Ron Santo Statue Dedication Recap

Last night was a special night for the Cubs organization and the family of Ron Santo. Ronnie's statue was unveiled at the corner of Addison and Sheffield in an emotional ceremony before the Cubs game against the Nationals. August 10, 2011 was deemed Ron Santo Day at Wrigley Field.

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!

Ron Santo Day: August 10, 2011

We'll I've been posting about this day since January. With the poor play seen by the team on the field this season, one of my main goals here on Everything Cubs Blog has been to honor Cubs legend Ron Santo.

I think it is evident based on all of my posts, but Ronnie meant so much to me and so many other people. He was such a unique, caring, funny and tough person. To go through everything he went through with diabetes, be a nine time All-Star thirdbaseman, be an entertaining broadcaster, do charitable work for JDRF and be so kind, it takes an incredible man.

Visit the posts labeled Ron Santo section on my blog to read all my memories of Ronnie. I miss him every time I turn on the radio during the Cubs game.

Today, the Ron Santo statue unveiling will take place at 5:30pm Central Time at the corner of Addison and Sheffield. Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins, Ernie Banks, Randy Hundly, Glen Beckert, Milt Pappas, Pat Hughes, Ron's family, the Ricketts family and more will be involved in the dedication. It should be interesting to see what the statue looks like. Hughes has narrowed it down to three possibilities: a) Ron fielding b) Ron hitting c) Ron's hairpiece catching on fire!

The statue unveiling will be broadcast live in its entirety on CLTV with clips shown on the WGN-TV News. Live coverage will also air on WGN Radio at 5:30.

Don't forget that Cubs Corner, a Ron Santo special, will air on WGN Radio today at noon. Hosts Dave Eanet, Brian Noonan and Andrea Darlas will be joined by Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins and Pat Hughes. From 1-3 on WGN-720, Nick Digillio will have Santo memories and broadcasting highlights!

Ron Santo Junior joined Greg Jarrett and Dave Eanet this morning on WGN Radio, while Len Kasper stopped by to talk about Ronnie yesterday. Click here for the page that includes both uncut podcasts.

Everything Cubs blog will forever honor Ronnie with his picture on the right sidebar. Our posts about Ron will not end today. Tomorrow I'll recap all the events and then we will return with Remembering Ronnie Roundups once a month for the rest of 2011.

Ron Santo Statue Dedication Time Set

According to a report from Carrie Muskat, the statue unveiling will indeed take place at 5:30 on Wednesday. I'd expect some type of coverage during the Garry Meier Show on WGN Radio, and I'm sure WGN-TV News will have it as well.

Schedule to appear during the statue dedication:

• Members of the Santo family


• The Ricketts family


• Ernie Banks


• Billy Williams


• Fergie Jenkins


• Pat Hughes


• Glenn Beckert


• Randy Hundley


• Milt Pappas

According to Barry Rozner, Santo's family will spread his ashes across Wrigley Field on Thursday.

Scroll down on the main page of our blog for much more Santo coverage!

More Ron Santo Day Notes

We're learning more and more about Ron Santo Day, which is officially this week! I'm looking so forward to Wednesday!!! I will update this post if any additional information becomes available today. Update 2pm CT: According to several reports, the ceremony starts at 5:25pm Central Time on Wednesday evening.

• The Santo family will be singing the 7th Inning Streach on Wednesday, according to Len and Bob's Blog. Pat Hughes is the guest conductor today.


• WGN-TV will be broadcasting the game against the Nationals. Ron Santo: In His Own Words will air starting at 6:30 leading up to the contest.


• I mentioned a few days ago that Hughes did a great interview with Vineline. You can read part of it on the Vineline Cubs Blog!


• Click here for yesterday's Ron Santo post or here for Thursday's Remembering Ronnie Roundup.

I will update throughout the day if anything comes up. I'll be posting several more small posts Monday and Tuesday leading up to Ron Santo Day, with a large post Wednesday morning and another one to recap the day sometime on Thursday.

Counting Down to Ron Santo Day

While the Cubs continue their best stretch of play this season, we continue our week long preview of Ron Santo Day, which is coming up on Wednesday at Wrigley. Ronnie would have loved this Cubs winning streak, by the way.

WGN Radio Sports Director Dave Eanet was on the Cubs broadcast today, sitting in for Pat Hughes. He had some addition information about next Wednesday. The statue will be unveiled at the corner of Addison and Sheffield. The ceremony will be carried live on WGN 720. The time has been in question and we are still waiting for an official confirmation, but Eanet said, "I believe it starts at 5:30, if I'm not mistaken."

WGN Radio will also have Cubs Corner to talk about Ronnie on Wednesday afternoon starting at noon. Ernie Banks has been added to the panel, which will also include Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins and Pat Hughes.

I will update with any additional information on Wednesday's slate as we approach the day!

Remembering Ronnie Roundup: 8-4-11

A big event is coming up at Wrigley Field next Wednesday with the unveiling and dedication of the statue in honor of Cubs legend Ron Santo, who passed away last December.

For full details, click here for last week's Remembering Ronnie Roundup. That post also talks about the Ron Santo golf outing, book, a WGN Radio special and more. The time for the ceremony has not yet officially been announced. One report said that it would take place fairly early (between 1:30 and 4:30), but I'm hearing 5:30, which seems to make more sense. I will update as soon as I hear a confirmed time.

According to WGN-TV, the Cubs will give $10 to JDRF for each bleacher and terrace reserve outfield ticket purchased online for August 10 when you type JDRF as the special coupon code. WGN-TV says that Fergie Jenkins, Billy Williams and Ernie Banks will all be a part of the pregame ceremonies that night.

I recommend getting your hands on the August issue of Vineline. There is a great interview with Pat Hughes about Ronnie. In the upcoming events and promotions section, next Wednesday was listed as Ron Santo Day. Here is what Vineline has about 8/10:
The Cubs are pulling out all the stops to honor legendary third baseman and broadcaster Ron Santo. Festivities will include the dedication of a new statue, Wrigley Field's fourth, that will be unveiled prior to the game.

The Ron Santo Baseball Voices CD, produced by Pat Hughes, is also on the horizon. According to the Baseball Voices Facebook page, the CD will be released before Thanksgiving!

Lifesource is putting on a Ron Santo Memorial Blood Drive. If you give blood on August 10, you will receive a free copy of the great book Ron Santo: A Perfect Ten. Click here for more information.

There will be much more information released about Ron Santo Day in the next week, and we'll have it all right here on Everything Cubs Blog. Please keep checking back!

Post Trade Deadline Quick Hits

Major League Baseball's trading deadline has passed. The Cubs were not as active as most of us hoped they would be. Click here for my assessment as well as the take of all the other writers on View From the Bleachers. Feel free to jump in with your take in the comments on this post and be sure to vote on our poll about the Kosuke trade on the right sidebar.

During the month of August teams can still trade players that first clear waivers. A year ago, the Cubs were active during the waiver season dealing both Mike Fontenot and Derrek Lee. Will Jim Hendry make a move during the month of August again in 2011? That and more trade deadline follow up in today's quick hits.

• Carrie Muskat reports that Hendry is not bother by the lack of moves at the deadline. He also said that August could be a busy month for him.


• Bruce Miles also chimed in on the possibility of moves in August.


• Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors took a look at why the Cubs didn't trade Carlos Pena.


• Aramis Ramirez will sit out tonight's game against the Pirates with a quad issue. He's day-to-day.


• Derrek Lee will be making his Buccos debut against the Cubs, the same team that he made his Braves debut against.


• Andrew Cashner threw off a mound again today and felt good. The target is an early September return, but he hopes to be back in three weeks.


• Paul Sullivan tweeted yesterday that Pena was happy he wasn't traded. Sully also said that Tyler Colvin will not get another shot at first base for the Cubs.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted on Everything Cubs as always.