Every once in a while, a piece of memorabilia comes along and I think to myself, "Self, I can't believe this amazing piece of baseball history is sitting right in front of me!" I have that feeling right now, because I'm looking at a game-used 1991 Baltimore Orioles road knit jersey of "Iron Man" Cal Ripken, when he hit 34 home runs, batted .323, and won the American League Most Valuable Player Award.
Best known for breaking Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games played, a record many thought unbreakable, Ripken surpassed the 56-year-old record when he played in his 2,131st game on September 6, 1995 in front of a sold-out crowd at Camden Yards. Ripken added 502 more games to the streak over the next three years, finally ending at 2,632 games when he asked to be removed from the lineup for the final home game of the 1998 season. In all, his record spanned over seventeen seasons, from 1982 to 1998. But Ripken was a lot more than a just a guy that showed up every day. He was a 19-time All-Star, member of the 3000 hit club, and smashed 431 lifetime homers, which included a string of ten consecutive 20+ homer seasons. Five times Ripken topped the .300 mark, and earned two Gold Gloves as well. In 2007, Ripken was a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee, earning the third highest voting percentage (98.53%) behind Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan.
The offered jersey has a Rawlings sixe 48 tag on the inside lower left tail, with a team stitched tag “T”, denoting custom tapering, and a flag “SET 1 1991” just below. Below the Rawlings tag is a team stitched “2 inch extra length” label. There is a velcro fastener between the second and third buttons on the front. The jersey shows game use and appears to have no alterations. LOA from Grey Flannel, Mile High Card Co.