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Cubs Thu Aug 11 2011
Cubs Honor Ron Santo With Statue at Wrigley
Prior to Wednesday night's contest against the Washington Nationals, the Cubs unveiled a statue of Ron Santo at the corner of Sheffield and Addison. Santo died last December from complications from bladder cancer and his battle with diabetes. He will be forever immortalized at Wrigley Field and eventually someday in Cooperstown.
Santo was the very heart and soul of this franchise for 13 seasons on the field as well as 20 years in the broadcast booth doing Cubs radio. If there was ever a former Cub deserving of a statue, it was Santo. He loved the Cubs and was without a doubt the biggest Cubs fan.
While it is unfortunate that he isn't with us to enjoy this most special of moments, something tells me he was certainly looking down and smiling. If those crusty old dinosaurs in the Hall of Fame veterans committee get their act together, maybe someday Santo will take his rightful place in Cooperstown.
As Santo said upon the Cubs retiring his number back in 2003, "This flag hanging down the left-field line means more to me than the Hall of Fame."
"This is my Hall of Fame," he said, and the same could be said of this statue.
Sure, it will be nice to see him inducted, but in my honest opinion it is too little, too late. He should've been inducted on several different occasions when he was alive and could enjoy it. Nevertheless, he has a statue at Wrigley Field next to his teammate Billy Williams.
The sun was shining during Wednesday's ceremony, just as it did when they raised his number up the left-field foul pole in '03, and to make this moment even more special, the Cubs won 4-2. Santo couldn't have asked for anything better.
