October Legends Closing November 1
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/2/2014
Oddly enough “Iron Man” Cal Ripken Jr. did not play in 162 games the year he broke “Iron Horse” Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games played. The number 144 sticks out like a sore thumb in the games played column on his stat page which usually has a bold faced 162 or 163. The 1995 season got off to a late start because of the lingering players’ strike of 1994, but Ripken still managed to play in every game on the schedule and his dramatic pursuit of Gehrig’s record streak is often credited with bringing disgruntled fans back to the game. This size 7 3/8 Authentic Diamond Collection/New Era 59/50 Pro Model Baltimore Orioles cap has a black white and orange MLB logo on the back of the crown and contains the ornithologically-correct logo used by the team at the time on the front and appears to have been worn by Ripken quite often during the season. The crown is saturated with dried sweat and salty stains, the inner headband is also heavily stained and there is pine tar on the inner bill where Ripken might have grabbed the hat with his thumb. Ripken signed the cap in bright silver Sharpie on the outside of the brim and again in bold black Sharpie on the underside wear he also wrote his number 8; comes with full JSA LOA.