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by Mark Viviano
BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) ― Some of the greatest baseball players that have ever lived, along with an estimated record number of fans, were in Cooperstown Sunday to help usher Aberdeen native Cal Ripken Jr. into the Hall of Fame.

As Mark Viviano reports, Ripken and former San Diego Padre Tony Gwynn were honored at the induction ceremony, as the two members making up the Hall's 2007 class of inductees.

An estimated 70,000 adoring fans were on hand along with a record 53 Hall of Fame members as Ripken made his induction speech.

Ripken used his speech to thank fans, former teammates and famiy members for helping him get through his career as a professional baseball player.

Some had signs reading "Red Sox Fans Love Cal," while others hoisted letters reading "Holy Cal."

As for Ripken himself, the excitement and attention of the day were often deflected into gratitude.

"As I thought about this day, I couldn't help but say to myself 'You don't get to a place like this and join a group like the men seated behind me, without a lot of people supporting you along the way,'" said Ripken. "If I thanked them all individually, I would keep you all here longer than the streak."

That "streak" is one of the most recognized and respected in sports history. Ripken played in 2,632 consecutive games, which earned him the title of being 'Baseball's Iron Man.'

He was also known by many fellow players as a great teammate.

"From the front office to the training room and the men I played with through the years, I was a better player because I was part of the Oriole way," said Ripken. "Then, there are the fans of baseball and, in particular the people of Baltimore, who cheered my successes and stood by me when things weren't going so well."

Ripken will forever be known as the Iron Man, but when sizing up his impact on baseball, he says it isn't so much that he played more than 2,600 consecutive games -- it's how he played them.

"I felt that there was a sense of responsibility and a way about your job that Dad instilled in me that I just carried," Ripken told WJZ's Mark Viviano in a one-on-one interview.

Cal Ripken Sr. died in 1999, after decades of involvement with the Orioles. But the elder Ripken's influence on his son has always been attributed to part of the Iron Man's greatness.

"Dad used to always say, 'When you go into another level, look around and convince yourself that you belong because otherwise you wouldn't be there,'" said Ripken.

"He was a thinking man's shortstop and he got that from his dad," said Oriole legend and fellow Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson. "His dad was such a wonderful baseball guy."

Former San Diego Padres standout Tony Gwynn also acknowledged Ripken's contribution in a video tribute during the Orioles' send-off ceremony in Baltimore earlier this week.

Gwynn said Ripken epitomizes what is good about the game and sets a great example. Robinson agreed.

"Cal just kept getting better and better, and won the MVP one year and won it again and you're saying to yourself 'well this guy is a Hall of Famer," said Robinson.

Many baseball greats have said Ripken redefined the shortstop position. He retired in 2002 as one of seven players in major league history with more than 400 home runs and 3,000 hits.

He also won two MVP awards, was the 1982 rookie of the year, won two Gold Gloves and was named to the All-Star team an AL-record 19 times.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)