On the morning of June 19, 2007, Cal "The Iron Man" Ripken Jr., one of the greatest of the Baltimore Orioles' baseball players was honored with a parade and rally by the town of Bel Air, Maryland. He is slated to be inducted in Baseball's Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, NY, on July 29, 2007. Bel Air is located, north of Baltimore City, off Route I-95, in Harford County, Maryland. Ripken's home town is Aberdeen, MD. It is found a little further to the west and north of Bel Air and off of Route 40, near the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. The celebrated shortstop for the Orioles holds the Major League record for playing in 2,632 straight games. It was originally set by the New York Yankee legend, Lou Gehrig. Like Ripken, Gehrig was of German stock. Ripken is the owner of the minor league, Single-A Baltimore Orioles' affiliate, the "Aberdeen IronBirds." They open their season tonight. Ripken told the crowd: "It is always good to come home...It is a special place." He shared his pride in his Harford, County roots with his cheering fans, ex-neighbors, former school classmates and many friends.
