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In January of 2024, Ryne Sandberg was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer, which eventually spread to other organs, and caused his passing on July 28, 2025. He was 65.
Ryne Sandberg spent his entire 16-year MLB career with the Chicago Cubs. In that time, his achievements included 10 All-Star appearances, 9 Gold Gloves, 7 Silver Sluggers, was the ML Player of the Year, the Home Run Derby Champ, and was named the NL MVP in 1984. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005.1
Memories of Ryne Sandberg date back to when I was a very young collector. When I first started collecting, my oldest brother collected too. He and I would sometimes trade cards. Other times, he’d invite his friend over to trade with him. His friend’s favorite player was Ryne Sandberg, and all three of us could only dream to someday own his 1983 Topps rookie card. They were older and had better cards than me, so they were in a better position to get this card. It would be several years before I would get my first copy of this card. I now have a stack of them, but then again, I’ve been at this for many decades.
That memory has stuck with me all these years. It’s so vivid that I even remember what time of day, where I was in the house, and the lighting in the room where it was formed. Even to this day, whenever I see the 1983 Topps Ryne Sandberg rookie card at shows, I’m taken right back to that time in my life.
Ryne Sandberg will be missed as much as he’s loved in the hobby and in baseball as a whole.
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References:
- Ryne Sandberg. www.baseball-reference.com ↩︎
