[BluesDuke]

Gil McDougald a few days ago, now Santo. If this keeps up, God forbid, they're going to start calling me the Grim Reaper in the Nosebleed Seats . . .

[Mr. Jazzy]

Ron was a great player. God bless him and his family.

[SevenofNine]

PING A ROO

[Incorrigible]

Ping

[PATRIOT1876]

Wow, I remember hearing his name almost every day as a kid.

Especially on Saturdays when I’d get a haircut.

RIP Ron!

[bobby.223]

There was no ‘stretch run collapse’ of the 1970 Cubs. ‘69 for sure, but not the ‘70 outfit.

[JPG]

Quite a team is being assembled in the next world. A world with lots of sunshine and no rain-outs. You've got your legs back now, Ron, and you're on deck.

[dfwgator]

Game Called. Across the field of play
the dusk has come, the hour is late.
The fight is done and lost or won,
the player files out through the gate.
The tumult dies, the cheer is hushed,
the stands are bare, the park is still.
But through the night there shines the light,
home beyond the silent hill.

Game Called. Where in the golden light
the bugle rolled the reveille.
The shadows creep where night falls deep,
and taps has called the end of play.
The game is done, the score is in,
the final cheer and jeer have passed.
But in the night, beyond the fight,
the player finds his rest at last.

Game Called. Upon the field of life
the darkness gathers far and wide,
the dream is done, the score is spun
that stands forever in the guide.
Nor victory, nor yet defeat
is chalked against the players name.
But down the roll, the final scroll,
shows only how he played the game.

-Grantland Rice

[Charles Henrickson]

I saw most of the games Ron Santo ever played. He came up to the Cubs when I first started following baseball. We lived about three miles from Wrigley Field. It was real cheap for a kid to get into the park, it was all day games, and so like a lot of boys on the north side of the city, I spent every day I could at the ballpark. So I saw hundreds and hundreds of Santo's games in person. The rest I saw on Channel 9, because WGN carried almost all the games, home and away, on TV. So of all the players I've seen play in 50 years of being a baseball fan, I've probably seen more of Ron Santo and Billy Williams than any other players.

There was a special relationship between those Banks-Williams-Santo teams and the fans. The core of the team stayed together a long time. The players were not far removed from the fans, economically and socially, like they are now. Almost all the games were televised on free TV. They were like family. And the players from those teams kept their friendships over 40 plus years--Santo, Beckert, Hundley, and the rest. In all of those respects, the closest parallel I can think of would be the Brooklyn Dodgers teams of the late '40s through mid '50s.

Ron Santo had an emotional connection with the people of Chicago, as a player and broadcaster, more than anyone else. He wore his emotions on his sleeve. His physical struggles, and the struggles of the team--and his upbeat optimism in the face of all of it--made him even more beloved.

As a player, Ron Santo belongs in the Hall of Fame. A long time ago. One of the ten best third basemen of all time. Offensively and defensively, he was the best in his league in his era, an era of significantly lower offensive numbers than later on.

The two guys I'm most upset about not getting in the Hall during their lifetime--when everyone knew that their days were numbered--are Ron Santo and Buck O'Neil, Cub coach (first black coach in the majors) and scout (Banks, Williams, Brock) and champion of the Negro Leagues. Both Santo and O'Neil were GREAT ambassadors for the game with terrific personalities. I've never been to Cooperstown, but I was planning to make my trip when Ron Santo finally got voted in, to see him standing there. Now that will not happen.

[usconservative]

I'm a life-long White Sox fan and I'll gladly say it:

Sox Fans For Santo!

He was as good of a Third-Baseman as anyone in the game, and has the numbers for the Hall of Fame.

He wasn't just a great player, he was a good and decent human being who set a good example and was a wonderful ambassador for the game of Baseball. He was all heart on and off the field.

No question in this Sox Fan's mind: That Cubs player, Ron Santo, belongs in the Hall of Fame. He should've been voted in long ago.

Sox Fans for Santo!

[dglang]

was born and raised n Chicago and I have been a Cub fan almost all my life. Ron was my favorite Cub, even above Earnie Banks who I also greatly admired.

During the summers, my father and went fishing almost every Sunday and we always had the Cub games on.

I went into the Army n 1964 after graduating from High school. I was stationed at Ft Sheridan IL for awhile and I was able to listen to the Cub games while there.

I was eventually transferred to Ft Harrison Indiana and while I was stationed there, I would take my radio and stand near the overhead power lines just to listen to the Cubs games and the 5th Army Band.

I was very saddened to hear of Ron's passing and was very upset for most of the day.

I was watching the Blackhawks hockey game and when I found out that Ron has passed, I left that game and went browsing for further info regarding Ron. Most of what I have read has been very positive and in line of what I know of him.