For decades, he’s hunted tickets from Cal Ripken’s ‘Iron Man’ streak. Just 8 elude him

It's one of baseball’s most iconic records: For 2,632 straight games over 17 seasons, Cal Ripken Jr. never missed a day in the Baltimore Orioles’ lineup.

For the past 28 years, lifelong Orioles fan Rick Taylor has been amassing a collection to match it, trying to gather a ticket from each game of Ripken's “Iron Man” streak, which lasted from 1982 to 1998. After decades of searching, Taylor is just eight tickets short of completing what experts agree is already one of the most impressive collections of baseball tickets ever assembled.

“Did I ever really think I would get this far? No, not really,” said Taylor, a retired 69-year-old food industry salesman who lives outside Baltimore. “But I always said to myself that if I could ever get down to single digits, I think I could do it.”

Taylor's collection now fills 16 boxes in his collectible-filled basement, each ticket individually protected in a hard plastic holder and labeled with its corresponding game number — the physical manifestation of a record that many believe will never be broken.

“The amount of time and the effort to put something together like that is astonishing,” said Mike Provenzale, a production manager at Heritage Auctions, which is not affiliated with Taylor’s collection. “Everyone marvels at Ripken’s record. It’s almost an equal feat of perseverance to put together a collection of that many tickets.”

Taylor's pursuit, though, comes as physical tickets have largely become a thing of the past, with teams shifting toward digital passes and QR codes that offer little of the appeal of an old-fashioned ticket stub.

“It’s devastating,” Taylor said, lamenting that younger collectors will never be able to build similar collections that span the careers of today's stars like Shohei Ohtani or Aaron Judge.

“It would be impossible to put together a run like this today,” said Matt Fuller, head of ticket authentication at PSA, which authenticates and grades collectibles.

Taylor initially had a more modest goal: a ticket from every game in which Ripken hit one of his 431 career home runs. But when a fellow collector asked him if he had thought about expanding the search to encompass the Iron Man streak, Taylor was intrigued: "I said, ‘That would be crazy, but you might have something there.’”

So Taylor began placing ads in The Baltimore Sun, which quickly yielded calls from people offering to sell or trade their tickets to him. As a local, finding a ticket from each home game was relatively easy, Taylor said, even if he had to pay $4,400 in 1999 to win an auction for the jewel of his collection: a May 30, 1982, ticket that marked the first game of Ripken's streak.

The road games have proven much tougher.

Over the years, Taylor has gone to card shows, scoured eBay and even bought the tickets of other Ripken fans who'd given up on their own Iron Man collections. A lively Facebook group called Booger’s Ticket Stubs has also been a big help, as members help each other track down things on their friends' wish lists.

A few years ago, things had slowed to a trickle: 2023 yielded one ticket. 2024, zero. But then he got three in 2025. And this year, amid a renewed push to publicize the collection on social media, Taylor has already gotten five more.

That leaves eight largely uneventful road games from the 1980s still missing: four against the Minnesota Twins, three against the Texas Rangers and one against the Kansas City Royals. Taylor can recite the dates by heart: 6-4-82 in Minnesota. 8-21-82 against the Rangers. 4-25-84 vs. the Royals.

Taylor partially attributes the difficulty in finding the Twins and Rangers tickets to the fact that both teams were mediocre in the mid-80s and did not command large crowds, further increasing their scarcity. He is offering $100 per ticket to garner interest.

“I’m just hoping there are people who see that someone needs those tickets — because they’re out there,” Taylor said.

Fuller, from PSA, agreed: “I have no doubt they’re out there, collecting dust in a desk drawer, a scrapbook or a shoebox.”

The fact that Taylor has already found so many of those obscure tickets is astounding, Provenzale said, recalling the poorly attended Rangers games he used to attend while growing up in the 1980s.

“To find somebody that held on to a ticket like that, it’s jaw-dropping,” Provenzale said.

Taylor is searching for tickets that few thought to save. But for today’s fans, there may soon be no physical tickets at all.

For years now, tickets to sporting events have been largely distributed digitally or via printable PDFs, neither of which has the appeal or style of a ticket on cardstock. Some teams will print out a ticket for a nominal fee. Others have ceased the practice entirely.

Taylor recalled attending an Orioles game last year in which the Dodgers' Ohtani hit two home runs. Knowing some of his friends collect Ohtani tickets, Taylor went to the Orioles' box office to buy 10 bleacher tickets for $35 each. The only problem? Taylor says the Orioles staffers refused to print the tickets, offering only digital tickets instead, something Taylor had no interest in paying for.

“They turned down $350," Taylor said. "They can print the tickets; they just don't want to.”

In a statement, the Orioles defended digital ticketing, citing reduced fraud, better communication with fans and a smoother entry process. The team said it still provides physical tickets in certain circumstances, such as when a minor doesn’t have a cellphone.

Ironically, it’s this shift away from physical tickets that has increased their appeal, Provenzale said. He said the market grew about a decade ago and “exploded” about eight years ago, appealing both to memorabilia collectors, as well as card collectors, who value condition.

If Taylor completes his collection, he says he's going to "sit back for a while and just enjoy it.”

Beyond that, though, he's not sure what to do with it. He and his wife don't have any children, and he said their nieces and nephews aren't especially interested in it. One possibility he'd welcome is for the collection to end up with Ripken himself.

It could also fetch a substantial sum at auction. Provenzale estimated that Taylor's collection, if completed, could command in the “high five figures,” and potentially more than $100,000, especially because of the “story” it tells.

“If somebody got a ticket to every game Ken Griffey Jr. played, that would be impressive, too, but the Ripken collection has something a little bit extra because of that consecutive games record," Provenzale said. “It adds a purpose to the collection.”

But even if Taylor finds the last eight tickets, the hunt wouldn't necessarily be over. In the collecting world, there's a hierarchy: Full tickets are more desirable than ticket stubs. Ones issued by the box office are better than ones from Ticketmaster. And none are more valuable than the oversized, elaborately designed tickets issued to season ticket holders. In other words, there are always ways to improve the collection.

“It's never-ending,” Taylor said with a laugh.

Baltimore Orioles fan Rick Taylor holds two newly-acquired tickets to add to his collection of tickets from almost every baseball game of Cal Ripken Jr.'s 2,632 game "Iron Man" streak, at his home in Reisterstown, Md., Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles fan Rick Taylor thumbs through his collection of tickets from almost every baseball game of Cal Ripken Jr.'s 2,632 game "Iron Man" streak, at his home in Reisterstown, Md., Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles fan Rick Taylor shows the log that he uses to track his progress in collecting tickets from every game of Cal Ripken Jr.'s 2,632 game "Iron Man" streak, at his home in Reisterstown, Md., Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles fan Rick Taylor holds a ticket from the first baseball game of Cal Ripken Jr.'s 2,632 game "Iron Man" streak, at his home in Reisterstown, Md., Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles fan Rick Taylor looks through his collection of tickets from almost every baseball game of Cal Ripken Jr.'s 2,632 game "Iron Man" streak, at his home in Reisterstown, Md., Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Connor Hellebuyck is joining the New Jersey Devils and is very happy about it.

The 33-year-old three-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender met the media before New Jersey faced the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday and his eagerness to wear No. 37 for the Devils was evident.

“Sitting at home for so long was getting to me. For myself, I’m just really excited to play hockey again," Hellebuyck said after his suspension by the Winnipeg Jets for his failure to report to training camp led to Friday’s trade with New Jersey. “I’m joining a very skilled group. They brought me for a certain specific role. I’m really excited to fill that role, not only on the ice but off the ice as well.”

Hellebuyck spent 11 seasons with the Jets, including a Presidents’ Trophy-winning season in 2024-25, and helped the United States win gold at the Milan Cortina Olympics this year. A fifth-round draft pick in 2012 by Winnipeg, Hellebuyck is fifth on the U.S.-born goaltenders list with 345 career wins. Among U.S.-born goalies with 300 or more career starts, his .916 save percentage ranks fourth and 2.58 goals-against average ranks sixth.

Hellebuyck will share goaltending duties with 36-year-old Jake Allen.

The Devils sent forward Dawson Mercer, goalie Nico Daws, prospect Alexander Command, a 2029 second-round pick, a 2027 seventh-rounder and injured forward Nick Bjugstad to Winnipeg for Hellebuyck.

“Obviously having a goaltender of this pedigree come in here and support Jake is exciting," Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. ”That should give the group more confidence."

General manager Sunny Mehta said Hellebuyck's excitement for his new destination was palpable within minutes of their initial conversation.

Hellebuyck has been skating in Michigan while trade talks continued. He has five seasons left on a seven-year contact with an annual salary cap hit of $8.5 million.

“He was like: ‘I’m ready, I’m packed. I’ll get in my car right now,'” Mehta said about his exchange with his new goalie.

Mehta laughed and said he told Hellebuyck: "Don’t do that.”

Mehta has been trying to improve a team that missed the playoffs two of the past three seasons and won just one playoff series since 2012. New Jersey has won six of its first 10 games this season.

“Everything is about winning. That is my goal every single day," Mehta said. ”This obviously makes us a better team. In my view it improves our team — and I was thrilled about my team coming out of camp."

When Hellebuyck plays his first game for New Jersey is still undetermined. He hasn't played in an NHL game since April 13, a 6-2 Jets loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. Winnipeg missed the playoffs last spring a year after finishing with an NHL-best 116 points.

Hellebuyck won 47 games in 2024-25. The Jets advanced past the second round only once during his tenure in Manitoba.

Hellebuyck said it's too early to address his feeling toward the city of Winnipeg and Jets fans. New Jersey visits Winnipeg on Nov. 10.

“There’s a lot I need to say," he said. ”Out of respect for them and the celebration of hockey, I’m going to postpone to a later date. I hope they know I care about them."

Hellebuyck added that winning gold with his now-teammate Jack Hughes — who scored the overtime goal against Canada in February for the Americans' first gold medal since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team — has left an indelible mark on him.

“That’s one of those moments and memories that I will cherish forever. And I will probably hear how other people will cherish them forever," he said. “One of my favorite stories is, ‘Where were you when?’ People will tell me what they were doing during the gold-medal game. Those are my favorite stories to hear.”

The veteran netminder, a native of Commerce, Michigan, who played two seasons of college hockey at UMass-Lowell, added that he looks forward to playing home games in the U.S. after more than a decade calling Canada home.

Hellebuyck added that while he was unfamiliar with life in New Jersey at the moment, he is looking forward to discovering everything that comes with new surroundings — finding a home, favorite restaurants and new places to spend free time.

“I know I’m going to get a lot more of that here than in Canada because I don’t think they care much about it," he said of the gold-medal plaudits for the Olympic win over Canada. “This is closer to my family’s home. Just being in the USA will be very exciting for this next chapter in my career.”

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

FILE - Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) makes a save against a St. Louis Blues shot during the third period of Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Monday April 21, 2025. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

FILE - Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) makes a save on a shot by Ottawa Senators' Dylan Cozens (24) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Ottawa, Ontario, on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

FILE - Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stands by the net during a time out from play against the Dallas Stars in the first period of an NHL hockey game, April 2, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)