The Special Thanks section needs to start with Barry Brewer.   Barry has been my friend in the Ripken collecting world since I first got back into it.  He has been a part of all of my big collection purchases and someone I regularly rely on for real time information into rarity and value when I am stumped.   

Barry has also provided more than a few scans that have been added to this site thanks to his love of the Topps Tek cards, Bat Barrels, and other high end Ripkens.   I have enjoyed spending days and weeks combing through endless binders and boxes together, even when he got the super rare 1/1 Mirror Black that slipped by me. 

Barry has my respect as a leader in the Ripken Super Collector world and as my friend.   I can’t wait to see what new set he latches on to and completes the rainbow of.  

Kevin has the “O’Connor Collection” on the PSA Registry.  His collection has been the highest rated Ripken Collection on the Registry for 20 years.   It is absolutely amazing to look at and to see that many high PSA graded cards in one place.  I can’t even imagine the patience and time it takes to collect that many PSA high grade cards

Over the years I have relied on Kevin’s knowledge to not only help me identify cards, but also to build and trouble shoot this site itself.   He has been a great resource for me and other Ripken collectors.   I appreciate his friendship and help over the years.

Please go visit his site and check out his collection of Ripken cards as well as some of the other categories he collections such as “First Year Rookie Cards”

Al is the big fish in the Ripken Collecting world.   If someone has a larger collection than him, I have never met them and never even heard of them.  I pride myself on knowing a lot about the cards produced for Ripken, and he is constantly showing me things I have never seen before.   

If you are a Ripken collector, the chances are high that Al has beaten you in an eBay auction.  I know for certain that many of the super rare cards that I was hunting that got sniped away from me at the last moment ended up at Als.    Even the ones I did win by some chance, ended up in his possession anyways when I began to move my cards.   

If you are thinking to yourself, how does one of the largest Ripken Super Collectors in the world keep track of what he has, the answer is, I am not sure he does.    He has shoe boxes and crates of cards piled up in closets.  His house must be an absolute treasure trove of hidden gems.   If I can convince him to let me over there eventually, this site will be greatly enhanced by what I find there.  I am sure of it.

I met Jeff selling cards on eBay.   He was buying things from me and came over one day to go through some boxes that I had.  During that first visit, he discovered that I was the person that ran this site, and since then has been enormously helpful in helping me find cards that I am looking for and sending me scans so that they can be added.  Every time that I finish uploading a year, Jeff goes through his stuff to see what I am missing and sends it my way.   I also get regular emails from Jeff when he sees something that I am missing that pops up on eBay, so that it can be added.

It is easy to find the 1/1s as they come up, but what I really need help with is filling the holes of the mid level parallels and inserts.    Jeff really helps with that, and I am greatful