Thirty years later: Remembering Cal Ripken Jr.’s historic night on ESPN
Thirty years ago this week — Sept. 6, 1995 — the baseball world stopped to watch Cal Ripken Jr. break Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games played. From the sold-out crowd at Camden Yards to living rooms across America, Ripken’s 2,131st straight game became more than a milestone. It was a symbol of perseverance and joy for fans at a time when the sport needed it most.
For ESPN, which televised the game, the night remains one of the defining moments in its Major League Baseball history. Chris Berman, who called the game alongside Buck Martinez, still remembers how the booth went silent for 19 minutes, and how the emotion in Baltimore shaped every decision that night.
“It really was a no-brainer,” Berman recalled. “The celebration lasted over 20 minutes, and half the time we were crying out of happiness, just like everyone else in the stadium. We get paid to talk, but the right call that night was to let the pictures tell the story.”
Phil Orlins, ESPN Vice President of Production Technology & Innovation, who produced the game, called Ripken’s pursuit both inevitable and surprising. “It was the most predictable record-breaking you could possibly have… but what was unpredictable was the home run, the lap around the field, and how the crowd and his teammates responded. That was the special memory that came out of an otherwise predictable occasion.”
That sense of the unexpected guided how ESPN covered the moment. “From a producing standpoint, the main aspect was not to infringe on the live experience and the live shots that were happening,” Orlins said. “It was one of those times where you sit back and let the director create the lasting images.”
The images of Ripken’s lap around Camden Yards, shaking hands and waving to fans as numbers dropped on the warehouse in right field captured the power of the night. Even President Bill Clinton — who visited the booth during the game — and Vice President Al Gore were in attendance, underscoring how the achievement transcended sports.
The broadcast, directed by Marc Payton, earned ESPN an Emmy. As a testament to its significance, then-ESPN President Steve Bornstein sent every employee a VHS copy of the game as an end-of-year gift.
Berman admits he prepared in unusual ways, including reading a Lou Gehrig biography weeks before, knowing Ripken’s pursuit was about more than a number. “It was a night for baseball, but it was also a night for America,” he said. “You don’t forget where you were when you watched it.”
This weekend, Ripken invited Berman to join him at Camden Yards for the 30th anniversary celebration
Three decades later, the broadcast is remembered as one of ESPN’s proudest achievements. An evening where silence, reverence and history carried the call.
