Another Iron Man

Tuesday's Boston Globe carries the obit for Jack Vallely, an Iron Man of a coach at Division III Curry College. Fittingly, Vallely had ties to Baltimore's Iron Man.

"From 1948 through 1998, Jack Vallely never missed a game or a practice as head baseball coach at Curry College on his way to setting an NCAA record of 51 consecutive baseball seasons at one school.

...

Mr. Vallely made many friends through baseball, including the late Baltimore Orioles coach Cal Ripken Sr. Mr. Vallely was especially touched when Ripken's son, Cal Jr., called him after his Major League record streak of 2,632 consecutive games played ended in 1998.

'My dad knew Cal Jr. since he was a youngster, and we arranged a meeting with him, my dad, and Ken Quigley at Fenway Park,' said Mr. Vallely's son. 'They talked about their streaks, and Ripken signed a photo of the two of them that reads: 'Jack, your streak was amazing. Nice going, Iron Man' ...."