Cal Ripken, Sr.

Who was Cal Ripken, Sr.?

Calvin Edwin Ripken, Sr. was a coach and manager in Major League Baseball who spent 36 years in the Baltimore Orioles organization, also as a player and scout. He played in the Orioles' farm system beginning in 1957, and later served as manager of the parent club, on which his sons Cal Jr. and Billy played.

Ripken's 13-plus years in the Baltimore farm system was the longest tenure of any minor league manager in Orioles history. As a manager in the minor leagues for 13 years, Ripken won 964 games, and later compiled a 68-101 record managing the Orioles. Several of his students, including Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray, and most prominently his son Cal Jr., went on to Hall of Fame careers.

Ripken was born December 17, 1935, in Aberdeen, Maryland. He attended Aberdeen High School, where he helped the baseball team win three county championships and go undefeated in 1952. As a player, he played catcher.

The Baltimore Orioles signed Ripken as a player after high school, and in 1957 he began his 36-year tenure in the organization as the starting catcher for the Phoenix Stars of the Class C Arizona-Mexico League. In 112 games, he batted .274 with seven home runs; stats for runs batted in were not kept.