Remembering Cubs Legend Ryne Sandberg

The longtime Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame infielder passed away on Monday after a battle with metastatic prostate cancer.

Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg waves before the Chicago Cubs unveiled a statue of himself in Chicago on June 23, 2024. Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo

After the Chicago Cubs’ 8–4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, attention quickly turned to the passing on the same day of Cubs legend and Hall of Fame infielder Ryne Sandberg.

“It’s a sad day for the Chicago Cubs,” manager Craig Counsell told reporters. “He was a great Cub. I’m grateful that we got a chance to get to know him this spring.”

Sandberg, 65, passed away on July 28, after a long battle with metastatic prostate cancer. He had a hallmark career with the Cubs from 1982 to 1994 and 1996 to 1997, where he made 10 All-Star games and earned nine Gold Gloves in addition to the 1984 National League MVP.

Sandberg grew up in Spokane, Washington. He was drafted by Philadelphia in 1978, but his star potential failed to materialize. And after a lackluster start with the Phillies in 1981, he was traded to the Cubs in 1982. Sandberg’s career took off from there with the franchise known as the Lovable Losers during the 107-year World Series win drought.

In 1984, Sandberg became a household name with a .314 batting average, 19 home runs, 84 RBI, and 32 stolen bases. He delivered in the NLCS that year when he hit two home runs off future Hall of Fame closer Bruce Sutter, but the Cubs fell short of reaching the World Series—something Sandberg never got to do in his storied career with the Cubs.

In 15 seasons with Chicago, Sandberg hit 282 home runs and tallied 344 stolen bases. He notably hit a career high of 40 home runs in 1990.

Sandberg retired in 1997.  The Cubs retired his No. 23 jersey in 2005, the same year he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

“The reason I am here, they tell me, is that I played the game a certain way, that I played the game the way it was supposed to be played,” Sandberg said in his acceptance speech.

The honors continued in 2024 when the Cubs added a statue of Sandberg at Wrigley Field.

Sandberg wasn’t the only major professional athlete in Chicago during the 1980s and 1990s to become a Hall of Famer and have a statue in his honor. He played in the shadows of former Chicago Bulls basketball great Michael Jordan, and the Chicago Bears were notably kings of the NFL in 1985 during the time of Sandberg’s rise to stardom.

“You think about Jordan, [Bears legend] Walter Payton, and Ryne Sandberg all here at the same time, and I can’t imagine a person handling their fame better, their responsibility for a city better than he did,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said during a July 20 broadcast.

Cubs outfielder Ian Happ, 30, was born during the latter part of Sandberg’s career, but Happ knows well the meaning Sandberg holds for the Cubs fan base and beyond. A 2015 draft pick by the Cubs, Happ has played in the majors since 2017.

“There is a whole generation of Cubs fans that adore ‘Ryno.’ You could feel it. You could feel it when he was around,” Happ told reporters after Monday’s game.

Sandberg was diagnosed with cancer in 2024. After treatment, he announced he was cancer-free in August 2024, but the cancer returned in December. He shared a message of gratitude for Cubs fans on Instagram two weeks before his death.

“While I am continuing to fight, I’m looking forward to making the most of every day with my loving family and friends,” Sandberg wrote. “I haven’t been to Wrigley Field as much as I hoped in the first half [of the season], but I’m watching every game and excited for the second half and to see Wrigley rocking like 1984!”

Sandberg tried his hand at managing in Philadelphia from 2013 to 2015, but he didn’t enjoy the same success as he did on the field with the Cubs, with a 119–159 record in Philly. He returned to the Cubs in 2016 as an ambassador for the organization with numerous public appearances.

Sandberg had a son, Justin, and a daughter, Lindsey, and eight grandchildren from his marriage to Cindy. They divorced in 1995, and Sandberg wed Margaret.