[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 137 (Wednesday, September 6, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12686-S12687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         TRIBUTE TO CAL RIPKEN

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, my mother had a phrase she used to repeat. 
``Can't never could do anything,'' she told us. I have tried to live by 
those words throughout my life, and I want to pay tribute today to 
someone else who doesn't know how to say ``can't.''
  For over half a century, baseball experts have said that one record 
that could never be broken was the great Lou Gehrig's record of playing 
in 2,130 consecutive games.
  As all baseball fans know, that record was tied last night, and will 
be broken tonight by Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr.
  In every game played by the Orioles since May 30, 1982, Cal Ripken 
has taken the field and done his job with dedication and with 
excellence.
  No doubt about it, as a baseball player, Cal Ripken is a superstar. 
But more importantly, he is also a superstar as a human being, a 
husband, a father, and a role model.
  Make no mistake about it, like most professional athletes, Cal Ripken 
is very well paid. But you cannot watch him play without thinking that 
he would still be out there, trying as hard as he can, if he was not 
paid at all.
  And Cal's commitment to baseball does not end on the field. As a 
goodwill ambassador for a game that desperately needs one, he freely 
gives his time to countless charities, and throughout this season, Cal 
has stayed in the stadium for hours after games, signing autographs for 
every fan who wanted one.
  I know that all Members of the Senate join with me in tipping our 
hats to 

[[Page S 12687]]
Cal. May he have as many years on the field as our ``iron man,'' 
Senator Strom Thurmond, has had in the Senate. He could run that record 
way up there.


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