'A generation connector': Ryne Sandberg's statue brings Cubs fans together following Hall of Famer's death

Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune on Jul 30, 2025

Published in Baseball

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CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs fan Janet Falcone knew where she needed to be on Tuesday.

Making the short walk with her husband, Paul, from their home on Addison Street to Wrigley Field around noon, the Falcones, dressed in their Cubs gear, stopped by Ryne Sandberg’s statue to take in the scene. Throughout the day, fans and team employees visited monument row in Gallagher Way to pay their respects to Sandberg, who passed away at age 65 on Monday following a battle with prostate cancer.

By Tuesday afternoon, the roped-off area around Sandberg’s statue featured piles of flowers already stacking up. Visitors also left Cubs hats, baseballs with written messages, notes, and even a Sandberg baseball card.

“He meant so much to everybody in the city that we just wanted to pay tribute to him,” Janet Falcone, 67, said. “He was a Cub through and through. He loved Chicago. He loved the fans. He stayed connected all these years, and that’s what I look for in the players, the players who really see themselves as a lifelong Cub. And he did, and he was a great role model to the kids, he played so well. I just liked everything about him, what he stood for.”

Despite his status as a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan, David Cort, 71, felt it was important to bring his granddaughter Marnie, 7, who is a Cubs fan. Cort was watching the Cardinals game Monday night when he learned the news of Sandberg’s passing. He tuned into WGN and NBC 5 to watch the tributes to Sandberg’s career.

Cort noted how even Cardinals fans call it “The Sandberg Game,” a testament to the lasting impact Sandberg’s memorable performance in a 1984 regular-season game had on his legacy and the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry.

“I thought it’s historic, and I feel sad,” Cort said as he became emotional. “It’s a sad day for baseball and a sad day for the city of Chicago.”

Andrew Woodruff, 38, is a third-generation Cubs fan whose dad, Steve, loved watching Sandberg and considered the Hall of Famer his favorite player. His father and grandfather, Russell, owned a rooftop on Sheffield Avenue for a couple of decades, “so it’s been in my DNA.” Woodruff felt compelled to visit the statue, bringing his aptly-named dog, Ivy.

“There’s no better ambassador for both the game of baseball and someone that you could have representing the city of Chicago, and it’s so sad that he’s gone, but just have to be grateful that we had him,” Woodruff said. “He just is a generation connector. It’s a generational sport. It is my grandpa’s favorite sport, and he was a Cubs fan his whole life. Never got to see him win, he died a couple years before ’16.

“Every generation gets to have their heroes, but Ryne was one that crossed generations.”

Some fans approached Sandberg’s statue and stood taking it in with a moment of silence or a sign of the cross. Others took a picture of the icon in his bronzed fielding pose with the No. 23 set up next to the statue. People stopped in front of Wrigley’s marquee where his name — Ryne “Ryno” Sandberg — was on display.

A Chicago native, Greg Morris, 51, happened to be in town visiting family from Washington, D.C. with his 13-year-old son Sebastian. Now that his son is playing travel baseball, Morris wanted to give him a sense of baseball history. They went to the Cubs’ City Series game Saturday at Rate Field and came to see Sandberg’s statue Tuesday. Sebastian said he appreciated the exposure of understanding what Sandberg means to Cubs fans and the city.

“Genuine athleticism representing the spirit of Chicago, you couldn’t ask for a better champion for the city and the sport of baseball and the Cubs,” Morris said.

The distance from home to Wrigley wasn’t going to prevent Michele Holifield, 61, from making the trek from Arlington Heights. She put on her Cubs shirt and took the train into the city to take in the scene. When her kids were younger, in the early 2000s, Holifield remembers always telling them about Sandberg, who became her favorite player during his 15-year career on the North Side. One year, she took her son to spring training where he got Sandberg’s autograph.

Kate Krasney felt pulled to bring her kids, Duke, 10, and Quinn, 8, to Wrigley on Tuesday. They often attend Cubs games, making the short trip from their home down the street. After seeing the videos the Cubs posted on Instagram in honor Sandberg, Krasney, 41, wanted to see how they honored him at the ballpark.

“What they did for him was pretty cool,” Duke said. “I know pretty much all about him, he’s my favorite player of all time.”

The scope of Cubs fans’ love and admiration of Sandberg is apparent from the diverse demographic who were drawn to Wrigley on Tuesday. Wearing a blue Cubs jersey, Alan Placek, 73, drove over from his home on the northwest side so he could take a moment at his statue to acknowledge one more time what Sandberg, his favorite player, meant.

“One of the best ever,” Placek said. “Number 23, rest in peace.”