Ron Santo

SPORTING GOODS

I doubt if I ever had any more respect for an opponent than I had for Ron Santo, who in 1969 was the Cub I most feared as I cheered for the Mets to win their first championship. His .289, 29 homer, and 123 RBI season that year was better than Hall of Famers Williams's and Banks's years were, even though he's not in Cooperstown—just one of the many setbacks he had in his life.

I didn't know Santo was a double amputee; his histrionics during Cubs games certainly didn't give his condition away.

If Ernie Banks was "Mr. Cub," I think most people can agree that Santo was, in the words of Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts, "the heart and soul of Cubs fans."

Requiescat in pace.