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11:47 a.m. Ron Santo's hearse arrived at Wrigley Field and circled the ballpark as several hundred mourners-- lined up two and three deep on Addison and Clark streets -- applauded. After circling the park, the hearse, bearing two No. 10 flags on its front end, stopped for several minutes at Clark and Addison as more than 1,000 people took photographs and applauded some more.
11:35 a.m. Dozens of people waited as Ron Santo's hearse stopped a few minutes in front of WGN's radio studio on its way to Wrigley Field.
Susan Zimmer, 48, of Union Mills, Ind. fought back tears as he held a tattered Chicago Cubs game flag.
"He felt what we all felt as fans. He made you feel like you were a Cub," Zimmer said. "He wore his heart on his sleeve." Zimmer and her sister Ruth Huhnke traveled by train about 1 1/2 hours to watch the procession. She said she was honored to meet Santo about five years ago in Milwaukee.
Dressed in a Cubs jersey, Don Phelps of St. Charles tipped his blue Cubs hat as the hearse briefly stopped.
Phelps, 48, who grew up in Sycamore watching Santo play and then hearing his play-by-play, took a vacation day to honor Santo.
"It's the least I could do to honor a man who has been such an inspiration to so many people," Phelps said. "His battle with diabetes, he used it as a tool to help others."
11:10 a.m. Pat Hughes, Santo's friend and broadcast partner of 15 years, elicited laughter and smiles from mourners with stories of some of their most memorable moments together.
- How Santo's hairpiece caught fire from an overhead heater in Shea Stadium on a cold night in April 2003. "All of a sudden I heard something sizzling like bacon on a stove," Hughes said. "I quickly grabbed a cup of water and poured it on his head." But Santo, Hughes went on, was only concerned about how he looked. "I lied. 'Ronny, it doesn't look that bad to me.' Actually, it looked like a big divot was taken right in top of his head."
- How Santo once ignored the sign on a yogurt machine in the Phoenix ballpark that warned not to turn it on until game time. Santo filled his cup, but the yogurt kept coming out, flooding over the counter. "Ron begins shaking the machine. There may have been some cursing involved," Hughes said. Then Santo did what any mature 7th-grader would have done: "He runs away."
- How an inconsolable Santo dropped his head on the table in the broadcast booth when outfielder Brant Brown dropped a fly ball late in the 1998 season that threatened the Cubs' playoff chances. Later, in manager Jim Riggleman's office, Santo was in tears, Hughes said, and Riggleman had to tell Santo everything would be all right. . ."I had to laugh," Hughes said. "Here was a manager cheering up a broadcaster. This has never happened in the history of American sports.... Do you think Mike Ditka ever cheered up Wayne Larrivee?"
- How on the day the Cubs retired Santo's No. 10 -- a day that Santo genuinely thought of as his "hall of fame" -- Santo also received a special proclamation on fancy parchment paper that proclaimed "Ron Santo Day" in the State of Illinois. Santo then proceeded to spill scrambled eggs and coffee on the document and even brought it to his lips to use as a napkin until Hughes stopped him. Hughes said he later asked Santo if the parchment ever made it to his wall at home. "Partner," Santo said, "I don't think it made it out of the booth that day."
Hughes concluded: "However you remember him, please do so with a big smile on your face. He would have liked that very much."
10:45 a.m. As eulogies were being delivered for Ron Santo downtown, Cubs fans began gathering at Wrigley Field to pay their own homage.
Clutching an old-style Santo jersey, Patrick Hozjan of LaGrange lowered his head and recalled meeting Santo at a game. Losing him was like losing a member of the family, he said.
"He was always good to the fans. . .You don't see a lot of people like that today. He didn't care if you (were wearing) Cubs stuff or White Sox stuff. He was even out talking to Cardinals fans in St. Louis."
10:35 a.m. Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said Santo "made an immediate and lasting impact on my life."
When the Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta, Selig said, it "created a void" that was filled by Santo and the Cubs. And even when Selig bought the Brewers "and my allegiance switched back to Milwaukee," Selig said his admiration for Santo continued.
"Baseball must provide hope and faith," Selig said. "Ron embodied that spirit. He never lost hope in himself, in his Cubs.
11:35 a.m. Dozens of people waited as Ron Santo's hearse stopped a few minutes in front of WGN's radio studio on its way to Wrigley Field.
"He felt what we all felt as fans. He made you feel like you were a Cub," Zimmer said. "He wore his heart on his sleeve." Zimmer and her sister Ruth Huhnke traveled by train about 1 1/2 hours to watch the procession. She said she was honored to meet Santo about five years ago in Milwaukee.
Dressed in a Cubs jersey, Don Phelps of St. Charles tipped his blue Cubs hat as the hearse briefly stopped.
Phelps, 48, who grew up in Sycamore watching Santo play and then hearing his play-by-play, took a vacation day to honor Santo.
"It's the least I could do to honor a man who has been such an inspiration to so many people," Phelps said. "His battle with diabetes, he used it as a tool to help others."
11:10 a.m. Pat Hughes, Santo's friend and broadcast partner of 15 years, elicited laughter and smiles from mourners with stories of some of their most memorable moments together.
- How Santo's hairpiece caught fire from an overhead heater in Shea Stadium on a cold night in April 2003. "All of a sudden I heard something sizzling like bacon on a stove," Hughes said. "I quickly grabbed a cup of water and poured it on his head." But Santo, Hughes went on, was only concerned about how he looked. "I lied. 'Ronny, it doesn't look that bad to me.' Actually, it looked like a big divot was taken right in top of his head."
- How Santo once ignored the sign on a yogurt machine in the Phoenix ballpark that warned not to turn it on until game time. Santo filled his cup, but the yogurt kept coming out, flooding over the counter. "Ron begins shaking the machine. There may have been some cursing involved," Hughes said. Then Santo did what any mature 7th-grader would have done: "He runs away."
- How an inconsolable Santo dropped his head on the table in the broadcast booth when outfielder Brant Brown dropped a fly ball late in the 1998 season that threatened the Cubs' playoff chances. Later, in manager Jim Riggleman's office, Santo was in tears, Hughes said, and Riggleman had to tell Santo everything would be all right. . ."I had to laugh," Hughes said. "Here was a manager cheering up a broadcaster. This has never happened in the history of American sports.... Do you think Mike Ditka ever cheered up Wayne Larrivee?"
- How on the day the Cubs retired Santo's No. 10 -- a day that Santo genuinely thought of as his "hall of fame" -- Santo also received a special proclamation on fancy parchment paper that proclaimed "Ron Santo Day" in the State of Illinois. Santo then proceeded to spill scrambled eggs and coffee on the document and even brought it to his lips to use as a napkin until Hughes stopped him. Hughes said he later asked Santo if the parchment ever made it to his wall at home. "Partner," Santo said, "I don't think it made it out of the booth that day."
Hughes concluded: "However you remember him, please do so with a big smile on your face. He would have liked that very much."
10:45 a.m. As eulogies were being delivered for Ron Santo downtown, Cubs fans began gathering at Wrigley Field to pay their own homage.
Clutching an old-style Santo jersey, Patrick Hozjan of LaGrange lowered his head and recalled meeting Santo at a game. Losing him was like losing a member of the family, he said.
"He was always good to the fans. . .You don't see a lot of people like that today. He didn't care if you (were wearing) Cubs stuff or White Sox stuff. He was even out talking to Cardinals fans in St. Louis."
10:35 a.m. Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said Santo "made an immediate and lasting impact on my life."
When the Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta, Selig said, it "created a void" that was filled by Santo and the Cubs. And even when Selig bought the Brewers "and my allegiance switched back to Milwaukee," Selig said his admiration for Santo continued.
"Baseball must provide hope and faith," Selig said. "Ron embodied that spirit. He never lost hope in himself, in his Cubs.
