You can buy his rookie card all day. He’s always been pretty generous with his autograph. Game used bats. Game worn jerseys. All are fairly attainable for those with the means to buy Cal Ripken memorabilia. Ah, but you don’t have one of his life-used vehicles, now do you? Ripken and his wife Kelly announced that they will be auctioning off the the 1994 Chevy Suburban that Cal drove for several years as a fundraiser for youth baseball.
The vehicle was driven by Ripken to Oriole Park the nights he tied and broke Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played record, September 5 and 6, 1995. Ripken also drove the Suburban to Orioles post-season games in 1996
and 1997.
The winning bidder will receive first class airfare and lodging for two to Baltimore where they will be invited to attend the Sports Legends Museum Gala honoring Ripken and fellow Hall of Famer Eddie Murray on September 5 as well as the unveiling of a new Ripken statue at Camden Yards on September 6. The winner will meet the Ripkens and receive the keys to the truck.
Hunt Auctions will oversee the transaction with the pre-auction value estimate set at $50,000+. The auction will be run through www.HuntAuctions.com and will close to initial bidding at 8pm EST on Tuesday August 28.
“Kelly and I thought that the time was right and we thought it would be a fun way to celebrate the streak in light of the wonderful honor the Orioles are bestowing on me this year,” Ripken said. ” We have been very focused on helping kids and building fields and the funds raised from the sale of this truck will help us continue to do that. We had many great times in the Suburban and the memories will last forever. I hope that enthusiatic baseball fans and collectors will view this as a very unique piece of memorabilia.”
Between now and September 6 the Suburban is being housed at Miller Brothers Chevrolet in Ellicott City, Md. where fans will be able to visit and take a look at the SUV, which has been detailed.
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