Post by Dennis Culloton

June 23,1984, the NBC Game of the Week with Bob Costas and Tony Kubek came to Wrigley Field for a hot humid Cubs-St. Louis Cardinals baseball game in which the Cubs 24-year old second baseman, Ryne Sandberg, etched his name in the hearts of Cubs fans forever and proved to the world that this franchise could win.  He went 5-for-6 with two home runs and seven RBIs. The first homer came in the bottom of the ninth and put the game into extra innings, leading the Cubs back from a 7-1 deficit. Ryno faced future Hall-of-Famer–and former Cub–Bruce Sutter who hung a curve ball that Ryne drilled into the left field bleachers.  The game was an epic battle, however, and the Cubs fell behind by two in the 10th after Willie McGee completed hitting for the cycle on the day with a double off our own future hall-of-fame reliever Lee Smith that drove in speedy Ozzie Smith before he scored on a groundout. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Bobby Dernier drew a walk and Ryno came up again. With the count 1-1, Costas began reading the end of game credits. To Costas' surprise, Ryne put a great swing on another Sutter pitch which he landed in the left field bleachers, tying the game.   In the 11th, with Leon Durham at 3rd, the answer to the trivia question is Dave Owen, the last position player on the bench, drove Durham home to win the "Sandberg game."   Young Chicago Tribune writer Fred Mitchell reported Ryne said “I’m in a state of shock.” Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog said “Sandberg is the best player I have ever seen," perhaps the last time a Cardinal’s manager has praised a Cub.   The Cubs moved to within 1.5 games of the first place New York Mets. For Ryne it was all about the team. The 1984 Cubs' magical run took off that day. They won the division-- for the first time in nearly 40 years --and the hearts of Cubs fans all across the country, including a young college student from Omaha who fell in love with that team and this city. Twenty-five years later, Tom Ricketts would lead his family in the purchase of the Chicago Cubs with his siblings Pete, Laura and Todd. There is a throughline from that day to the Cubs 2016 World Series win. Ryno worked hard every day he set foot on the diamond, from little leagues in Spokane, Washington to the big leagues. At his Baseball Hall of Fame induction, he said he played the game hard and clean "because the name on the front is a lot more important than the name on the back."   That dedication serves him so well today in his battle against an opponent more formidable than the Cardinals. “My life changed a lot in 1984 but that’s nothing compared to what happened 6 months ago,” he said. “So my thoughts today are about love, life, family and friends. My teammates fall into all those categories. But until my cancer diagnosis, I guess I never fully understood that.” It’s a cliche to say sports is a metaphor for life, but, this time it's spot on.