After Jackson Holliday was called up yesterday it did create quite the stir that it was then soon announced that he would wear #7 and that the Holliday family had reached out to Cal Ripken Jr. for permission, because that number hadn't been issued since Cal Sr. last wore it in 1992.
Reports also mentioned that the last Orioles player to wear # 7 was Bill Ripken who took it after Sr. was fired after only six games into the 1988 season (when Sr. was re-hired as a coach in '89 he re-claimed it).
Kind of a along story, but a friend of mine who was part of the media took me into the Orioles locker room after the last home game of the '88 season (they had just lost their 104th game) and were packing for Toronto for the final weekend of that nightmare season.
I approached Bill after he dressed and asked him if I could have the "Ripken 7" nameplate above his locker (Cal Jr. had already given me his) and he pulled it off and just handed it to me. He then added "Hold it, I've got something else for you" and dug deep into the bottom of his locker and handed me the mangled "B. Ripken 3" nameplate that had been there since April.
Needless to say I was very grateful to my media buddy as well as to the Ripken Brothers for their generosity that fall night......
