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2002 Season
Ripken helps team retire No. 3
By Jaime Levy, Charlotte Observer
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (May 16, 2002)
Baseball and NASCAR fans cheered together at Wednesday night's Kannapolis Intimidators
game as baseball great Cal Ripken Jr. presented Dale Earnhardt's family with retired
Intimidators jerseys bearing the number 3.
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Photo by Brian
Gomsak
Cal Ripken Jr.
presents the retired No. 3 jersey to Teresa Earnhardt as Kannapolis Intimidators assistant
general manager Jamie Pruitt holds up the framed jersey in honor of Dale Earnhardt. |
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In a pregame ceremony at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium, Martha,
Teresa, Kerry and Kelley Earnhardt -- Dale Earnhardt's mother and widow and two of his
children -- sat on chairs in the infield and listened to Ripken talk about the legendary
racer, who died in a crash during the Daytona 500 Feb. 18, 2001.
Earnhardt was part-owner of the Intimidators, a Class AA team in the South Atlantic
League.
"When you watched him, first and foremost, here was a guy who was the fiercest of
competitors. ... No one competed harder than Dale," said Ripken, who got a standing
ovation when he stepped to the podium. "He loved his sport and represented his sport
in the highest fashion. He loved his family. He loved his fans."
Ripken, who has been visiting minor-league stadiums since he bought the Utica Blue Sox in
February, unveiled two black-and-white jerseys and presented them to Martha and Teresa
Earnhardt. Martha Earnhardt hugged him.
The brief ceremony before the Intimidators faced the Hagerstown Suns drew a mix of locals
and visitors in town for The Winston all-star race this weekend. The stadium was nearly
full as four U.S. Army Special Operations parachuters flew in with No. 3 flags.
Between the end of the ceremony and the first pitch -- thrown by the Earnhardt daughters
and caught by Ripken -- Ripken posed with fans and signed autographs.
Still, several fans said Ripken, a member of the Charlotte O's in 1980, wasn't the main
draw.
"I'm more excited to see the Earnhardts than Cal," said Kathy Schultz of
Maryland, who came with her son and his father.
At the start of his speech, Ripken acknowledged the night wasn't only about baseball.
"I feel a little out of place tonight," he said. "I'm not really the
biggest NASCAR fan, even though I'm fast becoming one."
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