Ron Santo: A True Hall of Famer. Thataway, Ronnie!

Ron Santo is finally in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

After too many years, and one year too late, Ron Santo is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  He died just over one year ago, and so he did not know during his lifetime that he had finally received major league baseball’s highest honor: to be elected and enshrined in the Hall of Fame.  I hope he knows now!  But more than baseball, he was an advocate for the children who suffer from the disease that he suffered from most of his life. He had Juvenile Diabetes, and during his career, few knew that he had to test his blood and give himself insulin multiple times a day in order to save his life and health.  He committed his life to helping children who suffered from this disease, helping the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to raise over $ 60 million to support research to find a cure for it, and to help the children, all while undergoing two leg amputations and multiple other health issues.  I am re-running this poem in honor of his Hall of Fame election. It is called “For Every Kid.”  And thank you, Ron Santo, a true Hall of Famer!

By the way, this one is not for sale.  I made two of these, and both went to the family,and they donated one to the Chicago Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Donate to JDRF.

07 10 12_5974

For Every Kid

You played the nation’s greatest game
with talent and with fire,
reaching deep within yourself
yet always reaching so much higher.
 
It is a game learned by boys,
yet also played by men.
You played the game so you’d inspire
everyone to have some fun–
so men would play like boys again.
 
There was a joy to making catch
that others might not make,
or to drive the runner home
when victory was at stake.
 
Every game was a test
of stamina and will.
You always gave your very best:
you played with passion;
you played with skill;
stars may dim but never rest.
 
And when the games were over
and the crowds were getting thin,
you gave yourself to different cause,
more determined now than ever
to fight the fight and to win.
 
You saw the children suffer
from the burdens that you knew.
You gave your all the only way
that you knew how to do:
have a passion; set a goal;
make a plan; then pursue.
 
You knew their hurt; you knew their pain;
you knew the fear in each one’s brain.
You showed them courage;
you gave them hope.
You taught them how to live and cope;
you showed them that there was no shame.
You gave yourself; you gave your name:
you kept the kids in the game.
 
So thank you, Mr. Santo,
for everything you did:
for the game; for the Cubs;
and most of all–above it all–
for the love you showed for every kid.
 
You fought the fight every day
and still you played the game.
the Biggest Leagues have called you up:
You’re a star in every sense–
you’re in Heaven’s Hall of Fame.
 
This item is not for sale.  Sorry. 

Congratulations to Ron Santo!  All good things to his family!

Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2009-20012. All Rights Reserved.

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About the Author

About the Author: Husband. Father. Friend. Writer. Lawyer. Businessman. Gift maker. Poet. Lover of learning. This site is a labor of love, a mid-life crisis come to life. I love words and I love making gifts that I know people love! They please the eyes and touch the heart! (I hope!) .

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