Cal Ripken

Calvin Edwin "Cal" Ripken (December 17, 1935 – March 25, 1999) was an American baseball player, scout, coach, and manager who spent 36 years in the Baltimore Orioles organization. Born near Aberdeen, Maryland, in a general store his parents, Clara Amelia (Oliver) and Arend Fredrick Ripken, owned three miles south of Aberdeen, he called the area home throughout his life. He became involved in baseball as early as 1946.

Ripken joined the Orioles in 1957 as a minor league player and spent the next 36 years in the organization, mainly as a coach. He managed in the minor leagues for 13 years, winning 964 games. His time managing the parent club was limited to one season and seven games, over which he compiled a 68–101 record. Several of the players he coached, including Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray, and most prominently his son Cal Jr., went on to Hall of Fame careers. Two of his sons, Cal Jr. and Billy, played for the Orioles, the club on which he served as coach and manager. Ripken was credited for helping sculpt his team's tradition of excellence known as "The Oriole Way."