Cal Ripken Jr.

Having retired from play in 2001, Cal Ripken, Jr.—a family man whose wife, Kelly, and children Rachel and Ryan, figure largely in his life—has left a legacy of community service. He founded the Kelly and Cal Ripken, Jr., Foundation, which supports adult and family literacy, youth recreation, and health-related programs in the greater Baltimore area; the couple are also benefactors of the Baltimore Reads Ripken Learning Center, the Kelly G. Ripken Program for thyroid education at Johns Hopkins University; and the Baltimore School for the Arts. In 1995, the Cal Ripken, Jr./Lou Gehrig ALS Research Fund was established at Johns Hopkins. "Because We Care," a program funded by Ripken, donates tickets to Baltimore home games to the underprivileged. In April 2002, GoodMark Foods entered into a promotion featuring lunch with Ripken as the grand prize of a sunflower-seeds contest.