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Ron Santo

Ronald Edward Santo (born February 25, 1940 in Seattle, Washington) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played almost his entire career with the Chicago Cubs. He was named a National League All-Star 9 times in his 15 seasons of play from 1960 to 1974, and won consecutive 5 Gold Glove awards for fielding excellence from 1964 to 1968.

Santo made his debut for the Cubs on June 26, 1960. He played with the team until 1973, then finished his career with the cross-town Chicago White Sox in 1974. During his 14-season run with the Cubs, Santo hit 337 home runs; he was the first third baseman to hit over 300 home runs and win five Gold Gloves, a feat since matched by only Mike Schmidt. During his playing career, he carefully concealed the fact that he had diabetes, knowing that if it were widely known, his career might be curtailed or ended. Today, he is a Cubs broadcaster on WGN radio with play-by-play announcer Pat Hughes .

Santo has been endorsing the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's annual Ron Santo Walk to Cure Diabetes in Chicago since 1974, and has raised over $50 million for cancer research. In 2002, Santo was named the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's "Person of the Year."

Santo, who wore #10 as a player, and was the third Cub player to have his number retired, following his teammates Ernie Banks (#14) and Billy Williams (#26). His number was retired on September 28, 2004. His life and career were explored in the 2004 documentary film This Old Cub, directed by his son Jeff.

In 2005 he came within eight votes of election to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee.

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