RIP Ryne Sandberg

[Stratos]

Sounds like so many of us grew up idolizing Ryno.  I had his poster on my wall. L

I remember the shock of his sudden retirement, and the excitement when he announced his comeback.

RIP.

[BigbadB]

We lived in a rural area, so we didn't have cable. I only saw game of the week or maybe we would be at someone else's house that did have WGN. I distinctly remember when the Cubs traded for Ryno. It was Ryno and Larry Bowa for Ivan DeJesus. I wasn't really a fan of DeJesus, but I was very blah about Larry Bowa and I knew nothing about Ryno. Anyway, I see Ryno playing 3b for the Cubs in 1982 on a friends tv in town, and he's in game 7 of the season and he is 0 for his first 22 at bats. I then saw him get his first hit. Didn't see much without cable back then, but I did see that.

Same friend that had that tv for the first Ryno hit got us tickets for a whole Cardinals/Cubs series in St. Louis in late September in '84. Rained all day Saturday, so we had a double header on Sunday. Have to look up that series box scores, because that was fun. 

To really age myself, I also remember seeing the Cubs on a black and white tv at my grandmother's house in Chicago when Ernie Banks was still on the team. I remember watching Milt Pappas throw a no hitter on our tv for the game of the week. 

RIP Ryno. I eventually got cable and watched every game I could.

[Brian707]

7 hours ago, Soul said:

It was “Jump”, Harry, Ryno, WGN every afternoon.  We all know how it ended but that was a magic Summer I’ll never forget.  I was at the Mets doubleheader where the Cubs took the divisional lead.  Both games.

 

[CubUgly]

10 hours ago, Outshined_One said:

Link

No words.

I knew the cancer had come back, didn't know how bad it had become.  Prayers and thoughts for Ryno and his family.  I was a freshman in college in 1984, the memories are so rich and so vivid I can relive them today - thanks for those memories and all the others Ryno that helped make a sometimes frustrating existence as a Cub fan an overall happy existence. 

[bakester]

He was easily my favorite athlete when I was young.  I did all my baseball card dealings in efforts to collect'em all of his.  My collection is quite extensive I will boast!!  Even tho I have most cards close to mint, my 1984 Topps has a small crease.  😞  

He was so cool to me.

But likely cooler to my mom who would always talk about her crush on him lol.  I called her last night to let her know the bad news.  😞  She knew he was sick.

Edited July 29, 2025 by bakester

[JBears79]

Still remember watchint Ryno warm up in the on deck circle at my very first Cubs game back with my Dad, my brothers and my uncle. I still remember that game fondly after my uncle passed. RIP Ryno. You will be missed. Thanks for the joy you brought so many people.

[Derwood]

I didn't watch much baseball between around 1984-1992. I had been a Brewers fan (sorry) for the two years I lived in Racine (one year they went to the WS and lost to Cardinals). Robin Yount was my favorite player as a 7 year old.

When I moved to State College, my fandom was pretty much 100% Penn State football. It wasn't until 1992 when I moved to Chicago for college that I got back into baseball.

Part of it was having a friend who did baseball simulations on his computer, which lead to a lot of fun fantasy drafts, etc., and part of it was all the day baseball. The Cubs were bad, and on any given afternoon we could just walk to Wrigley and buy $10 tickets right before the game started. If we were bored, we'd just go watch a game. That obviously all changed with the Sosa/McGwire home run chase, and it's never been the same since.

So I got to see Sandberg (and Grace, and Dunston, etc.) play on some terrible teams in the mid-90's. I can't say I was as big a fan as those of you who grew up with him (Sosa was my first real "favorite"), but I'm happy to have seen him live several times.

[BearDown1223]

Ryno was a legend.  My dad and I went to his last game in STL.  I can still remember sitting behind 3rd base and right behind his family.  When he was pulled in the middle of the game, he waved to his wife/family and it felt like he was waving to me.  Such a cool moment to be apart of.  Ryno, you will be missed and thank you for all the great memories. 

[Irrelevant Dude]

7 hours ago, Hot Sauce said:

For me growing up, my Cubs were Sandberg, Dunston, Dawson, and Grace.

Yep, me too.  I can't say that Sandberg was always my favorite player of the group, but he was always ONE OF my favorites.  And looking back over time, he was the guy who really defined that era and my childhood as a baseball fan.

[jersey cubs fan]

Messed up that he left in the middle of the season again 

[ILMindState]

I don't normally get upset over celebrity deaths but this one has me bummed out. He was my first favorite baseball player and the reason I became a Cubs fan. RIP Ryno

[NorthsideAvenger]

We knew it was coming but it still sucks.

The only silver lining is that Ryno is freed from cancer.

Rest eternally in peace, Ryno. 

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I am not crying.

 

[Sammy Sofa]

2 hours ago, jersey cubs fan said:

Messed up that he left in the middle of the season again 

[bukie]

I still have my Cubs 23 jersey I got in the 90s, loved watching him play every day growing up. First sports memory was watching the Sandberg game, so it feels like a huge part of my childhood died yesterday. Had some rocky coaching years, and his opinions on things weren't always great, but his ability to be an ambassador of the game the last 10 years or so really cemented his legacy.

 

On a lighter note...never forget

Spoiler

It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.

 

[Nolansomebody]

I was born after Sandberg’s career had already ended, so I don’t have the same experiences as some other posters on this thread. 
It was awesome to see all the support the fandom had for Ryno’s cancer battle and helped open my eyes to how massive he was to the Cubs as a whole.

RIP.

 

[We Got The Whole 9]

Really interesting for me to read that Frey is the guy largely responsible for unlocking Ryno by imploring him to start pulling the ball. I guess I just thought the Cubs never had a progressive mind among them in those days.

 

He was definitely my favorite Cub growing up, although I imitated Dawson's stance. I was too young for 84 but we do have pics of us attending a game in L.A. that year when we took a family vacation. Anyway, Ryno had the coolest nickname in the game. I always loved it, loved saying it with a little growl. I remember when he blasted a HR in Wrigley's first night game and then the game got rained out. My dad explained that the HR wouldn't count and I threw a fit.

 

It was really weird when he abruptly retired, and it stung even more because Jordan had just done the same a little while earlier. That was a painful time for Chicago sports fans.

 

RIP Ryno, one of my childhood heroes.

[CubinNY]

Such great memories of Harry, Ryno, day baseball and the Cubs being good for the first time in my lifetime. 

I went to a game in Jackson, TN, after the Cubs moved their affiliation to Siverville (Now Knoxville) just to see him manage. He got tossed in the 3rd inning, and I yelled, "We still love you, Ryno," and he smiled while walking into the dugout. 

[Thusly Boned]

I grew into my fandom in through the 80's, with it really coalescing in 1989. And there is no doubt that Sandberg was my favorite athlete throughout those years and into my teens. I don't have many of my old baseball cards, but I still have a long box of just Ryno cards, including multiple rookie cards I saved up to buy in my tween years. I have an OG Sandberg jersey, had Sandberg posters on my walls, and in LL/Babe Ruth league I tried my best to emulate his batting style.

He has since been eclipsed as my favorite Cubs player ever by flashier players, but Sandberg was a central figure in my growth into a Cubs fan. Beyond the fact that the passing of a childhood idol is also a reminder of my own mortality, it's one less living link to my childhood, and a huge bummer.

[Wilson A2000]

[Mark Priors Calves]

R.I.P. Ryno

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Shawon Dunston talks about Ryno

[Donzo]

Listening to Dunston break down was tough.

FO23VER!

[squally1313]

Blue jerseys, no names, believe everyone wearing 23 on Saturday. Should be cool. 

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

6 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Blue jerseys, no names, believe everyone wearing 23 on Saturday. Should be cool. 

The old school blue jerseys or just the current Cubs alt?