Cal Ripken Sr. battling lung cancer
Posted: Tuesday October 06, 1998 12:20 PM
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Cal Ripken Sr. was named Orioles manager in 1987 Rik StewartAllsport |
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Cal Ripken Sr.,
the longtime Baltimore
Orioles coach and former manager, and father of third baseman Cal Jr.,
is battling lung cancer, according to his family. Ripken Sr.,
62, was diagnosed last week at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he has begun
receiving chemotherapy, his wife, Vi, told The Baltimore Sun.
"Doctors found a tumor on Calvin's lung, came up with a plan and
started the wheels moving," Mrs. Ripken said. "The team of specialists
seems very optimistic that this treatment will take care of the
problem. "It's not going to be easy, but they seem sure that
this will be a success. It's a positive outlook, and we're pleased with the
evaluation. Ripken signed with Baltimore in 1957 as a catcher
but soon turned to managing, spending 14 years in the minors.
His teams finished first or second on seven occasions, and he joined the
Orioles' coaching staff in 1976. He was named manager in 1987, taking over
a last-place team. He was fired in 1988 after an 0-6 start.
Ripken was the first in the majors ever to manage two of his sons, Cal Jr.
and Bill, who was the Orioles' second baseman at the time. The three
Ripkens appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1987.
That year, Ripken Sr. replaced Ripken Jr. late in a game, ending Cal Jr.'s
streak of 8,243 consecutive innings played. Ripken Sr. was
rehired as Orioles third base coach in 1989, but was dismissed at the end
of the 1992 season. He now runs the Cal Ripken Baseball School, a
summer camp for children, at Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg.
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