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Beloved Cubs icon Santo dies at age 70
Nine-time All-Star, longtime broadcaster was Chicago legend
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com | 12/03/10 10:04 AM EST
Ron Santo played his last of 15 Major League seasons for the crosstown Chicago White Sox, but he was always a Cub. A star third baseman and part of the Cubs teams of the 1960s with Hall of Famers Ernie Banks and Billy Williams and Fergie Jenkins, many believe Santo should be in the Hall himself. Then he became a broadcaster who couldn't help but cheer or chide his team from the radio booth for 21 more years.
He wasn't Mr. Cub -- that title belongs to Banks -- but Santo was the next best thing. So it was with great sadness that Cubs fans around the world reacted Friday when they learned Santo had died from complications of bladder cancer. He was 70.
Santo passed away in Arizona, where he makes his offseason home. He had battled health issues for a number of years, including diabetes, a disease that cost Santo both of his legs from the knees down, and slipped into a coma Wednesday, according to the Chicago Tribune. He died Thursday night.
