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Cal Ripken Jr. is a baseball Hall of Famer who played his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles. His most famous achievement was setting the all-time Major League record for consecutive games played. Ripken played in every one of his team's games for nearly seventeen straight full easons, a total streak of 2,632 consecutive games. This broke the previous record of 2,130, which was set by Lou Gehrig and stood for 56 years.
Ripken was also famous for his classy approach, and for being one of the great ambassadors of the game of baseball. The night he broke the all-time consecutive games streak in 1995 was considered one of the crowning moments in the history of Major League Baseball. The event came the year after a long labor dispute had damaged the sport's relationship with its fans, and was a key event in repairing that relationship over the long term.
In addition to his famous streak, Ripken's other baseball accomplishments were numerous. They include amassing more than 3,000 career hits, winning two MVP Awards and a Rookie of the Year Award, and winning a World Championship with the Orioles in 1983. Cal Ripken was truly one of baseball's great legends.
