Ryne Sandberg is honored with the fifth player statue at Wrigley Field
“It’s amazing what can happen when dreams meet hard work”
People arrived to claim their spot in line by 9:30 a.m. Sunday while Cubs staff were setting up for a day to honor Ryne Sandberg. A banner reading “Ryne Sandberg Second to None” stretched across the entrance to Gallagher Way. A placard advertising free statue commemoration patches with the purchase of a jersey was set up outside the Cubs store. The blue carpet from the Cubs front office building to Gallagher Way was rolled out. Still more fans gathered near where the players’ park and Cubs stars past and present arrive hours later. Sam Bernero, who is a regular documenting players arriving at Wrigley Field captured the setup environment with these great shots:
Less than an hour before the ceremony was slated to begin, Gallagher Way was packed. Caretakers’ Alley, which is the corridor where the blue carpet stretched to the stage, was filled shoulder-to-shoulder with Cubs fans who all made their way to Wrigley Field to honor Sandberg — a generational talent that defined the 1980s and 1990s at the corner of Clark and Addison. Sandberg showed up everyday to play his heart out for the Cubs and on Sunday, fans, former Cubs players, current Cubs players, front office workers, Wrigley gameday staff and the national media all showed up to show their respect for a man who set the standard for hard work and consistency for the Cubs from 1982 to 1997:
