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Cal Ripken Jr.

Celebrity

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Cal Ripken Jr. Fast Facts:

Played third base in a 33-inning minor-league game in 1981 that set a record as the longest ever in pro baseball.
Earned the nickname "Iron Man" during his record streak of 2632 consecutive games played from 1982 to 1998. He broke Lou Gehrig's long-standing mark of 2131 in September of 1995.
Reunited with both his father (manager Cal Sr.) and brother Billy on the Baltimore Orioles roster for the 1987 season and six games of 1988. Billy played alongside Cal with the O's until 1992 and again in 1996.
Honored by the Mayor of Baltimore in 2001 and by the U.S. Congress in 2007 with a street and a stretch of highway I-395, respectively, re-named in his honor.
Established a unique baseball complex in his hometown of Aberdeen, MD, that includes a 6000-seat minor-league stadium and the 50-acre Ripken Baseball Academy, which hosts the youth Cal Ripken World Series (formerly Babe Ruth World Series).
Authored books in a variety of genres: autobiography, baseball instructional, parental guide for youth sports, adult self-help and children's.
Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, in 2007. Ripken was a first-ballot selection, named on 537 of 545 ballots.
Named a global goodwill ambassador by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice in 2007.
Wagered, and won, on 50-to-1 long shot Mine That Bird at the 2009 Kentucky Derby because of the horse's bird reference (Ripken was an Oriole), its post position (Ripken's uniform No. 8) and jockey Calvin Borel, another Cal.