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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Ronald Edward Santo was born on February 25, 1940
3 in Seattle, Washington; he and his wife Vicki have four
4 children, Ron Jr., Jeff, Linda, and Kelly, as well as two
5 grandsons, Samuel and Spencer; and
 
6     WHEREAS, At the age of 18, and just prior to signing with
7 the Chicago Cubs, Ron Santo was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes;
8 nevertheless, he became one of the best third basemen in all of
9 Major League Baseball, playing for the Chicago Cubs from 1960
10 through 1973 and for the Chicago White Sox in 1974; and
 
11     WHEREAS, During his career, Ron Santo won five consecutive
12 Rawlings Gold Glove awards, was a nine-time National League
13 All-Star selection, batted .277 during his career with 342 home
14 runs and 1,331 RBI; he also led the National League in walks
15 four times and in triples once; he hit 337 home runs with the
16 Cubs, the fourth highest total in Cubs history, and ranks among
17 the Cubs' all time top 10 in games played, at-bats, runs
18 scored, hits, total bases, doubles, RBI, extra-base hits, bases
19 on balls, slugging percentage, and batting average; and
 
20     WHEREAS, Ron Santo was the first third baseman to hit over
21 300 home runs and win five Gold Gloves; and
 

 

 

HR0109 - 2 - LRB095 11272 KXB 31813 r

1     WHEREAS, After retiring from baseball, Ron Santo was a
2 member of the inaugural Cubs Walk of Fame Class of 1992 and was
3 selected to the Cubs' All-Century team in 1999; Ron Santo has
4 also been inducted into the Seattle Hall of Fame, the Italian
5 Hall of Fame, and the Chicago Sports Hall of Fame; in addition,
6 Ron Santo has been a WGN Radio color commentator for the Cubs
7 since 1990, completing his 17th season in 2006; and
 
8     WHEREAS, Ron Santo's extraordinary accomplishments extend
9 far beyond baseball; in addition to his duties as a Chicago
10 Cubs commentator, Ron Santo has been involved with the Juvenile
11 Diabetes Research Foundation since 1974, and is currently a
12 member of the Foundation's Board of Directors; he has
13 personally known the hardships that diabetes can have on an
14 individual, having both of his legs amputated due to
15 complications with diabetes; through Ron Santo's involvement
16 with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, together they
17 have raised over $63 million for diabetes research; he was also
18 instrumental in helping the Juvenile Diabetes Research
19 Foundation form a partnership with charitable organizations
20 Cubs Care and WGN Radio 720 Neediest Kids Fund in order to
21 raise more money for those organizations, as well as more money
22 for the Foundation for additional diabetes research; in 2002,
23 he was the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Person of
24 the Year; and
 

 

 

HR0109 - 3 - LRB095 11272 KXB 31813 r

1     WHEREAS, In recognition of his greatness and
2 accomplishments, both on and off the field, on September 28,
3 2003, the Chicago Cubs organization retired Ron Santo's number,
4 #10, in honor of all that Ron Santo has achieved in his life;
5 Ron Santo became only the third player in Cubs history to have
6 his number retired by the Chicago Cubs, joining Hall of Fame
7 inductees Ernie Banks (#14) and Billy Williams (#26);
8 therefore, be it
 
9     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
10 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
11 because of all Ron Santo has accomplished throughout his life,
12 and because Ron Santo is eligible for election by the Veterans
13 Committee of the Baseball Hall of Fame, we, along with the
14 entire State of Illinois, strongly urge the Veterans Committee
15 to elect Ron Santo to the Baseball Hall of Fame; and be it
16 further
 
17     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18 presented to the Veterans Committee of the Baseball Hall of
19 Fame; and that a suitable copy of this resolution be presented
20 to Mr. Santo as an expression of our sincere respect and
21 esteem.