All records in sport must eventually be broken. And so it came to pass that on Sept. 6, 1995, Cal Ripken Jr. surpassed the great Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games played, 2,130 — a mark that had stood for 56 years — during a game for the Baltimore Orioles against the then California Angels. His children, Rachel and Ryan, threw out the ceremonial first pitches and President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore were in attendance. When the game went into the books after the Angels’ half of the fifth inning, the crowd rose to its feet for a 22-minute standing ovation, as Ripken did a lap around Camden Yards to shake hands and high-five. (Sensibly, the network carrying the game, ESPN, didn’t go to commercial.)
Barack Obama and Other Men Who Cry
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