Summer Premium Card and Memorabilia Auction Closing August 7 & 9
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/9/2021
Cal Ripken Jr. wore this Orioles batting helmet during the early era of his career, in the 1981-88 time period. The 1982 American League Rookie of the Year and 1983 AL Most Valuable Player, Ripken emerged as an American League star and Baltimore Icon in the 1980’s, making the AL All-Star team in every season from 1983 until his retirement after the 2001 season. Ripken was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.
This batting helmet is black and white, with an orange brim, and an Orioles logo applied to the front and has been photo matched to an undated image from 1986 by Elite Sports Photo Matching. A white “8” is applied to the front of the brim, and an ABC logo is applied to the back of the helmet below a faded “8.” The helmet shows good signs of game use. This comes directly from the personal collection of Cal Ripken, Jr. with a signed LOA from Cal accompanying this game used helmet. Additionally, there is a LOA from Elite Sports Photo Matching, who matched this helmet to an undated image in 1986.