COUNTDOWN TO 2000: A day-by-day recap of some of the most important sports moments of the 20th century. / SEPT. 6, 1995 : Ripken Passes Gehrig on His Way to History

It was one record, nearly everyone agreed, that would never fall.

The decades rolled by and no one challenged Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played streak of 2,130. It was deemed unassailable.

After all, other than Gehrig, only four players had ever played in 1,000 consecutive games.

From 1925 to 1939, Gehrig played despite broken fingers, sprained ankles, headaches, flu, sore backs. . . no wonder they called him “The Iron Horse.”

Then came Cal Ripken Jr., who played in 1,000 in a row, then 2,000...

And four years ago today, baseball had a new Iron Horse.

Before 46,000--including President Clinton and hall of famers Joe DiMaggio and Frank Robinson--at Baltimore’s Camden Yards, in a game against the Angels, Ripken, 35, made it 2,131.

When the game became official, teammates Bobby Bonilla and Rafael Palmeiro urged Ripken to take a victory lap, which he did, tipping his cap to even the Angels. In fact, some of the Angels came out of their dugout to hug Ripken.

He stopped also to give his uniform shirt to his wife, Kelly, and to high-five his 2-year-old son, Ryan, and kiss his daughter, Rachel, 5.

The game resumed after a 22-minute delay, and Ripken made it a complete night for everyone--except the Angels--with a home run in the sixth inning.

His streak had begun May 30, 1982. During the streak, major league players went on the disabled list 3,501 times.

Ripken ran the streak to 2,632 before he took a day off.

Also on this date: In 1960, UCLA’s Rafer Johnson, needing to stay close to UCLA rival C.K. Yang to win the Olympic decathlon championship, did just that, finishing six yards behind Yang to win the gold medal. . . . In 1970, Ontario Motor Speedway opened and 180,223--believed to be the largest crowd to see a sporting event in Southern California--watched Jim McElreath win a 500-mile race by two seconds. A little over 10 years later, the track, a major money loser, was sold to developers, who demolished it.