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“TRIBUTE TO CALVIN EDWIN RIPKEN, SR.” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H3361-H3362 on May 19, 1999.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO CALVIN EDWIN RIPKEN, SR.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ehrlich) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. EHRLICH. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to congratulate the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings) for a fine job there on behalf of the chairman of the Committee on Rules.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Calvin Edwin Ripken, Sr., born on December 17, 1935, in Harford County, Maryland, at a place designated on Harford County maps circa 1940 as ``Ripken's Corner.''
At the age of nine, young Cal was left fatherless due to an accident that took the life of his father, Arend, at the intersection of U.S. 40 and Maryland Route 7 in Harford County. Fostered by two older brothers, Ollie, 18 years his senior, and Bill, some 10 years older, Cal followed his brothers to every sand lot game they played in the old Susquehanna League.
At the age of 12, Cal became the batboy of the Aberdeen Canners, a semi-pro baseball club playing in that same Susquehanna League. One day when his signs were being stolen by an opposing team, Manager Fred Baldwin asked young Ripken, ``Boy, do you know how to give signs?'' Calvin said, ``yes.'' So for the next 2 years, young Cal gave the signs sitting on top of the bats. No one ever figured out where the signs were coming from.
In 1953, Cal Sr. graduated from Aberdeen High School and was offered a soccer scholarship to Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland.
Cal Sr.'s baseball team began when he played for those same Canners in 1955 and 1956. He was a catcher, the same position his older brother, Ollie, had held years before. In 1957, Cal accepted a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles and was sent to play in Phoenix, Arizona.
On November 30, 1957, Cal married Violet Gross, a marriage that produced four children in Elly, Cal Jr., Fred, and Bill. Cal Sr. subsequently progressed through the Orioles' minor league system until spring training of 1961. During a game as a member of the Rochester Red Wings, Cal was struck by foul tips twice in succession on the right shoulder, causing a disabling injury. Following a short rehabilitation stay in Little Rock, Arkansas, Cal was given the opportunity to turn his talents to managing and became, at 25 years old, the youngest manager in the Orioles' system. From there he rose through that system to become the Orioles' third base coach. And then, in 1987, he became manager of the Baltimore Orioles, the team he so dearly loved.
Cal Ripken, Sr., and Cal Ripken, Jr., represent the first ever father-son teammates to win a World Series, in 1983. In addition, Cal Sr. is the first manager to ever manage two sons, Cal Jr. and Billy, on the same major league baseball team at the same time.
On March 25, 1999, at the age of 63, Cal Sr. succumbed to lung cancer. Cal Sr. never moved away from his hometown. There he was not known as the father of Cal Jr. but as a neighbor who would help anyone who was in need. After his retirement from baseball, Cal remained involved in the community by lending his support to many causes. Specifically, Cal and Vi dedicated their time and money to many charities, including the Maryland Special Olympics and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Harford County.
Cal also hosted an annual instructional baseball camp for youngsters who wanted to learn how to play the game of baseball. Cal Sr. loved to teach and would spend countless hours helping those who wanted to learn from this man, who had spent his entire life in the game of baseball.
Cal Sr. and Vi were the driving force behind the Boys and Girls Clubs of Harford County in Maryland. Recently, the Justice Department granted the Boys and Girls Clubs $77,777.77 in memory of Cal Sr. The sevens symbolize the number worn by Cal Sr. on the baseball field. The number 7 is now etched inside the third base coach's box at Camden Yards.
I offer my sincerest sympathies to Cal's wife Vi, his children, Cal Jr., Billy, Fred, and Ellen. The loss of Cal Sr. is felt by all who admired this great man who gave back so much to his community.
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