He passed away Thursday in a hospital in Arizona at the age of 70.
The former Chicago Cubs star third baseman and longtime broadcaster, a revered figure for not just the North Side, but across the entire country, died from complications of bladder cancer, according to WGN Radio, where Santo served as the Cubs color commentator.
Santo played for the Chicago Cubs from 1960 to 1973 before spending his final season in the big leagues with the cross-town White Sox. He hit 342 career home runs, won five Gold Glove Awards and made the All Star team on nine occasions.
He enjoyed four seasons in which he batted at least .300 with 30 home runs from 1964 to 1967, and had a playing streak of 390 consecutive games before being hit in the cheekbone by a Jack Fisher pitch in June 1966.
His 1969 Cubs, who led the New York Mets by 13 games in August before collapsing, was extra special to Cubs Nation and the Bleacher Bums, with Santo clicking his heels after every win.
Just before Santo made his debut with the Cubs in 1959, his physical returned news of juvenile diabetes. He began taking insulin within two years, but kept it from the team until being named an All-Star for the first time in 1963.
The public didn't find out about the disease until his final years with the Cubs, but once his playing days were over, Santo raised millions of dollars for research on the disease, and sponsored an annual walk-a-thon for a cure for more than two decades.
Santo's diabetes became even more serious as he grew older. He endured heart attacks, underwent quadruple-bypass surgery, and finally had his legs amputated nearly ten years ago. Still, he courageously moved on and continued the broadcasts with WGN, using prostheses.
When the Cubs retired his No. 10 at Wrigley Field in September 2003, Santo said:
There’s nothing more important to me in my life than this happening to me. I’m a Cubbie. I’ll always be a Cubbie.It's a true shame that Santo died without the place in the Hall of Fame that he deserved, which the veterans committee has had 15 chances to give him.
[Chicago Tribune] | [Chicago Sun-Times] | [Bleed Cubbie Blue]
3 comments:
As a lifelong(50+ years) Cardinals fan, you'd think I'd have nothing but disdain for anyone who ever donned a Cubs jersey, but, in the words of Lee Corso, "not so fast, my friend." Other than Ernie Banks and Sweet-Swinging Billy Williams, there was no other Cub player that I had more admiration for than Santo. Outside of Kenny Boyer(of course), he was my favorite 3B when I was a young lad, and when he was snubbed for the HOF, it upset me as much as the fact that Rush isn't in the R&R HOF(don't EVEN get me started on that).
R.I.P. Ronnie; we'll miss you your blatant homerism and exuberance on the radio. Knock one out of the park for us, ok?
Excellent article ladies. You really did well at capturing the essense of what he meant to baseball fans everywhere, not just Cubs fans.
"When we think of Ron Santo, one word comes to mind: Courage."
...and homer.
Hey, I say it with love! Rest in peace Ronnie. You'll be missed.
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