Ap Names Ripken Top Athlete

Cal Ripken Jr., who remained humble while breaking one of baseball’s most hallowed records, was an overwhelming choice as the Associated Press male athlete of the year for 1995.

Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s mark of 2,130 consecutive games on Sept. 6, a record that had stood for more than a halfcentury and once was considered unapproachable.

Ripken received 192 of 331 first-place ballots in voting by a nationwide panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The Baltimore Orioles shortstop outdistanced Atlanta Braves pitcher Greg Maddux, who got 47 first-place votes.