Ever Miss a Day of Work? This Guy Didn’t!

How many days have you called in sick this year or within the last 12 calendar months? Here at the station, there are quite a few people who can put their names on that list.

I know a guy who worked in radio who never called in sick one time over a period of time that I would guess was some 20 years. I don't know exactly how long it was but Bob Joye at WGEM had a string of consecutive work days without using a sick day that may never be equaled. I can't ask him for the total time since he passed away a few years ago. I bring up this topic because today is the anniversary of the most notorious "ironman" streak beginning. Baltimore Orioles Shortstop Cal Ripkin Junior played the first of 2130 consecutive games passing the previous "ironman", Lou Gehrig. Ripken played in an additional 501 straight games over the next three years, and his streak ended at 2,632 games when he voluntarily removed his name from the lineup for the final Orioles home game of the 1998 season. His record 2,632 straight games spanned from May 30, 1982, to September 20, 1998. It was on this date May 30th, 1982, 30 years ago when Ripkin was inserted into the Orioles lineup and he didn't come out of the lineup for 17 seasons. It's a record that will probably never be broken. I know some people who can't get thru 17 days without calling in sick. So Bob's and Cal's records are remarkable.