Some context: Ripken was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland, the son of Violet "Vi" Ripken (nee Roberta) and Cal Ripken Sr. He has German, English, and Irish ancestry. Though the Ripkens called Aberdeen, Maryland, their home, they were often on the move because of Cal Sr.'s coaching duties with the Baltimore Orioles organization. Cal Sr., in fact, was in Topeka, Kansas with one of his teams when his son was born.
Ripken owns several minor league baseball teams. In 2002, he purchased the Utica Blue Sox of the New York-Penn League and moved them to his hometown of Aberdeen, renaming them the Aberdeen IronBirds. The team is the Short-season Single-A affiliate team in the Orioles' system and plays at Ripken Stadium. On June 28, 2005, he announced that he was purchasing the Augusta GreenJackets of the South Atlantic League, a Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. At the end of the 2008 season, Ripken purchased the Vero Beach Devil Rays of the Single-A advanced Florida State League and moved them to Port Charlotte, Florida, where they were renamed the Charlotte Stone Crabs. On January 10, 2007, Ripken expressed interest in purchasing the Baltimore Orioles if current owner Peter Angelos were to sell the team. He had yet to be approached about the potential purchase of the team. Though he has not purchased them, Ripken was quoted in a July 17, 2010, Associated Press article as saying he would consider rejoining the Orioles part-time as an advisor and full-time after his son graduated from high school in 2012. In October 2007, Ripken began working as a studio analyst for TBS Sports during the 2007 Major League Baseball playoffs. He has continued to serve in this role since then. Ripken is on the Board of Directors of ZeniMax Media. On February 28, 2008, Ripken announced his venture into the massively multiplayer online sports game market with "Cal Ripken's Real Baseball". The Ripken Experience is a group of sports complexes. The first opened in Aberdeen, Maryland. A second location with nine baseball fields is located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Opened in 2006, it cost $26 million with $7 million more spent since then. A third location is set to open in summer 2016 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
When did he buy this team?
A: On June 28, 2005,
Some context: O'Neill was born in a hotel, the Barrett House, at Broadway and 43rd Street, on what was then Longacre Square (now Times Square). A commemorative plaque was first dedicated there in 1957. The site is now occupied by 1500 Broadway, which houses offices, retail, and ABC Studios. He was the son of Irish immigrant actor James O'Neill and Mary Ellen Quinlan, who was also of Irish descent.
After suffering from multiple health problems (including depression and alcoholism) over many years, O'Neill ultimately faced a severe Parkinsons-like tremor in his hands which made it impossible for him to write during the last 10 years of his life; he had tried using dictation but found himself unable to compose in that way. While at Tao House, O'Neill had intended to write a cycle of 11 plays chronicling an American family since the 1800s. Only two of these, A Touch of the Poet and More Stately Mansions, were ever completed. As his health worsened, O'Neill lost inspiration for the project and wrote three largely autobiographical plays, The Iceman Cometh, Long Day's Journey into Night, and A Moon for the Misbegotten. He managed to complete Moon for the Misbegotten in 1943, just before leaving Tao House and losing his ability to write. Drafts of many other uncompleted plays were destroyed by Carlotta at Eugene's request. O'Neill died in Room 401 of the Sheraton Hotel (now Boston University's Shelton Hall) on Bay State Road in Boston, on November 27, 1953, at the age of 65. As he was dying, he whispered his last words: "I knew it. I knew it. Born in a hotel room and died in a hotel room." Dr. Harry Kozol, the lead prosecuting expert of the Patty Hearst trial, treated O'Neill during these last years of illness. He also was present for O'Neill's death and announced the fact to the public. O'Neill is interred in the Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood. In 1956 Carlotta arranged for his autobiographical play Long Day's Journey into Night to be published, although his written instructions had stipulated that it not be made public until 25 years after his death. It was produced on stage to tremendous critical acclaim and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1957. This last play is widely considered to be his finest. Other posthumously-published works include A Touch of the Poet (1958) and More Stately Mansions (1967). The United States Postal Service honored O'Neill with a Prominent Americans series (1965-1978) $1 postage stamp.
where was he buried?
A: O'Neill is interred in the Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood.
Some context: Samuel Luther "Big Sam" Thompson (March 5, 1860 - November 7, 1922) was an American professional baseball player from 1884 to 1898 and with a brief comeback in 1906. At 6 feet, 2 inches, the Indiana native was one of the larger players of his day and was known for his prominent handlebar mustache. He played as a right fielder in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Wolverines (1885-88), Philadelphia Phillies (1889-1898) and Detroit Tigers (1906). He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.
In 15 major league seasons, Thompson compiled a .331 batting average with 1,988 hits, 343 doubles, 161 triples, 126 home runs, 1,305 RBIs, and 232 stolen bases. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. Thompson was one of the most prolific run producers in baseball history. His career RBI to games played ratio of .923 (1,305 RBIs in 1,410 games) remains the highest in major league history, higher even than Lou Gehrig (.921), Hank Greenberg (.915), Joe DiMaggio (.885), and Babe Ruth (.884). In 1895, Thompson averaged 1.44 RBIs per game (147 RBIs in 102 games), still a major league record. His 166 RBIs in 1887 (in only 127 games) was 62 more than anyone else in the league that year, and it stood as the major league record until 1921 when Babe Ruth collected 168 (albeit in 152 games). Thompson still holds the major league record for most RBIs in a single month with 61 in August 1894 while playing for the Phillies. Thompson was also one of the best power hitters of the era before Babe Ruth. At the end of the 19th century, Thompson's 126 career home runs ranked second only to Roger Connor. Defensively, Thompson still ranks among the all-time major league leaders with 61 double plays from the outfield (16th all time) and 283 outfield assists (12th all time). Thompson has also been credited by baseball historians with perfecting "the art of throwing the ball to the plate on one bounce, which catchers found easier to handle than the usual throw on the fly." Bill Watkins, who managed Thompson in Detroit, recalled: "He was a fine fielder and had a cannon arm and will live in my memory as the greatest natural hitter of all time." In a 1913 story on Thompson, Detroit sports writer Maclean Kennedy noted that Thompson's drives "were the direct cause of more hats being smashed, more backs that were thumped til they were black and blue by some wild-eyed fan sitting in the seat behind, more outbursts of frenzied shrieks and howls of glee, than those of any other player who ever wore a Detroit uniform", barring only the two great stars of the day, Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford.
Was he the leader in home runs?
A:
Thompson's 126 career home runs ranked second only to Roger Connor.