[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19081]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        HONORING CAL RIPKEN, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. TOM DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 2, 2001

  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor for me to pay 
tribute to one of America's great role models, both on and off the 
field. For those of us in the Metropolitan Washington area still 
yearning for a team of our own, the Baltimore Orioles are our home 
team, and Cal Ripken the long time leader of the pack.
  On June 18, at age 41, Cal Ripken announced he was leaving the game 
he loved after 21 seasons to spend more time with his family and devote 
more energy to his youth baseball endeavors in his home town of 
Aberdeen, Maryland.
  ``It's inevitable that you can't play forever,'' he said. ``I've 
maximized my window of opportunity as well as anyone. Baseball has 
given me a lot of joy and happiness and satisfaction. I'm proud of what 
I've been able to do.''
  Cal's place in baseball history would have been secure even without 
The Streak of 2,632 straight games. He came to the Baltimore Orioles as 
a rookie on August 10, 1981, 14 days shy of his 21st birthday. He won 
the American League's Rookie of the Year award in 1982 and its Most 
Valuable Player award in 1983 and again in 1991; set the American 
League record for assists by a short stop for single season in 1984; 
became only the second player in major league history to be named the 
league's Most Valuable Player, Major League Player of the Year, All-
Star Game MVP, and winner of a Gold Glove in the same season in 1991; 
led AL Shortstops in assists for 7 straight seasons, setting the new 
league record in 1993; became the Orioles all-time leader with 819 
extra base hits in 1996; hit his 400th home run in 1999, and recorded 
his 3,000th hit in 2000.
  Cal's history of community involvement mirrors the type of dedication 
and commitment he's famous for on the field. Cal actively supports his 
community in a variety of ways, including the establishment of The 
Kelly and Cal Ripken, Jr. Foundation, which supports community adult 
and family literacy in the greater Baltimore area. Additionally, the 
Cal Ripken, Jr./Lou Gehrig ALS Research Fund at Johns Hopkins was 
established in September 1995 in commemoration of Cal's record-breaking 
feat.
  Cal Ripken came to be identified strongly with the city in which he 
played, his work ethic reflecting Baltimore's working class pride. He 
grew up outside Baltimore and played his entire professional career in 
the Orioles' organization. That, unfortunately, is all-too-rare an 
occurrence today.
  In closing Mr. Speaker, three words sum up Cal Ripken Jr. as both 
player and citizen--excellence, dependability and consistency.

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