Chicago Cubs legend and Baseball Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg has died, the team announced Monday night. He was 65.

“Ryne Sandberg was a hero to a generation of Chicago Cubs fans and will be remembered as one of the all-time greats in nearly 150 years of this historic franchise,” Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said in a team-issued statement. “His dedication to and respect for the game, along with his unrelenting integrity, grit, hustle, and competitive fire were hallmarks of his career. He was immensely proud of his teammates and his role as a global ambassador of the game of baseball, but most of all, he was proud of Margaret, his children and his role as husband, father, and grandfather.

“Margaret and their children and grandchildren will always be a part of the Cubs family. Ryno will never be forgotten by the Cubs community and baseball fans around the world.”

[Complete Ryne Sandberg coverage on the Marquee Sports Network app]

Sandberg spent 15 seasons with the Cubs and became one of the storied franchise’s icons. He amassed a .285 batting average, 2,386 hits and 282 home runs in his 16-year career, in addition to the 1984 National League MVP award, 10 All-Star appearances, nine Gold Gloves and seven Silver Sluggers. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.

In January 2024, Sandberg announced he had been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. Just seven months later, he announced his cancer was in remission, before announcing in December 2024 that it had returned.

Sandberg attended Cubs Convention one month later, appeared at the team’s facility in Mesa, Ariz., for the beginning of spring training in February, and threw out the first pitch at the home opener in April alongside fellow Cubs Hall of Famers Billy Williams, Lee Smith, Fergie Jenkins and Andre Dawson.

Sandberg provided another health update in July 2025, sharing his treatment plan and thanking fans for their support.

The Cubs acquired Sandberg ahead of the 1982 season from the Philadelphia Phillies, along with Iván de Jesús, for Larry Bowa. He immediately became an everyday player and won a Gold Glove in his second Cubs season. 

However, Sandberg’s real breakthrough came in 1984 during a June contest later dubbed “The Sandberg Game.”

On June 23, in a nationally televised game against the rival St. Louis Cardinals, Sandberg hit a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning against future Hall of Fame closer Bruce Sutter, sending the game to extras. In the bottom of the 10^th, with the Cubs trailing 11-9, Sandberg hit another home run, this one a two-run shot off Sutter to tie the score and force an 11^th inning, where the Cubs walked it off on a Dave Owen RBI single.

That game put Sandberg and the Cubs on the national radar, and he went on to hit .314 with 19 home runs, a league-leading 19 triples and 84 RBI that season. He was a catalyst for the Cubs team that went on to win the 1984 NL East and make the playoffs for the first time since losing the 1945 World Series.

Sandberg won nine consecutive Gold Gloves from 1983 to 1991. He had a .989 fielding percentage — the major-league record among second basemen — when he retired in 1997. Sandberg ranks in the franchise top 10 in WAR, runs scored, hits, doubles, home runs and RBI.

The Cubs retired his jersey number 23 in 2005, making him the fourth player with that distinction (Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Ron Santo).

Sandberg stayed close to the game after his retirement, joining the professional coaching ranks in 2006 as manager of the Cubs Class-A affiliate Peoria Chiefs. He left the Cubs organization in 2010, serving as the Phillies’ Triple-A manager from 2011 to 2012. In 2013, he was named the Phillies’ third base coach and became the interim manager in August. He served as manager until 2015, compiling a 119-159 record.

Sandberg rejoined the Cubs organization as a team ambassador in 2016. He remained around the franchise, making appearances at games, Cubs Convention and speaking to players at spring training.

Sandberg was enshrined in the Cubs’ Hall of Fame last year. He was forever immortalized with a statue outside of Wrigley Field on the 40th anniversary of The Sandberg Game, joining Fergie Jenkins, Williams, Banks, Santo and broadcaster Harry Caray.