HR0109 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Ronald Edward Santo was born on February 25, 1940 in Seattle, Washington; he and his wife Vicki have four children, Ron Jr., Jeff, Linda, and Kelly, as well as two grandsons, Samuel and Spencer; and

WHEREAS, At the age of 18, and just prior to signing with the Chicago Cubs, Ron Santo was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes; nevertheless, he became one of the best third basemen in all of Major League Baseball, playing for the Chicago Cubs from 1960 through 1973 and for the Chicago White Sox in 1974; and

WHEREAS, During his career, Ron Santo won five consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove awards, was a nine-time National League All-Star selection, batted .277 during his career with 342 home runs and 1,331 RBI; he also led the National League in walks four times and in triples once; he hit 337 home runs with the Cubs, the fourth highest total in Cubs history, and ranks among the Cubs' all time top 10 in games played, at-bats, runs scored, hits, total bases, doubles, RBI, extra-base hits, bases on balls, slugging percentage, and batting average; and

WHEREAS, Ron Santo was the first third baseman to hit over 300 home runs and win five Gold Gloves; and

WHEREAS, After retiring from baseball, Ron Santo was a member of the inaugural Cubs Walk of Fame Class of 1992 and was selected to the Cubs' All-Century team in 1999; Ron Santo has also been inducted into the Seattle Hall of Fame, the Italian Hall of Fame, and the Chicago Sports Hall of Fame; in addition, Ron Santo has been a WGN Radio color commentator for the Cubs since 1990, completing his 17th season in 2006; and

WHEREAS, Ron Santo's extraordinary accomplishments extend far beyond baseball; in addition to his duties as a Chicago Cubs commentator, Ron Santo has been involved with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation since 1974, and is currently a member of the Foundation's Board of Directors; he has personally known the hardships that diabetes can have on an individual, having both of his legs amputated due to complications with diabetes; through Ron Santo's involvement with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, together they have raised over $63 million for diabetes research; he was also instrumental in helping the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation form a partnership with charitable organizations Cubs Care and WGN Radio 720 Neediest Kids Fund in order to raise more money for those organizations, as well as more money for the Foundation for additional diabetes research; in 2002, he was the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Person of the Year; and

WHEREAS, In recognition of his greatness and accomplishments, both on and off the field, on September 28, 2003, the Chicago Cubs organization retired Ron Santo's number, #10, in honor of all that Ron Santo has achieved in his life; Ron Santo became only the third player in Cubs history to have his number retired by the Chicago Cubs, joining Hall of Fame inductees Ernie Banks (#14) and Billy Williams (#26); therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that because of all Ron Santo has accomplished throughout his life, and because Ron Santo is eligible for election by the Veterans Committee of the Baseball Hall of Fame, we, along with the entire State of Illinois, strongly urge the Veterans Committee to elect Ron Santo to the Baseball Hall of Fame; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Veterans Committee of the Baseball Hall of Fame; and that a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Mr. Santo as an expression of our sincere respect and esteem.