Si Names Ripken Top Sportsman

Cal Ripken, the Baltimore Orioles shortstop who this season broke one of baseball’s mightiest records, was honored Sunday as the 1995 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.

Ripken, who surpassed Lou Gehrig’s mark of 2,130 consecutive games, was cited for “symbolizing in character and performance the ideals of sportsmanship.

“If you look across the landscape in 1995, one person emerges as the true Sportsman of the Year,” Sports Illustrated said. “That’s Cal Ripken. What he accomplished over a sustained period of time is remarkable and he did more to restore integrity to baseball than anyone.”

Ripken appeared via satellite on a Fox program in which the award was announced. When asked what he thought about being called baseball’s savior, Ripken said: “It’s a flattering thing to say, but I hope I’m smart enough to realize that that’s not a true statement.”

He said maybe his “timing was right … but to me the outpouring of love was for the game of baseball.”

Ripken will be formally presented with the magazine’s award today at Baltimore’s Camden Yards, where on Sept. 6 he overtook Gehrig.

He will appear on the cover of this week’s issue for the fourth time this year and sixth overall.

Other candidates for this year’s honor included San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young, four-time Cy Young winner Greg Maddux, former Connecticut basketball star Rebecca Lobo and tennis champion Pete Sampras.

Ripken, 35, is the 10th baseball player to receive the award, which was first given in 1954, Sports Illustrated’s inaugural year. The others: Johnny Podres (1955); Stan Musial (1957); Sandy Koufax (1965); Carl Yastrzemski (1967); Tom Seaver (1969); Pete Rose (1975); Willie Stargell (co-recipient with football’s Terry Bradshaw in 1979); Dale Murphy (1987) and Orel Hershiser (1988).

Last year’s co-winners were Olympic stars Bonnie Blair and Johann Olav Koss.