I will never forget sitting with my dad in the living room in the Belfair house I grew up in watching Baltimore Orioles baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr. break Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played streak on Sept. 6, 1995.
I was 13 years old at the time and didn’t have much interest in watching Ripken’s feat. My dad, an avid sports fan who passed away in 2004, told me I didn’t have a choice and required me to watch the celebration with him.
I’m glad he did.
That night, Ripken played his 2131st game in row, breaking Gehrig’s record of 2,130 consecutive games played. Gehrig’s gargantuan record stood for 56 years until Ripken eclipsed it. I watched in amazement as Ripken took a victory lap around the perimeter of the field, greeting fans and basking in the adulation of his accomplishment.
As a 13-year-old, I couldn’t understand why this was such a big deal. I had played sports since I was 5 years old and thought to myself, “I haven’t missed any games.”
I told my dad this and he just shook his head and started chuckling. He then told me Ripken’s streak would never be broken.
He was right.
Ripken’s streak eventually came to a close on Sept 19, 1998 at an astounding 2,632 consecutive games played. The more I aged, the more amazed I became with Ripken’s feat. Sometimes when I get bored, I watch Ripken’s 1995 celebration on YouTube and feel like I’m back going back in time to that moment in the living room in Belfair with my dad.
As I have aged, I have felt the sting of the injury bug immensely. Ever since I turned 30 years old in 2012, it seems as if my athletic ability decreases exponentially with every passing year.
It is just an inevitable aspect of life as you age. Your body breaks down and there is nothing you can do about it. The fact someone like Cal Ripken Jr. could play a professional sport at the absolute highest level that many games in a row, without even taking one day off or suffering any kind of injury, is one of the most impressive accomplishments in not only baseball history, but sports history bar-none.
Cal Ripken Jr. is an absolute sports legend who exuded class and dignity at all times. There will never be another athlete like him.
