Len Kasper was the emcee for the ceremony. Tom Ricketts, Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins and Billy Williams all spoke before the unveiling. Pat Hughes shared his thoughts and then was at the microphone while the actual unveiling took place. Randy Hundley and Glenn Beckert assisted in the statue unveiling. Ron's wife Vicki and son Jeff spoke after the statue was revealed. Vicki said that Ron got a call during the summer of 2010 from Crane Kenney informing him that his Billy Williams' statue would be done in September and his the following season. Ronnie knew about the statue and he was so excited about it.
The statue itself was really cool. Cubs colors of blue and red were mixed in with the bronze. It was of Ron making a throw from third base. It is the first of the four statues at Wrigley to be of player playing defense. The statue looks just like #10. Most of the Cubs players paid their respects by showing up to the unveiling even though it was just before a game.
Here are some links for more Santo coverage!
- Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald's blog
- Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune- w/ video of Santo family singing stretch
- Carrie Muskat's blog- Cubs players and manager remember Santo's passion
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times- Statue a touching tribute
- WGN Radio audio coverage of statue dedication
- Cubs Corner Ron Santo special- full audio
- Video & Article from WGN-TV
I great job by the Cubs organization and the guys that constructed the statue. I only wish that Ronnie would have been there to see it.
Which Cubs legend would you like to see honored with a statue outside Wrigley next? Vote on the poll on our right sidebar.
Well, that does it for our week full of Ron Santo coverage! I'll take a few days off from posting and then return with more Cub related posts. If news breaks, I'll keep you posted as always!
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