The death of baseball Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg last week — he died of prostate cancer at age 65 — brought back many stories of what a terrific human being the Chicago Cubs second baseman was. Amen to that.
Fans gather as they leave flowers and other items at a makeshift memorial in front of the statue of Hall of Fame second baseman for the Chicago Cubs Ryne Sandberg outside Wrigley Field, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Chicago.
After the Cubs’ epic 1984 season, in which Sandberg was the National League MVP, I went to Hi Corbett Field on March 12, 1985, when the Cubs were scheduled to play the Cleveland Indians in a spring training game. Incredibly, the Cubs brought all of their starters to Tucson: Sandberg, Dennis Eckersley, Larry Bowa, Shawon Dunston, Jody Davis, Ron Cey, Leon Durham, you name it.
I walked into the small and antiquated visitors’ dressing room at Hi Corbett shortly after the Cubs arrived from Phoenix. It was intimidating. I was the first reporter to enter the dressing room. The only other non-Cub was ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Icecats coach Leo Golembiewski, who somehow gained admittance and had an armful of Icecats jerseys that he handed out to each of the Cubs. They looked at Golembiewski as if he was a cartoon character and laughed at him.
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At that moment, Sandberg stood, walked to Golembiewski and shook his hand. He took an Icecats jersey and began asking the UA hockey coach about his team and his background. Golembiewski was from Chicago. They hit it off immediately.
Sandberg then went to his locker, grabbed a Cubs jersey, signed it and gave it to Coach G.
I’m a lifelong Yankees fan, but after that morning at Hi Corbett Field 40 years ago, Ryne Sandberg became my favorite baseball player.
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