Cubs great Ron Santo dies
Posted By Jim Hagerty On December 3, 2010 @ 9:52 am In Happening Now | No Comments
[1]Ron Santo
By Jim Hagerty
Staff Writer
Legendary Chicago Cubs third baseman and radio announcer Ron Santo died Thursday, Dec. 2, in Arizona, his family announced Friday, Dec. 3.
Santo slipped into a coma Wednesday, Dec. 1, after being hospitalized for complications from bladder cancer. He was 70.
Santo spent 15 seasons in Major League Baseball, 14 with the Cubs. He ended his career with the White Sox in 1974.
Santo became a Cubs radio broadcaster in 1990, continuing his popularity as one of the most prolific figures in franchise history. He was slated to return to the broadcast booth for the 2011 season.
“He absolutely loved the Cubs,” fellow broadcaster Pat Hughes said. “The Cubs have lost their biggest fan.”
Making his Cubs debut in 1960, Santo played in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game nine times and won five Gold Gloves.
He finished his playing career with 342 home runs and, despite his popularity and reputation as a slugger, was never inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He came close in 1998, grabbing 39 of 48 votes. He’ll be eligible for admission as a player–retired for 20 or more years– in 2012.
Santo was a leading spokesman for type 1 diabetes, a disease he battled for most of his life.
The Cubs retired his No. 10 in 2003.
“We knew (Ron Santo) for his passion, his loyalty, his great personal courage and his tremendous sense of humor,” Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement released Friday, Dec. 3. “It was our great honor to get to know him personally in our first year as owners. Ronnie will forever be the heart and soul of Cubs fans.”
Article printed from The Rock River Times: http://rockrivertimes.com
URL to article: http://rockrivertimes.com/2010/12/03/cubs-great-ron-santo-dies/
URLs in this post:
[1] Image: http://rockrivertimes.com/2010/12/03/cubs-great-ron-santo-dies/santo/
[2] Image: http://delicious.com/post?url=http%3A%2F%2Frockrivertimes.com%2F2010%2F12%2F03%2Fcubs-great-ron-santo-dies%2F&title=Cubs+great+Ron+Santo+dies
[3] Image: http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Frockrivertimes.com%2F2010%2F12%2F03%2Fcubs-great-ron-santo-dies%2F&title=Cubs+great+Ron+Santo+dies&bodytext=+%0D%0A%0D%0A%5Bcaption+id%3D%22attachment_27889%22+align%3D%22alignright%22+width%3D%22275%22+caption%3D%22Ron+Santo%22%5D%5B%2Fcaption%5D%0D%0A%0D%0ABy+Jim+Hagerty%0D%0AStaff+Writer%0D%0A%0D%0ALegendary+Chicago+Cubs+third+baseman+and+radio+announcer+Ron+Santo+died+Thursday%2C+Dec.+2%2C+in+Arizona%2C+his+family+announced+Friday%2C+Dec.+3.%0D%0A%0D%0ASanto+slipped+into+a+coma+Wednesday%2C+Dec.+1%2C+
[4] Image: http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Frockrivertimes.com%2F2010%2F12%2F03%2Fcubs-great-ron-santo-dies%2F&t=Cubs+great+Ron+Santo+dies
[5] Image: http://www.reddit.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Frockrivertimes.com%2F2010%2F12%2F03%2Fcubs-great-ron-santo-dies%2F&title=Cubs+great+Ron+Santo+dies
[6] Image: http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Frockrivertimes.com%2F2010%2F12%2F03%2Fcubs-great-ron-santo-dies%2F&title=Cubs+great+Ron+Santo+dies
[7] Image: http://twitter.com/home/?status=http%3A%2F%2Frockrivertimes.com%2F2010%2F12%2F03%2Fcubs-great-ron-santo-dies%2F
[8] Image: http://rockrivertimes.com/2010/12/03/cubs-great-ron-santo-dies/feed
Click here to print.