Pros honored at Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation's Aspire Gala
It's nice when baseball mixes with other sports to pay tribute to influential sports figures. Nicer when a female athlete is tossed into the mix of what is otherwise a male-dominated profession.
At the Sixth Annual Aspire Gala: A Tribute to Life's Coaches, Jackie Joyner-Kersee was a better draw than the Asian pear salad and filet mignon on our plates at the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation's major fundraiser in Baltimore on Feb. 12. The organization serves disadvantaged young people residing in America's most distressed communities through baseball and softball programs.
Cal Ripken, Jr. admitted in his opening remarks to an audience of 650 that this year they had better select a female or his mom, Vi Ripken, might have something to say about it. (Vi smiled knowingly from her seat.) Billy Ripken said about the Olympic gold medalist track star that she is "one of the most humble people I've ever met -- and that in the first five minutes."
Two others were honored that star-studded night -- businessman and entrepreneur Art Modell, former NFL team owner of the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens, and Joe Ehrmann, former pro football player, minister and assistant head coach at Gilman School in Baltimore. He successfully coaches with prayers and hugs as I once read in Season of Life by Jeffrey Marx -- an excellent read.
Modell received a standing ovation as he was pushed onto the stage in a wheelchair. With emotion, he delivered a short speech and accepted an award from Cal and Billy for outstanding business and philanthropy.
And do you know what he said before he thanked his wife? (I love the unexpected.) He said, "Behind every successful man is a beautiful woman ... and behind every beautiful woman is a beautiful behind." The audience roared ... then turned serious again at Modell's next sentence, "I've learned more about being a man from my wife, Paula."
My favorite quote was this, from Joyner-Kersee in her deep pink cocktail dress addressing a slew of sports celebrities and corporate folks: "If you give the world the best you have, the best will come back to you." She told of how her coach saw something in her that she hadn't seen in herself. "I have been truly blessed."Clearly Cal and Billy Ripken gave the best they had in baseball, learning the game of life in the process from their dad, Cal Sr. "These were Dad's tools," said Billy, holding up a glove and a bat borrowed from his parents' house. "This is what he was all about."
Photo Credits: Sharon Redmond Click here to visit her Web site.
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The Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation helps build character and teach critical life lessons to disadvantaged young people residing in America's most distressed communities through baseball and softball themed programs. To learn more about the foundation, please visit the Web site.











