourself in all situations. Don’t try to be like — for me, to be like Eddie Murray — or someone else. Use some of the advice that they might give you but learn yourself.</p> <p><strong>Just recently, there’s been a scandal about a team using cameras to steal another team’s signals.</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I have a different opinion of that. There is a standard of how you play the game. If you’ve read — I think the name of the chapter in the book, that was “Playing Fair” — is I don’t believe when you’re playing against the pitcher, and I’m the hitter against the pitcher, I don’t believe the challenge is between me, the pitcher, and the guy on second base.</p> <p>So if the guy on second base has decoded the signals from the catcher, should he be allowed to relay the signs to me and they’ll let me know what’s coming? YI thought that’s not in the spirit of competition. But I could be in the minority, with most baseball players saying, “Well, you earned my right to get to second base, and if you don’t, if you don’t put down a sequence of signs that, that stops them from doing that then it’s your fault.”</p> <p><strong>But do you think there was something wrong with doing that?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I don’t like the cameras. I mean, if you’re standing on the on-deck circle, and you see the catcher move inside and then you verbally tell the hitter in some code that the catcher is sitting inside, I don’t think it’s in the spirit of the competition. So I never gave a sign from second base and I never received one. If, with your own eyes, if you see things that are going on, say I’m on second base, and I can decode because I’m a middle infielder, and I’ve seen a lot of different situations. The way that they disguise their signals. I’ve seen many different options in the way they disguise their signals.</p> <p>There could be a first sign indicator, there could be a sign after two, there could be the third sign, it could be the first sign after one. You could change this, usually it’s a fastball, two is a curveball, three is a slider, and wiggle is a changeup. You could change the meaning of those. One could be a curveball.</p> <p>There could be all kinds of creative ways. I think the hardest one I’ve ever seen, and I’ll share this with you, it was called “Abe” — A-B-E. So what A stands for is “ahead,” B stands for “behind,” and then E stands for “even.” So it was all about the count. So if the count starts 0-0, what’s that tell you? It’s an even count, so it’s the third sign. If the count goes 1-0, then you’re behind in the count, then it’s a head behind, that’s the second sign. If the count goes 0-1. So it’s always about the count.</p> <p>You always have to be in tune with the count to understand which pitch is going on. Now, that could be confusing because you want to get into a rhythm and the catcher is going, “Okay, what’s the count?” He should know the count and all that, but infielders are trying to figure out, pitchers sometimes are throwing the wrong pitch, and then you get out of your rhythm. So you can be too complicated. You can mess yourself by the complexity of your signals. But if you make them too simple, somebody else on second base can see.</p> <p>So if I’m a base stealer, which I wasn’t, but I would think it’s okay, if I’m on second base, and I’m on second base for a couple of pitches, and I see the signals going down, I say, “Okay, he’s going to throw a curveball on this pitch,” which is a slower pitch. There’s a chance it’s going to be in the dirt. This might be a good pitch to run on. I would think that it’s totally all right that I’ve used that for my own advantage to play. That’s in the spirit of the competition. But I don’t agree with me figuring out the signs and then transferring them to somebody else, or getting them through a centerfield camera, or getting them through watching a feed and then banging the trashcan in the bottom. I don’t think that’s the right spirit of how you play, so I wouldn’t do that.</p> <p><strong>What’s the message there?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I think there’s certain rules. I’m generally a rule follower and you don’t stretch the grey rules. You try to take advantage of what the rules are that you can incorporate in the game.</p> <p><strong>Yet everyone is trying to get that tiniest edge.</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I’ll tell you what. In the Electronic Age, I don’t know whether buzzers or anything else are true, but if you have an electronic indicator on you, and then somebody is telling what’s coming by buzzing you or whatever else, that makes hitting way easier, and it’s not right. The challenge is to try to figure out the pitcher. The pitcher is trying to figure out you. It’s a competition. It’s just between you and him.</p> <p><strong>What if one side is doing it and not the other?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: The cheating has been around. For years there was a guy sitting in the scoreboard in Chicago, supposedly, and he was turning a light bulb on and off with binoculars, he could see the catcher’s signs. Those stories have been around for baseball for a long, long time. And there’s some feeling that within the story, that some stealing of signs, — like I gave the example of second base — should be okay. Or if a catcher puts his fingers down too low, in your own first base, and you can see the signals. <strong> </strong>Or a pitcher tipping his pitches, you know. If a pitcher tips his pitches in a way that gives you an indication. Like, sometimes the pitcher will grip the ball right in front of you. So if he holds to your side and he holds it this way, it’s a fastball, and if he holds this way, it’s a curveball. So that’s, that’s giving you an indication.</p> <p>If I look at the pitcher, which I’m staring at the pitcher, it’s my competition, and I look down at his hand, and he’s holding the ball this way, and every time he does that he throws a curveball then I’m going, “Okay, I can use that.” It’s not that somebody else is stealing that and telling me. I can use that to my advantage, in the spirit of the competition.</p> <p><strong>Do you think a 162-game season is too long?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: No! My brother Billy and I joke all the time. We try to figure out, when you get to the playoffs, it used to be the 162 challenges you, your whole team, your depth, it challenges every single day of who is the best team in the league that particular year. And it used to be whoever won the American League and 162 on a balanced schedule, it would go right to the World Series, and the National League, whoever won that will go to the World Series. So the two best teams proven by the 162, by the depth of your team, and about getting to the finish line, you’re the best team in the league that year, and one of the two best teams in the league is going to be the world’s champion.</p> <p>Now, once you expand the playoffs and you have different divisions, it’s who is the hot team that ends up kind of winning. If you’re a wildcard team and you develop some momentum, and you’re almost — you’re one out from going home and you get past that — then all of a sudden it seems like you’re playing with house cards. You relax, things go your way, and any team can beat any other team. But the depth of your team with off days and all that kind of stuff isn’t always challenged. So sometimes you can have one pitcher that pitches game one, four, and seven in a seven-game series and impact that World Series in a bigger way.</p> <p>So Billy and I kind of joke, and maybe you find this out in a situation like this year. You figure out, it would be cool if you put both teams in the World Series, guys who go on to the World Series in one city and you play seven straight games, and so the depth of your team matters. Your decisions you make in game one, and game two and three, affect you as you go along. And then find out who wins in a seven-game series with no off-days, you play in the same place. Now, there’s a lot of hurdles to get past during that is that the teams that are waiting to get to the World Series, who want to celebrate that World Series in their hometown, and I can’t blame them, but from a baseball perspective it would be interesting.</p> <p>So I don’t know what the plans are for baseball now. Are you going to play in a bubble like the NBA and the NHL has figured out how to play and try to control the environment? Are the playoffs then going to be controlled that way for baseball? I’m not up to speed on that. But it might be a good opportunity to try something like this crazy idea that Billy and I had, that seven straight games really proves your baseball mettle.</p> <p><strong>Are you talking to people about that? You have some standing.</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I haven’t been, no! I’ll talk to my brother Billy, he’s at MLB Network, he can actually convey the message.</p> <p><strong>There is a lot of talk about younger people not being as interested in baseball. Baseball is a sport without a clock. Hockey has a clock, basketball is faster. There are more showboats, in the other sports. Do you have any ideas to quicken the game? Because the game can go on and on.</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Well, I played in a minor game, which we played 32 innings in one night. We played the longest game in the history of professional baseball. It was a 33-inning game, and it played till 4:07 in the morning. The whole concept of the game being boring, it’s a mental game in many ways, it’s a cerebral game. There’s a lot of situations that change. There are things that happen all the way through, and I think the more you know about the game, the more you can be into what are happening all the time, it feels like it’s slow. There are probably some ways that you can increase the way the game is played, and that might start in the minor leagues where you encourage them not to walk around the mount, not so many meetings, because there’s a lot of stalling that happens in baseball.</p> <p><strong>Let’s talk about the future of baseball. This has been a particularly tough year (2020). In many ways baseball has been affected the hardest by COVID-19, and a season of 60 games, not 162 games. As a player, is it harder or easier without the fans? These games are now being played without anybody in the stands. </strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Well, I’m an optimistic person. So in some ways, instead of feeling sorry for yourself, saying, “Okay, we only get to play 60 games, and it’s without fans, let’s make the best of it. Let’s figure out, maybe there’s something we learned from this experience that can make the game better going forward. I don’t know what that is, but I will tell you the baseball game is magical when there are people in the stands. There’s no doubt about it. We really try hard, especially on the road — when it’s not hostile <em>per se</em>, but you’re not home — is that you try to perform, but there is an energy, and there’s a life that happens when you have people around. When you go to a restaurant, and a lot of the times, you want to be in a restaurant. It is about the quality of the food, but it’s also about the action and the people that are alive. We all are social and we all feed off each other. And to have that energy in the ballpark, I will tell you, the pressure situation is 100 times more pressure situation when you got people who care in that ballpark rooting one way or the other.</p> <p><strong>And yet you still want that pressure.</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: It’s the best thing in the world, and it’s the best feeling in the world if you’re able to come through in a moment like that and send the crowd into a tizzy. You know, one way or the other, it makes you feel like you’ve accomplished something. It’s a challenge, and that’s the magic of it all. Baseball is a great game, and these professionals are going to compete really hard, and trying to hit that 95-mile-an-hour fastball, it’s going to be important to whatever level. They’ll figure that out. And the quality of the competition will be good, but the magic of having people in the stands, you can’t replace that.</p> <p><strong>And your son is now in the same field?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: He’s plugging along. He’s 27 years old, so this particular cancellation of the season hurts him a little bit. It’s a year of development that he’s missing. But he’s trying to find his way. He had a difficult start to his pro career where he was injured, lost a position in the organization, but then found it again with the Orioles, and last year he had a great year. And he was looking forward to continuing to develop as a player.</p> <p><strong>Were you worried that he would be put under pressure as your son, as you were being your father’s? “Oh, it’s the son of Cal Jr.”</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: It’s horrible in some ways. His last name, the expectations from when he was really small, people were looking for him to do great things all the time. I was able to develop and make mistakes, and learn from those mistakes without those expectations, but his expectations — at 11 years old all these teams would come over and go, “Okay, which one is he?” And they’d go, “Oh, he’s that.” And if he made an out or struck out, or did something, they would look to each other and go, “Ah, he’s not that good.” So my son felt that and felt like there was some sort of expectation. It couldn’t have been fun for him, but I give him a lot of credit that he pushed through. He was a heck of a basketball player, and he played basketball in high school. A good athlete and has got some super talent in baseball.</p> <p><strong>But you’re in a unique position because of your father and now your son, because this happens in many fields. It’s hard for kids to follow their parents because of the weight of expectations. What do you say to them about how to deal with that?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Well, I will tell you, I was very sensitive about it. And my mom might have been a little mad at me that I didn’t name my son after me. I was named after my dad, and it was almost like my mom thought it would be cool to give my name to my son.</p> <p><strong>So you’re Cal Jr. What did she want you to call him?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Cal Ripken the III. I had my daughter first. Rachel was born first, and if Rachel had been a boy, I might have done that. But then, after I had a chance to live life a little longer, and I started to think of the ramifications, and then hear stories from Brooks Robinson, or even read about Mickey Mantle, about naming their sons after them, it seemed to be an added burden that you placed on your son. I wanted my son to have his own identity.</p> <p>The last name, being a little bit different of a last name, sometimes didn’t allow him to take the journey where he could find out fully about himself. But I want him to be <em>him</em>, whatever that is, whatever his passion is, wherever his talent carries him. Whatever he wants to do in life, no pressure from me, no expectations from me, he should do it. And I thought it would — I kept picturing roll call in school, where you call out the name to take the roll, and having my name repeated out loud, like, “Cal Ripken” and then everybody would turn around and kind of look.</p> <p><strong>Because you’re so famous in Baltimore, you’re an institution. People name their kids after you. They name their dogs after you. It would have been difficult for a little kid named Cal Ripken.</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I try to keep things in perspective, which is probably one of the greatest things my parents gave me. Just because you can hit and throw doesn’t mean that you’re different. You should keep that in perspective. Everybody has their own talents, and everybody should earn their way and that sort of thing. So I always try to keep things in perspective, and perspective on fame. I wasn’t someone that wanted to pound my chest and say, “Look at me!” But because I was good in baseball and because I got attention and because people did name their dogs after me, and they knew my name, that was an issue. How was I supposed to deal with that? How was I going to deal with that with my own son, my own kids?</p> <p>Sometimes I think it was a great burden to have the expectations created, and they had to deal with that in their own way. I could try to explain it to them, but I think one of the good things that I did was not give my son — he’s named Ryan Calvin, so he has, he has my first name, and I’m proud of that. But I tried to alleviate some of the burden and I try to explain to them, in real simple terms that they should maintain perspective.</p> <p><strong>There are some questions about the future of diversity in baseball.</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I think one of the great things about baseball, when you look at the makeup of your team, many times, you find yourself in the back of a bus, you yourself in the back of a plane, and you look around, and there is people from all cultures. And now it has become a much more worldly game. So you can sit in the back of the bus and have somebody from Japan, from different parts of the world.</p> <p>And the thing that we all have in common is that we can catch and throw and hit, and there’s a certain togetherness that happens from that. I think that’s the coolest part. And even from different backgrounds. You got people that live in the country, people that live in the city, people that had a good background where they were kind of rich, you had people that were kind of poor.</p> <p>But it doesn’t matter when you’re on the plane, or you’re back on the bus, or when you’re playing out in the field, none of that stuff matters, which is the coolest thing in the world. I’m an envoy to the State Department to spread goodwill through sport. I’ve been to China, I’ve been to Nicaragua, I’ve been to the Czech Republic, I’ve been to Japan.</p> <p>And you’re going to spread goodwill, and it’s the language of sport, and in particular for me, it’s the language of baseball, that whatever people are, you socially accept. There’s a trust that occurs that you’re sharing those. So whether — I don’t get into political goodwill, I guess, when you’re doing it for the State Department. But you are making friends through sport, and the trust is already there when you can relate in the course of baseball.</p> <p><strong>Do you think there are any efforts baseball could make to be more attractive to African American kids?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I know the challenge is now everybody is asked to specialize in a sport really early, instead of giving all people an opportunity to play and get an opportunity. So I think Major League Baseball is trying to expose to areas and give other people the opportunity. We have a foundation that I started after my dad. And we essentially use baseball, or sport, as an icebreaker to make friends. You start to match them with good mentors, and give them a different direction, and a positive outlet sometimes where you have some negative influences that are pulling on them. So we’ve had really great success going into place. But we’ve built those youth development parks that essentially to me are safe outdoor classrooms. We feel really good and it’s really interesting. I went into a club in D.C. one time, and sometimes you’re introducing baseball to a group of kids that hadn’t played baseball before, but they’re super athletic.</p> <p>One of my favorite stories is there was this big guy that was kind of controlling the club from a leadership standpoint. There was a bunch of kids, but there was this one guy that pushed his way to the front of the line, and I’m throwing the ball to him, and he takes this big mighty swing and he can’t hit it. Then there’s this small little meek kid that comes in behind him, that’s very shy, I flipped the ball up to him and he has the hand-eye coordination to swing the bat and the ball jumps off his bat.</p> <p>And to see the dynamic change, whereas the big kid is demanding, “I’m the leader, I get to tell you what to do” kind of thing in this environment, and then all the other kids want to go to the little kid and say, “How did you do that?” And the big kid kind of gets mad at the little kid for doing that. I just think that baseball is pretty magical in that way, and I know Major League Baseball is trying to expose baseball in all areas to give kids a chance to play.</p> <p><strong>You have very large hands. How many baseball gloves do you have? Did you get them custom made?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Yeah! One of the great things about being a big league player is that the equipment is really good, and you sign contracts, and yes, you can have as many gloves as you want.</p> <p><strong>How many do you have in your house?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Oh, I don’t know. The game gloves, I roughly went through a game glove and a half — one and a half — per year. So sometime around August I’d probably be changing the glove.</p> <p><strong>So you used the same one all year?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Pretty much.</p> <p><strong>Did you ever superstitiously say “I should keep that one” or “I should get rid of that” because I’m in a slump?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Well, sometimes I change gloves because there was one time Kirby Puckett hit me a ball in the Metro Dome, and I went to catch it, and it had so much topspin on it that it hit the palm of my glove and spun out, and I had an error on that play. And I kept thinking, “Okay, I got to change this glove out, because the spin off the turf, I got to have a glove that catches the ball as opposed to trapping the ball.” Like, sometimes on double plays you end up not closing the glove around the ball, you just catch it and throw.</p> <p>So I took a different glove, which ironically when I changed my glove that time — whereas you catch the ball first, stop the spin, and then catch it and throw the ball to first base — that glove that I switched to was my practice glove and I really didn’t like it a whole lot. But I kept using it and that was the glove that I only made three errors in the whole season in one year. And I can’t tell you, that glove lasted me almost three years, that I used the game glove. Now, when you have a game glove, the way you wear your glove out is in practice. You’re taking hundreds of groundballs with another glove. So you’re wearing more practice gloves out than you wear out your game glove. So I always left my game glove for the game.</p> <p><strong>Do you keep your game gloves under glass somewhere?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: No, not yet. I have them in a bunch of boxes. I found most of them.</p> <p><strong>So other people collect your autograph, and they collect baseball cards. Do you collect anything?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I’m a packrat and I haven’t thrown anything out! Anything that I had, including my Little League uniform, I still have. So one of my gloves, that’s my prized possession, and I’ve been looking for it, I think I put it in a special place, and now forgot where it is. But I’m sure I have it. Ronald Reagan threw out the first pitch in 1984. In 1983 we won the World Series. So opening day comes the next year, we’re playing the Chicago White Sox. He comes out to throw the first pitch out. The Secret Service comes to me and says, “Do you have a glove for the President to throw out the first pitch?” So I said, “Great!” So I gave him my backup gamer.</p> <p>I gave it to the Secret Service and he threw out the first pitch. There were a couple of cool pictures that have the glove showing when he threw out the first pitch. So he would stay in the dugout for the first inning of the game. I hit in the first inning of the game and hit a homer in the first inning of the game. He was like the honorary manager. He made some sort of comment to me like, “You’re making me look good as the manager.” And he gave me the glove back after the home run.</p> <p>And I said, “Mr. President, I would love it if you keep the glove.” And he said, “No, no, I can’t do that.” And I said, “Well if you give it back to me, you have to sign it.” I just said that. I don’t know where I got the courage that way. He took out a pen and he signed Ronald Reagan on the glove and gave it to me. So I have that glove in my possession. So that’s a little bit more meaningful. That was a backup gamer glove, but it’s still the glove that the President of the United States threw out the first pitch and he signed it.</p> <p>I guess if I’m a collector, I’m a collector of that. But most of the other stuff is game stuff, bats, if I break a bat, if — I gave a lot of bats out to kids. You know, one of the fun part about when you break a bat sometimes, you’re coming out after a game, there’s a crowd of people there, you find the smallest kid that’s sitting there that is trying his way in and you single him out, and you give him your bat.</p> <p><strong>You got a call from Chief Justice John Roberts not too long ago.</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Yeah. My wife is a judge. And she gets a call from the Chief Justice’s office in her chambers. You know, and to call him back, and she was thinking. “Gah! I wonder what they want?” There’s this special in-house musical celebration that they do for themselves. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been in charge of it for 15 years or so. It’s sort of an internal celebration and Chief Justice Roberts always has themed remarks for that.</p> <p>So in this particular theme, they were thinking about substitutions because one group cancelled on them at one point and then somebody else filled in for them, and Chief Justice Roberts is a pretty good sports fan, and he was thinking about the most famous substitution in the history of sports, or baseball, would be Wally Pipp substituted by Lou Gehrig and Wally Pipp losing his job.</p> <p>So, they started to research that a little bit, and then they said, “Well, we have someone close by that actually broke that record, Cal Ripken, and he’s married to a judge, we probably could get him to come!” So that was the answer and the request, of course my wife —it was a great moment. She was really interested.</p> <p><strong>How many people were there?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: I don’t know – 70, 80?</p> <p><strong>What did Justice Roberts talk about? Did he make a comparison between you and Justice Ginsburg?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Well, he’s a fantastic speaker, and the theme of this speech, and I was sitting there in awe, just listening to him, but basically he made the comparison that “Cal was there. There’s eight other people on Cal’s team and he was there for each one of the eight each and every day, making it easier for them. He’s the Iron Man of baseball, but we have the Iron Woman of the Supreme Court who makes us other eight that much better each and every day. So it was a wonderful tribute. And I remember, I had to stay back and it was a surprise, and then he made those remarks, and he says, “Then we have Cal Ripken here,” so I stood up, “And I think it’s only appropriate that the Iron Man of baseball meet the Iron Woman of the Supreme Court.”</p> <p><strong>When you hear today about so many highly paid athletes say, “I don’t feel good. I don’t want to play today.” It’s a different game, right? What do you think of that?</strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: Are you asking me do I sit in judgment of them when they don’t play 162 games? No, I don’t sit in judgment. And you can never say a question if somebody is injured or not, because if they’re injured, or they say their muscles are tighter for that, or they need a physical break, you have to assume that that’s true. I will tell you that I am proud of my influence as an “every day” player. There’s been some players that come to be teammates of mine that go on and push themselves to play 162, and maybe it’s just for one year, but there were two guys: Brady Anderson and B.J. Surhoff, that pushed themselves to play the 162, and had the best years of their career.</p> <p>And I’ve heard other players say they feel like they can’t take a day off, or they can’t ask for a day off in my presence, and in some ways, I think that’s a positive influence. But I don’t sit in judgment of anyone. I think, in this day and age, they’re looking at, “Let me get the best 145 games out of my player,” as opposed to the 162. Maybe you’re not looking at it from the intangible values of playing every day and the challenges.</p> <p>Because the playoffs can be determined even more so by one game. One game can determine whether you make the playoffs or not, out of 162, and you don’t know which game that is. I played in my rookie year — 1982 — I ended up playing 160 games. I think I missed one game because I got hit in the coconut, and I think I missed one because I had a temperature of 104 or something in Chicago, but that was early in the season.</p> <p>But as the season went on, we came into game 162 tied evenly with the Milwaukee Brewers. So the playoffs were determined, the winner was determined on the last day of the season. We end up losing to the Milwaukee Brewers, they went on to play in the World Series in that particular year. And we all sat down through the course of the wintertime and tried to remember a game we should have won. Or where could we have made that one game up? And that’s the idea of playing every day, too, is you don’t know how the end of the season is going to end up, and you don’t want to put yourself in a position to go back and say, “I wish I would have played this game” or “I wish I would have played that game” or “I wish I didn’t take that off, maybe I could have helped us win in that way.” So I don’t sit in judgment, but I do like people to understand the importance and the significance of each and every game.</p> <p><strong>Do you think that what you were able to do, game after game, in showing up, will be as valued in the future? </strong></p> <p>Cal Ripken Jr.: It’s a principle and it is a value. It is something that people really care about, and I can tell you that, because we’re going to celebrate. September 6th (2020) will be the 25th anniversary of that night. That happened September 6th, 1995, and it’s already been 25 years. One of the greatest things that I was able to experience during that celebration was the lead-up, that everybody else shared their streak with me.</p> <p>You know, I haven’t missed a day of work in 31 years. From the first day of school to the end, I had perfect attendance. There’s a value that everybody understands in their own life: the importance of showing up and committing to something. I thought particularly it was good, Ernie Tyler had worked at the stadium. At the time, he was an umpire attendant, he took care of the umpires, did the balls behind home plate. He hadn’t missed a home game in 31 years. He voluntarily ended his streak by coming to my Hall of Fame ceremony, which was a really good tribute and a good honor.</p> <p>But it’s amazing. It’s important to people to show up. It’s important people to commit to that. And so the joy was to hear all the different stories, and what was important to them and how they haven’t missed a day? You find out, a lot of times when the going gets tough, sometimes people disappear — whether it’s in business, whether it’s on the team — when you really need to have them show up, they’re not there. So I think people take great pride, no matter what happens — good or bad, rain or shine — I’m going to be there. And I think that most people think that is a good trait.</p> <p><strong>We agree. Thank you so much for your example and for speaking with us today.</strong></p> </div>  </aside>  <div class="read-more__toggle collapsed" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#full-interview"><a href="#" class="sans-4 btn">Read full interview</a></div> </article> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane" id="gallery" role="tabpanel"> <section class="isotope-wrapper">  <header class="toolbar toolbar--gallery bg-white clearfix"> <div class="col-md-6"> <div class="serif-4">Cal Ripken Jr. Gallery</div> </div> <div class="col-md-6 text-md-right isotope-toolbar"> <ul class="list-unstyled list-inline m-b-0 text-brand-primary sans-4"> <li class="list-inline-item" data-filter=".photo"><i class="icon-icon_camera"></i>20 photos</li> </ul> </div> </header> <div class="isotope-gallery isotope-box single-achiever__gallery clearfix"> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.4990138067061" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-2001-Iron-Man-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Jonathan-Newton-for-The-Washington-Post.jpg" data-image-caption="“Iron Man” Cal Ripken, Jr. retired after the 2001 season with 3,184 hits, 603 doubles, 431 home runs, 1,995 RBI and 19 All-Star Game selections. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. (Jonathan Newton, WashPost)" data-image-copyright="wp-2001-Iron Man Cal Ripken Jr. Jonathan Newton for The Washington Post" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-2001-Iron-Man-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Jonathan-Newton-for-The-Washington-Post-254x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-2001-Iron-Man-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Jonathan-Newton-for-The-Washington-Post-507x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.65921052631579" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-wp-GettyImages-81347766.jpg" data-image-caption="September 6, 1995: Cal Ripken, Jr. takes a lap after the fifth inning of his 2,131st consecutive game played. (Getty)" data-image-copyright="Baltimore Orioles Cal Ripken Jr" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-wp-GettyImages-81347766-380x251.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-wp-GettyImages-81347766-760x501.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.78815789473684" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Red-Wings-018-Rochester-Redwings-AAA-of-the-Os-1981.jpg" data-image-caption="In 1981, Ripken was added to the Orioles’ 40-man roster but sent to the Rochester Red Wings of the Triple-A International League to start the season. That year, he was named the International League Rookie of the Year." data-image-copyright="wp-Red-Wings-018-Rochester-Redwings-AAA-of-the-O’s-1981" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Red-Wings-018-Rochester-Redwings-AAA-of-the-Os-1981-380x299.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Red-Wings-018-Rochester-Redwings-AAA-of-the-Os-1981-760x599.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.67105263157895" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-shortstop-GettyImages-56403226.jpg" data-image-caption="1980s: Orioles’ shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. jumps through the air on a double play against the Brewers. (Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="Milwaukee Brewers v Baltimore Orioles" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-shortstop-GettyImages-56403226-380x255.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-shortstop-GettyImages-56403226-760x510.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66710526315789" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/01_20-2672-2280-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-receiving-his-Golden-Plate-award-from-Host-Co-Chairmen-Tom-Clancy-and-Peter-G.-Angelos-at-the-1997-Summit.jpg" data-image-caption="1997: Cal-Ripken,-Jr.-receiving-his-Golden-Plate-award-from-Host-Co-Chairmen-Tom-Clancy-and-Peter-G.-Angelos--at-the-1997-Summit" data-image-copyright="01_20-2672-2280-Cal-Ripken,-Jr.-receiving-his-Golden-Plate-award-from-Host-Co-Chairmen-Tom-Clancy-and-Peter-G.-Angelos--at-the-1997-Summit" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/01_20-2672-2280-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-receiving-his-Golden-Plate-award-from-Host-Co-Chairmen-Tom-Clancy-and-Peter-G.-Angelos-at-the-1997-Summit-380x253.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/01_20-2672-2280-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-receiving-his-Golden-Plate-award-from-Host-Co-Chairmen-Tom-Clancy-and-Peter-G.-Angelos-at-the-1997-Summit-760x507.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.5291750503018" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Cal-Ripken-Sr.-Baltimore-Orioles.jpg" data-image-caption="1987: Baltimore Orioles manager Cal Ripken, Sr. and Cal Ripken, Jr. during spring training at Miami Stadium in FL." data-image-copyright="wp-Cal Ripken Jr. & Cal Ripken Sr. - Baltimore Orioles" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Cal-Ripken-Sr.-Baltimore-Orioles-248x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-Cal-Ripken-Jr.-Cal-Ripken-Sr.-Baltimore-Orioles-497x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.2730318257956" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/et-Aberdeen-019-Cals-high-school-days-at-Aberdeen-high.jpg" data-image-caption="Cal Ripken, Jr. earned a varsity spot on the Aberdeen Eagles baseball team his freshman year at Aberdeen High School where Ripken studied and played baseball and soccer. The team won the state championship in 1978." data-image-copyright="et-Aberdeen 019 - Cal’s high school days at Aberdeen high" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/et-Aberdeen-019-Cals-high-school-days-at-Aberdeen-high-299x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/et-Aberdeen-019-Cals-high-school-days-at-Aberdeen-high-597x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.65394736842105" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-HIGH-FIVING-FANS-WP-GettyImages-81803195.jpg" data-image-caption="September 6, 1995: Baltimore Orioles’ Cal Ripken, Jr. circles the ballpark celebrating with fans after breaking Lou Gehrig’s record for most consecutive games played. (Photo: Walter Iooss Jr. and Sports Illustrated, Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="Baltimore Orioles Cal Ripken Jr" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-HIGH-FIVING-FANS-WP-GettyImages-81803195-380x248.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-HIGH-FIVING-FANS-WP-GettyImages-81803195-760x497.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66315789473684" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1996-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-FANS-TEAMMATES-IN-DUGOUT-GettyImages-1197381482-scaled.jpg" data-image-caption="September 6, 1995: Cal Ripken, Jr. in front of the dugout waving to fans after he surpassed Lou Gehrig as baseball’s greatest Iron Man by playing in a record-breaking 2,131st consecutive game. (Walter Iooss Jr. and Sports Illustrated)" data-image-copyright="Baltimore Orioles vs California Angels" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1996-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-FANS-TEAMMATES-IN-DUGOUT-GettyImages-1197381482-380x252.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1996-SEPT-6-RIPKEN-FANS-TEAMMATES-IN-DUGOUT-GettyImages-1197381482-760x504.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66315789473684" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-sept-5-wp-GettyImages-81369291.jpg" data-image-caption="September 6, 1996: Baltimore Orioles’ Cal Ripken, Jr. #8 steps on the field at Oriole Park at Camden Yards before breaking Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games record. (Photo: Chuck Solomon and Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="Baltimore Orioles Cal Ripken" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-sept-5-wp-GettyImages-81369291-380x252.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-sept-5-wp-GettyImages-81369291-760x504.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.5261044176707" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-GettyImages-1197381461.jpg" data-image-caption="September 6, 1995: When the game became official after 4½ innings, the 2,131 banner was unfurled from the warehouse in right field. The Orioles relievers sprinted in from the bullpen to congratulate him. Ripken emerged from the dugout, patted his heart, hugged his wife and children, and waved to his father. (Walter Iooss Jr./Getty)" data-image-copyright="Baltimore Orioles vs California Angels" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-GettyImages-1197381461-249x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-SEPT-6-GettyImages-1197381461-498x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.65131578947368" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ripken-young-sidebyside.jpg" data-image-caption="Young Cal Ripken, Jr. “born with a bat and ball in his hands,” in Aberdeen, Maryland.; 7-year-old Cal Ripken, Jr." data-image-copyright="ripken-young-sidebyside" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ripken-young-sidebyside-380x248.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ripken-young-sidebyside-760x495.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.4728682170543" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-Ripken-Murray-GettyImages-56403237-scaled.jpg" data-image-caption="1980s: Baltimore Orioles’ Cal Ripken, Jr. and Eddie Murray at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. (Getty)" data-image-copyright="Baltimore Orioles" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-Ripken-Murray-GettyImages-56403237-258x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1980s-wp-Ripken-Murray-GettyImages-56403237-516x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.3571428571429" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-DEC-18-ISSUE-SI-wp-SI-Cover-GettyImages-93615409-scaled.jpg" data-image-caption="December 18, 1995 Sports Illustrated via Getty Images Cover: Baseball: Sportsman of the Year: Closeup casual portrait of Baltimore Orioles Cal Ripken Jr. during photo shoot. View of Ripken victorious with fans after breaking Lou Gehrig's consecutive games record at Camden Yards on 9/6/1995; photo by Walter Iooss Jr. Baltimore, MD 11/15/1995 CREDIT: Michael O'Neill (Photo by SI Cover /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images/Getty Images) [Set Number: X49666 TK1 - X49092 TK1 (fans)]" data-image-copyright="Baltimore Orioles Cal Ripken Jr, 1995 Sportsman of the Year" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-DEC-18-ISSUE-SI-wp-SI-Cover-GettyImages-93615409-280x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1995-DEC-18-ISSUE-SI-wp-SI-Cover-GettyImages-93615409-560x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66184210526316" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-AUG-Ripken-Jr.-hurdles-Cleveland-Indians-Andy-Allanson-GettyImages-515213826.jpg" data-image-caption="1987: Baltimore Orioles’ shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr., hurdles Cleveland Indians’ Andy Allanson as he throws to first to complete a double play on a ball hit by Indians’ Brett Butler in the second inning of the game in Baltimore. (Getty)" data-image-copyright="Cal Ripken Jr. leaps over player while throwing baseball" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-AUG-Ripken-Jr.-hurdles-Cleveland-Indians-Andy-Allanson-GettyImages-515213826-380x251.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-AUG-Ripken-Jr.-hurdles-Cleveland-Indians-Andy-Allanson-GettyImages-515213826-760x503.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.4990138067061" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-SR-WITH-BILLY-AND-JR-WP-GettyImages-490425103-scaled.jpg" data-image-caption="1987: Baltimore Orioles manager Cal Ripken, Sr. (7) with sons (L-R) Billy Ripken (5) and Cal Ripken, Jr. (8) during spring training at Miami Stadium in Florida. (Photo by Ronald C. Modra and Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="Baltimore Orioles Ripken Family" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-SR-WITH-BILLY-AND-JR-WP-GettyImages-490425103-253x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1987-SR-WITH-BILLY-AND-JR-WP-GettyImages-490425103-507x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.5322580645161" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2019-wp-ripken-just-show-up-book-cover-portrait.jpg" data-image-caption="2019: Just Show Up: And Other Enduring Values from Baseball's Iron Man by Cal Ripken Jr., James DaleIron Man Cal Ripken Jr.—the 19-time All-Star, World-Series winning legend, American League MVP, and record holder who played 2,632 consecutive games—outlines eight rules for the game of baseball and life, drawn from the lessons he has learned on and off the field." data-image-copyright="2019-wp-ripken - just show up - book cover - portrait" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2019-wp-ripken-just-show-up-book-cover-portrait-248x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2019-wp-ripken-just-show-up-book-cover-portrait-496x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.52105263157895" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-sidebyside-My-Freshmen-year-of-high-school.jpg" data-image-caption="16-year-old Cal Ripken, Jr., before he was drafted, with Cal Ripken, Sr. at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.; Ripken pitching for Aberdeen High School in Maryland, in 1978, where he played both varsity baseball and varsity soccer." data-image-copyright="wp-sidebyside-My-Freshmen-year-of-high-school" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-sidebyside-My-Freshmen-year-of-high-school-380x198.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/wp-sidebyside-My-Freshmen-year-of-high-school-760x396.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.44868421052632" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Aberdeen-Indians-sidebyside-1.jpg" data-image-caption="1970: 10-year-old Cal Ripken, Jr., second from right, middle row, with the Aberdeen Indians.; Ripken in 7th grade." data-image-copyright="Aberdeen-Indians-sidebyside" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Aberdeen-Indians-sidebyside-1-380x170.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Aberdeen-Indians-sidebyside-1-760x341.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.496062992126" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1998-book-cover-2280-The-Only-Way-I-Know-scaled.jpg" data-image-caption="1998: The Only Way I Know by Cal Ripken Jr. and Mike Bryan. In this memoir, Ripken dissects the dedication to craft it takes to be a shortstop, tells the story of his journey to that moment he reported to the baseball field on September 6, 1995, for a record-breaking 2,131st consecutive time and beyond." data-image-copyright="1998-book-cover-2280--The-Only-Way-I-Know" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1998-book-cover-2280-The-Only-Way-I-Know-254x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1998-book-cover-2280-The-Only-Way-I-Know-508x760.jpg"></div>  </figure>    </div> </section> </div> </div> <div class="container"> <footer class="editorial-article__footer col-md-8 col-md-offset-4"> <div class="editorial-article__next-link sans-3"> <a href="#"><strong>What's next:</strong> <span class="editorial-article__next-link-title">profile</span></a> </div> <ul class="social list-unstyled list-inline ssk-group m-b-0"> <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-facebook" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever on Facebook"><i class="icon-icon_facebook-circle"></i></a></li> <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-twitter" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever on Twitter"><i class="icon-icon_twitter-circle"></i></a></li>  <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-email" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever via Email"><i class="icon-icon_email-circle"></i></a></li> </ul> <time class="editorial-article__last-updated sans-6">This page last revised on February 8, 2021</time> <div class="sans-4"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/how-to-cite" target="_blank">How to cite this page</a></div> </footer> </div> <div class="container"> <div class="col-md-8 col-md-offset-4"> <hr class="m-t-3 m-b-3"/> <iframe src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909if_/https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cal-ripken-jr-the-iron-man/id1025864075?i=1000491164553&itsct=podcast_box&itscg=30200" height="175px" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *;" style="width: 100%; overflow: hidden; border-top-left-radius: 10px; border-top-right-radius: 10px; border-bottom-right-radius: 10px; border-bottom-left-radius: 10px; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"></iframe> </div> </div> <div class="container interview-related-achievers"> <hr class="m-t-3 m-b-3"/> <footer class="clearfix small-blocks text-xs-center"> <h3 class="m-b-3 serif-3">If you are inspired by this achiever’s story, you might also enjoy:</h3> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever sports challenges athletic " data-year-inducted="1977" data-achiever-name="Aaron"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/hank-aaron/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/aaron-new-profile-square-1-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/01/aaron-new-profile-square-1-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Hank Aaron</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Baseball Immortal</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">1977</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever sports experienced-war-firsthand athletic join-the-military difficulty-with-school " data-year-inducted="2005" data-achiever-name="Berra"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/yogi-berra/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/berra-new-profile-square-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/06/berra-new-profile-square-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Yogi Berra</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Baseball Hall of Fame</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">2005</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever sports difficulty-with-school illness-or-disability athletic extroverted be-a-performer " data-year-inducted="2017" data-achiever-name="Biles"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/simone-biles/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/biles_760_SQUARE-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2018/02/biles_760_SQUARE-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Simone Biles</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Gymnast and Olympic Gold Medalist</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">2017</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever sports sports ambitious athletic extroverted " data-year-inducted="2007" data-achiever-name="Manning"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/peyton-manning/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/manning-Achiever-Profile-Square-760-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/manning-Achiever-Profile-Square-760-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Peyton Manning</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Super Bowl Champion Quarterback</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">2007</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever sports poverty racism-discrimination small-town-rural-upbringing athletic shy-introverted " data-year-inducted="1975" data-achiever-name="Mays"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/willie-mays/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/may0-001a-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/07/may0-001a-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Willie Mays</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Baseball Hall of Fame</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">1975</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever sports racism-discrimination athletic shy-introverted " data-year-inducted="2008" data-achiever-name="Russell"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/bill-russell/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/russell-Achiever-Profile-Square-760-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/06/russell-Achiever-Profile-Square-760-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Bill Russell</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Basketball Hall of Fame</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">2008</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> </footer> </div> </div> </article> <div class="modal image-modal" id="imageModal" tabindex="-1" role="dialog" aria-labelledby="imageModal" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="close-container"> <div class="close icon-icon_x" data-dismiss="modal" aria-label="Close"></div> </div> <div class="modal-dialog" role="document"> <div class="modal-content"> <div class="modal-body"> <figure class="image-modal__container"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <img class="image-modal__image" src="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/achiever/cal-ripken-jr/" alt=""/>  <figcaption class="p-t-2 container"> <div class="image-modal__caption sans-2 text-white"></div>  </figcaption> </div> </div> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> </div> </div> <footer class="content-info main-footer bg-black"> <div class="container"> <div class="find-achiever" id="find-achiever-list"> <div class="form-group"> <input id="find-achiever-input" class="search js-focus" placeholder="Search for an achiever"/> <i class="icon-icon_chevron-down"></i> </div> <ul class="find-achiever-list list m-b-0 list-unstyled"> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/hank-aaron/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Hank Aaron</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/kareem-abdul-jabbar/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Kareem Abdul-Jabbar</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/lynsey-addario/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lynsey Addario</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/edward-albee/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Edward Albee</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/tenley-albright-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Tenley Albright, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/svetlana-alexievich/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Svetlana Alexievich</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/julie-andrews/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Julie Andrews</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/maya-angelou/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Maya Angelou</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/frances-h-arnold-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frances H. Arnold, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/robert-d-ballard-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert D. Ballard, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-roger-bannister-2/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Roger Bannister</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-banville/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Banville</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/ehud-barak/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ehud Barak</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/lee-r-berger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lee R. Berger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-timothy-berners-lee/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Tim Berners-Lee</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/yogi-berra/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Yogi Berra</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/jeffrey-p-bezos/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jeffrey P. Bezos</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/benazir-bhutto/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Benazir Bhutto</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/simone-biles/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Simone Biles</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/keith-l-black/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Keith L. Black, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/elizabeth-blackburn/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-boies-2/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David Boies</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/norman-e-borlaug/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Norman E. Borlaug, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/benjamin-c-bradlee/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Benjamin C. Bradlee</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/sergey-brin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sergey Brin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/carter-j-brown/"><span class="achiever-list-name">J. Carter Brown</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/linda-buck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Linda B. Buck, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/carol-burnett/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carol Burnett</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/george-h-w-bush/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George H. W. Bush</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/susan-butcher/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Susan Butcher</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-michael-caine/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Michael Caine</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-cameron/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Cameron</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/benjamin-s-carson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Benjamin S. Carson, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/jimmy-carter/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jimmy Carter</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/johnny-cash/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Johnny Cash</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/william-j-clinton/"><span class="achiever-list-name">William J. Clinton</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/francis-s-collins/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/denton-a-cooley/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Denton A. Cooley, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/francis-ford-coppola/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Francis Ford Coppola</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/ray-dalio/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ray Dalio</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/olivia-de-havilland/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Olivia de Havilland</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/michael-e-debakey-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Michael E. DeBakey, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/michael-dell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Michael S. Dell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/ron-dennis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ron Dennis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/joan-didion/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Joan Didion</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-herbert-donald-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David Herbert Donald, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-doubilet/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David Doubilet</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/jennifer-a-doudna-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jennifer A. Doudna, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/rita-dove/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Rita Dove</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/sylvia-earle/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sylvia Earle, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/elbaradei/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mohamed ElBaradei</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/gertrude-elion/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Gertrude B. Elion, M.Sc.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/larry-j-ellison/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Larry J. Ellison</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/nora-ephron/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nora Ephron</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/julius-erving/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Julius Erving</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/tony-fadell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Tony Fadell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/paul-farmer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Paul Farmer, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/suzanne-farrell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Suzanne Farrell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/anthony-s-fauci-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/sally-field/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sally Field</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/lord-norman-foster/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord Norman Foster</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/aretha-franklin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Aretha Franklin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/milton-friedman-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Milton Friedman, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/carlos-fuentes/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Fuentes</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/athol-fugard/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Athol Fugard</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/peter-gabriel/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peter Gabriel</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/ernest-j-gaines/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ernest J. Gaines</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/william-h-gates-iii/"><span class="achiever-list-name">William H. Gates III</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/leymah-gbowee/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leymah Gbowee</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/frank-gehry/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank O. Gehry</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/murray-gell-mann-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Murray Gell-Mann, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/vince-gill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Vince Gill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/ruth-bader-ginsburg/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ruth Bader Ginsburg</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/louise-gluck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Louise Glück</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/whoopi-goldberg/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Whoopi Goldberg</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/jane-goodall/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Jane Goodall</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/doris-kearns-goodwin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Doris Kearns Goodwin, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/mikhail-s-gorbachev/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mikhail S. Gorbachev</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/nadine-gordimer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nadine Gordimer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/stephen-jay-gould/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen Jay Gould, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/carol-greider-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carol W. Greider, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-grisham/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Grisham</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-john-gurdon/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir John Gurdon</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/dorothy-hamill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dorothy Hamill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/demis-hassabis-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Demis Hassabis, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/lauryn-hill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lauryn Hill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-edmund-hillary/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Edmund Hillary</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/reid-hoffman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Reid Hoffman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/khaled-hosseini/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Khaled Hosseini, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/ron-howard/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ron Howard</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-hume/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Hume</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/louis-ignarro-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Louis Ignarro, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/daniel-inouye/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Daniel K. Inouye</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/jeremy-irons/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jeremy Irons</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-irving/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Irving</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/kazuo-ishiguro/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Kazuo Ishiguro</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-peter-jackson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Peter Jackson</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/donald-c-johanson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Donald C. Johanson, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/frank-m-johnson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank M. Johnson, Jr.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/philip-johnson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Philip C. Johnson</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/chuck-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Chuck Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-earl-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Earl Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/quincy-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Quincy Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/beverly-joubert/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Beverly Joubert</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/dereck-joubert/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dereck Joubert</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/paul-kagame/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Paul Kagame</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/thomas-keller-2/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Thomas Keller</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/anthony-m-kennedy/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony M. Kennedy</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/carole-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carole King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/b-b-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">B.B. King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/coretta-scott-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Coretta Scott King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/henry-kissinger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Henry A. Kissinger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/willem-j-kolff/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Willem J. Kolff, M.D., Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/wendy-kopp/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wendy Kopp</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/henry-r-kravis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Henry R. Kravis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/nicholas-d-kristof/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nicholas D. Kristof</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/mike-krzyzewski/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mike Krzyzewski</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/ray-kurzwell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ray Kurzweil</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/eric-lander-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Eric S. Lander, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/robert-s-langer-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert S. Langer, Sc.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/richard-leakey/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Richard E. Leakey</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/leon-lederman-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leon Lederman, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/robert-lefkowitz-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert J. Lefkowitz, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/congressman-john-r-lewis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Congressman John R. Lewis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/maya-lin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Maya Lin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/george-lucas/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George Lucas</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/paul-b-maccready-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Paul B. MacCready, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/norman-mailer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Norman Mailer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/peyton-manning/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peyton Manning</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/wynton-marsalis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wynton Marsalis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-c-mather-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John C. Mather, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/johnny-mathis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Johnny Mathis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/ernst-mayr-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ernst Mayr, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/willie-mays/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Willie Mays</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/frank-mccourt/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank McCourt</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-mccullough/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David McCullough</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/audra-mcdonald/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Audra McDonald</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/admiral-william-h-mcraven/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral William H. McRaven, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/w-s-merwin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">W. S. Merwin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/reinhold-messner/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Reinhold Messner</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-a-michener/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James A. Michener</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/marvin-minsky-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Marvin Minsky, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/mario-j-molina-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mario J. Molina, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/n-scott-momaday-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">N. Scott Momaday, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/story-musgrave/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Story Musgrave, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/ralph-nader/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ralph Nader</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/peggy-noonan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peggy Noonan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/jessye-norman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jessye Norman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/tommy-norris/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lt. Thomas R. Norris, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/lynn-nottage/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lynn Nottage</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/joyce-carol-oates/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Joyce Carol Oates</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/pierre-omidyar/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Pierre Omidyar</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/jimmy-page/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jimmy Page</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/larry-page/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Larry Page</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/arnold-palmer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Arnold Palmer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/leon-panetta/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leon Panetta</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/rosa-parks/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Rosa Parks</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/suzan-lori-parks/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Suzan-Lori Parks</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/linus-pauling/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Linus C. Pauling, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/shimon-peres/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Shimon Peres</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/itzhak-perlman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Itzhak Perlman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/general-david-petraeus/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General David H. Petraeus, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/sidney-poitier/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sidney Poitier</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/general-colin-l-powell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General Colin L. Powell, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/harold-prince/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Harold Prince</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/venki-ramakrishnan-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Venki Ramakrishnan, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/lord-martin-rees/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord Martin Rees</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/lloyd-richards/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lloyd Richards</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/sally-ride-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sally K. Ride, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/cal-ripken-jr/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Cal Ripken Jr.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/sonny-rollins/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sonny Rollins</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/anthony-romero/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony D. Romero</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-rosenquist/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Rosenquist</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/martine-rothblatt-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/pete-rozelle/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Pete Rozelle</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/bill-russell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Bill Russell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/albie-sachs/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Albie Sachs</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/oliver-sacks-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Oliver Sacks, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/jonas-salk-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jonas Salk, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/frederick-sanger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frederick Sanger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/george-b-schaller-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George B. Schaller, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/barry-scheck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Barry Scheck</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/richard-evans-schultes-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Richard Evans Schultes, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/general-h-norman-schwarzkopf/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/stephen-schwarzman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen A. Schwarzman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/glenn-t-seaborg-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Glenn T. Seaborg, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/neil-sheehan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Neil Sheehan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/admiral-alan-shepard-jr/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral Alan B. Shepard, Jr., USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/ellen-johnson-sirleaf/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ellen Johnson Sirleaf</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/carlos-slim/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Slim Helú</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/frederick-w-smith/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frederick W. Smith</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/stephen-sondheim/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen Sondheim</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/sonia-sotomayor/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sonia Sotomayor</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/wole-soyinka/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wole Soyinka</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/esperanza-spalding/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Esperanza Spalding</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/martha-stewart/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Martha Stewart</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/admiral-james-b-stockdale/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral James B. Stockdale, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/hilary-swank/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Hilary Swank</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/amy-tan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Amy Tan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/dame-kiri-te-kanawa/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Kiri Te Kanawa</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/edward-teller-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Edward Teller, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/twyla-tharp/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Twyla Tharp</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/wayne-thiebaud/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wayne Thiebaud</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/lt-michael-e-thornton-usn/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lt. Michael E. Thornton, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/clyde-tombaugh/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Clyde Tombaugh</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/charles-h-townes-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Charles H. Townes, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-trimble/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord David Trimble</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/ted-turner/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert Edward (Ted) Turner</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/desmond-tutu/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Archbishop Desmond Tutu</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-updike/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Updike</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/gore-vidal/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Gore Vidal</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/antonio-villaraigosa/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Antonio Villaraigosa</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/lech-walesa/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lech Walesa</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/herschel-walker/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Herschel Walker</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/alice-waters/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Alice Waters</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-d-watson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James D. Watson, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/andrew-weil-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Andrew Weil, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/leslie-h-wexner/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leslie H. Wexner</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/elie-wiesel/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Elie Wiesel</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/edward-o-wilson-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Edward O. Wilson, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/oprah-winfrey/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Oprah Winfrey</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/tom-wolfe/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Tom Wolfe</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-wooden/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Wooden</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/bob-woodward/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Bob Woodward</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/shinya-yamanaka-m-d-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Shinya Yamanaka, M.D., Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/general-chuck-yeager/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General Chuck Yeager, USAF</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/andrew-young/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Andrew J. Young</span></a> </li> </ul> <div class="list__close"></div> </div> <div class="col-sm-6 col-lg-3"> <ul id="menu-footer-menu-col-1" class="menu list-unstyled"><li class="menu-item menu-item-has-children menu-our-history"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/our-history/">Our History</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li class="menu-item menu-about-the-academy"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/our-history/">About the Academy</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-academy-patrons"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/our-history/patrons/">Academy Patrons</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-delegate-alumni"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/our-history/alumni/">Delegate Alumni</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-directors-our-team"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/our-history/director-staff/">Directors & Our Team</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-golden-plate-awards-council"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/our-history/awards-council/">Golden Plate Awards Council</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-golden-plate-awardees"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/">Golden Plate Awardees</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-sm-6 col-lg-3"> <ul id="menu-footer-menu-col-2" class="menu list-unstyled"><li class="active menu-item menu-item-has-children menu-our-members"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/">Our Members</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li class="menu-item menu-the-arts"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.the-arts">The Arts</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-business"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.business">Business</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-science-exploration"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.science-exploration">Science & Exploration</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-public-service"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.public-service">Public Service</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-sports"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.sports">Sports</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-achiever-universe"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/universe/">Achiever Universe</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-sm-6 col-lg-3"> <ul id="menu-footer-menu-col-3" class="menu list-unstyled"><li class="menu-item menu-item-has-children menu-keys-to-success"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/">Keys to Success</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li class="menu-item menu-keys-to-success"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/">Keys to Success</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-find-my-role-model"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/find-my-role-model/">Find My Role Model</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-recommended-books"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/recommended-books/">Recommended Books</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="menu-item menu-item-has-children menu-the-summit"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/summit/">The Summit</a> <ul class="sub-menu"> <li class="menu-item menu-overview"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/summit/">Overview</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-summit-by-year"><a href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/summit#years">Summit by Year</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-sm-6 col-lg-3"> <div class="row"> <div class="menu-item-has-children"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://itunes.apple.com/us/institution/academy-of-achievement/id389592299" target="_blank"> More from the Academy </a> </div> <ul class="list-unstyled more-from-academy-menu clearfix"> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/what-it-takes/id1025864075?mt=2" target="_blank"> <figure class="podcast clearfix"> <img class="podcast__image" src="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/what-it-takes-square@1x.jpg" alt="What It Takes Podcast"/> <figcaption class="podcast__title"><div>Podcast</div></figcaption> </figure> </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://books.apple.com/us/author/academy-of-achievement/id511555796" target="_blank"> <figure class="podcast clearfix"> <img class="podcast__image" src="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/itunes-u-square@1x.jpg" alt="iTunes U"/> <figcaption class="podcast__title"><div>Apple Books</div></figcaption> </figure> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </footer> <footer class="bottom-footer p-t-3 p-b-3 text-xs-center text-lg-left"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-lg-1 p-a-0"> <img width="95" height="92" src="/web/20210905051909im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/eagle-footer@2x.png" alt="Academy of Achievement"/> </div> <div class="col-lg-7 col-lg-offset-1 p-t-1"> <div class="serif-6 text-white">© 1996 - 2021 American Academy of Achievement. All Rights Reserved.</div> <ul id="menu-bottom-footer" class="menu list-unstyled menu-bottom-footer m-b-0"><li class="menu-item menu-underwriter"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/underwriter/">Underwriter</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-contact-us"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/contact-us/">Contact Us</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-frequently-asked-questions"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/frequently-asked-questions/">Frequently Asked Questions</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-privacy-policy"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/privacy-policy/">Privacy Policy</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-usage-policy"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/usage-policy/">Usage Policy</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </footer>  <div class="modal search-modal" id="searchModal" tabindex="-1" role="dialog" aria-labelledby="searchModal" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="close-container"> <div class="close icon-icon_x" data-dismiss="modal" aria-label="Close"></div> </div> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="modal-dialog" role="document"> <div class="modal-content"> <div class="modal-body"> <form action="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/" method="get" class="search-form input-group"> <input autofocus type="search" name="s" id="search" class="form-control transparent-input serif-3 text-white" placeholder="Let us help you find something" autocomplete="off" value=""/> <button class="submit" type="submit"><i class="icon-icon_search"></i></button> </form> </div> <footer class="m-t-2"> <a class="sans-4" href="/web/20210905051909/https://achievement.org/achiever">View the full list of achievers</a> </footer> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <script src="/web/20210905051909js_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/dist/scripts/main-e23e5149de.js" id="sage/js-js"></script>  </body> </html>

CINXE.COM

Cal Ripken Jr. | Academy of Achievement