The face of the Baltimore Orioles for more than 20 seasons was Cal Ripken Jr., not the cartoon, capped bird that adorned his batting helmet for the first seven years of his career. Nevertheless, Ripken donned this protective helmet during the early part of his career where he was an all-star in each of the four seasons this helmet is attributed to him. He wore a similar helmet when he batted in his first six of 19 All-Star games and when he hit more than a quarter of his 431 HR. And, he wore a similar helmet from the onset of his “iron man” streak of 2,632 consecutive games. Ripken did not wear a similar helmet at his first-ballot Hall of Fame induction in 2007.

Ripken wore this Baltimore Orioles Pro Model, size-7 3/8 batting helmet circa 1985-1988. American Baseball Cap of Media, Pa. manufactured the helmet. It is black with a white face and orange brim. The Orioles’ iconic cartoon-avian logo adorns the face. The final year for using this logo was 1988. The interior head band and ear and head pads show heavy use. The back pad has been detached and Ripken’s No. 8 is stickered atop the bill as well as at center rear, adjacent to ABC logo. This helmet displays heavy game use and comes with a LOA from MEARS (315085) for the game use.

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