Baltimore and Washington, D.C., have a rich and storied history in the sports world.
Between the memorable, forgetful and special moments that fans will keep alive, it’s a history that is connected now by one single number – a number that will forever be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
That number is the one and only No. 8.
Since the Baltimore Orioles first came to existence, baseball history has managed to always have Charm City somewhere in the heart of it all. One of the most historic moments in the history of Baltimore and all of baseball happened on September 6, 1995.
Baltimore’s iconic No. 8
One of the larger historic record watches was that of “The Streak.” It’s a record that showed durability and the determination to show up to work every day, no matter what.
Lou “The Iron Horse” Gehrig had set the mark with 2,130 consecutive games played, and Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr. was threatening to break the record as the strike of 1994 began.
With the 1994 season not being finished, would the missed time affect the streak? How would it impact the streak and record going forward? Those answers were given when the 1995 season was set to begin on April 25, 1995.
Attendance was down over 20% across the league to start the 1995 season, and baseball was soon discovering how angry and disappointed the fans truly were. That was until a savior, leader and one of the most beloved players in the league inched closer and closer to a mark once believed unbreakable.
Ripken Jr., a career Oriole, World Series Champ, Rookie of the Year, annual All-Star, Gold Glover, Silver Slugger and two-time MVP entrenched a nation and pulled it back into its favorite past time.
Believed to be a record that would stand the test of time, Major League Baseball realized that Ripken Jr. could be just what they needed to help remind fans of the value of the sport and the iconic history that encapsulates everyone as it happens.
September 6, 1995, had nearly every sporting network and newscast across the world watching closely as The Iron Man would approach the final stretch to make history.
As the fifth inning became official, so had Ripken Jr.’s place in baseball history and the hearts of fans everywhere. He secured consecutive game No. 2,131, only the second player ever to play 2,130 or more consecutive games.
He would continue playing until September 20, 1998, ending “The Streak” at 2,632 consecutive games.
Ripken Jr. retired after the 2001 season and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. The No. 8 is retired by the Orioles organization and will forever live in the lore of the fans and Charm City.
Washington’s iconic No. 8
Wayne Gretzky, “The Great One,” was one of hockey’s most talented and record-setting players in its history.
At the time of his retirement in 1999, Gretzky held 61 NHL records (40 regular-season, 15 playoff and six All-Star records), including career goals, assists and points.
The NHL, which has had its fair share of work stoppages, including in 2004-05, which canceled the entire season. Despite the stars across the league, Alex Ovechkin and Sid Crosby were the ones expected to be the saviors of the league.
Ovechkin and Crosby put the NHL on their backs and carried it forward. Ovi kept scoring and bringing the Caps to the postseason, setting records along the way.
The attention started to shift as 600, 700 and 800 goals kept approaching. Fittingly, the year that will mark 30 years since Cal Ripken Jr. broke the consecutive games streak, Ovechkin would tie and break the career goals streak.
Coincidentally, another connection between Ripken Jr. and Ovechkin is the number 895. Ripken Jr. broke “The Streak” record in ’95, of course wearing the No. 8, while the number that broke the all-time goals record was, you guessed it, 895.
Charm City and The District, separated by a mere 38.4 miles, will forever be linked by a pair of ‘Great 8s.”
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