Latest Ripken Minor League Addition with a Word of Thanks

Before anything, thank you so much to Liberate Baltimore for his assist with this. I have had the pleasure of knowing him for several years. He is a great collector and a fantastic person. The most recent assist is not the first time I have been the recipient of his generosity.

For those who do not know me, I developed ripkenintheminors.com nearly 6 years ago. The site was developed after an experienced Ripken collector told me that I had been ripped off on a counterfeit 1980 WBTV Charlotte O's card of Cal Ripken, Jr. Knowing what to look for, I realized that counterfeit after counterfeit was being sold online for as much as $1,000. Information was simply not available at that time to be used as a resource for those wanting to do their homework. With a lot of help from fellow collectors, the site was developed. Since the site was developed I have had the pleasure of helping others avoid what I went through. I even had the opportunity to talk to Cal about the site and interview him.

Last week, Liberate Baltimore contacted me to let me know of the availability of an item associated with Cal's minor league days. We worked out a deal and the rest is history. It will now go on display for others to see on the site. The item is a cancelled paycheck from the AAA Rochester Red Wings to Cal. Two days after the check was issued, Cal had his first MLB hit. A unique look at Cal before he was a household name.

Very cool item!

Great addition to a great collection.

Very cool item. I love the focus of your collection.

That is an amazing addition, congrats. What a cool piece

That is an awesome Ripken item! Do you have your collection displayed, if so, I'd love to see it!

Oh...does Liberate Baltimore sell, collect, etc.? Love to know if there's anything interesting available and/or just to view on Brooksie...

Pretty nifty! Lived in Rochester, NY for ~16 years but didn't realize Cal was Rochy-bound until I resumed collecting in 2006.

Is the ballpark still there? Might check it out when I revisit Rochy.

Oh my goodness! What a piece of beautiful item!

Guess what? Wished you could have joined with me and my wife at a local restuarant two nights ago while we were watching the last game of the O's / Rays game. Out of the blue, Cal came up behind me and asked for vodka and soda water. I immediately knew him, and said "Hey Cal. How are you?" He smiled and shook my hand. And he went back to the private room in the back...

Again, I wish I have seen this a few days ago, and mention this cancelled check to him. He would be surprised and impressed...

Great thing you got it before some stupid card company bought it and chopped it up for a cut auto booklet!

George_Calfas said:

Very cool item!

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James52411 said:

Great addition to a great collection.

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Mozzie22 said:

Very cool item. I love the focus of your collection.

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Mark McGwire Museum said:

That is an amazing addition, congrats. What a cool piece

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Thanks, folks! I appreciate the kind words.

Mark70Z said:

That is an awesome Ripken item! Do you have your collection displayed, if so, I'd love to see it!

Oh...does Liberate Baltimore sell, collect, etc.? Love to know if there's anything interesting available and/or just to view on Brooksie...

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Thank you very much. I have several pieces uploaded to a bucket and will post them when I have a chance to explain some of them. I will try to get them posted asap. You can visit the image gallery on my website to see items associated with Cal's minor league days. Most of the images have a description to read when you click it. Here's the link:

http://www.ripkenintheminors.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=6477170

Some of the images are items from my collection but the majority are images shared by fellow collectors. I have been very fortunate to have help from a lot of others. The site would not be where it is right now without a lot of great people making contributions.

I can't speak on behalf of LB but he is a regular member. Hopefully he will have the time to visit the thread and personally respond.

FrostyCollects said:

Pretty nifty! Lived in Rochester, NY for ~16 years but didn't realize Cal was Rochy-bound until I resumed collecting in 2006.

Is the ballpark still there? Might check it out when I revisit Rochy.

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Silver Stadium, the home of the 1981 Rochester Red Wings, has been demolished. The demolition took place in the late '90s. Bowen Field, in Bluefield WV, is the only park still standing that Cal called home in the minors. Crockett Park (AA Charlotte NC) burned in the '80s. Miami Stadium (A Miami FL) was demolished around 2001. I have images of the parks on my website at the following link:

http://www.ripkenintheminors.com/theballparks.htm

excel_B said:

Oh my goodness! What a piece of beautiful item!

Guess what? Wished you could have joined with me and my wife at a local restuarant two nights ago while we were watching the last game of the O's / Rays game. Out of the blue, Cal came up behind me and asked for vodka and soda water. I immediately knew him, and said "Hey Cal. How are you?" He smiled and shook my hand. And he went back to the private room in the back...

Again, I wish I have seen this a few days ago, and mention this cancelled check to him. He would be surprised and impressed...

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Thank you so much! I should've acted sooner when it was first offered. Had I not hesitated you would've been able to tell him about it!

DaClyde said:

Great thing you got it before some stupid card company bought it and chopped it up for a cut auto booklet!

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Now that would've been a disaster!

Holy crap! That's an awesome item.

Chris, thanks for he info on the parks. What a shame that I lost my chance to visit such a historical place. Oh well.

No problem. I have some video clips that show scenes of the park as well. A generous person gave me his original video clips to share.

Mark70Z, here is another piece to my collection. I will try to post a few pieces as time allows. A lot of these will be copy/pastes from old threads either here or on other sites.

Several years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Cat Whitfield. Before the interview I was told that Cat was aware of his example as a pro baseball player and gave consideration to the way he conducted himself in front of young people. Speaking to him personally I loved his gentle spirit. His name may not mean much, but in Spring Training of 1980, Cat beat out Cal Ripken, Jr, at his position. Cal only saw time at the position when Cat got married.

After completing the interview I told Cat of how I had picked up a Charlotte O's jersey worn during the 1980 Southern League championship season. The jersey had since been signed by Jim Palmer and Cal Ripken, Jr. Cat informed me that plans were in the works for the 30th anniversary reunion for the Charlotte O's. Cat graciously offered to take my jersey to the reunion to get it signed by the former Charlotte players in attendance. Here are the pictures:

The jersey above is not Cal's, but a jersey worn during the 1980 Southern League Championship season when he played for the Charlotte O's. If you take a look at Cal's 1980 minor league issues, you can see that he is wearing a similar uniform.

Some additional notes on the jersey:
- The jersey has been signed by 15 of the 35 players that played for Charlotte in 1980.
- Of the 14 guys that would make it to the majors from the 1980 team, 5 have signed the jersey.


Jim Palmer never played for Charlotte. Jim signed the jersey at a card show in 1981. The jersey was later signed by Cal at a Knights game. Dan Logan, who is in the 1981 Rochester WTF and TCMA sets, said he believes that he wore the jersey in 1980.