hall of famer ryne sandberg passed away in late july, 2025. a few days later, the cubs added a memorial patch to their jerseys in his honor, and kept them throughout the remainder of the season.
i haven't seen as many cards with ryno's patch yet in 2026, but it is just about fully visible on this 2026 topps heritage kevin alcantara card
the patch is a horizontal blue rectangle, with sandberg's number 23 in red and his facsimile signature in white side-by-side. here's an ap photo of it
sandberg was the primary reason that i contracted cubs' fever in 1984 and began collecting their topps team sets back to 1970 as i had done for the a's a couple of years earlier. he was never my favorite non-dodger, but he was in the top two or three for the majority of his career. i was surprised by the news of his passing as i had lost track of him following the end of this managerial tenure with the phillies. i am glad that the cubs honored him with a patch, and i am hoping to find a card with a better image of it for my collection.
Didn't have much of an opinion on Sandberg for most of his career other than he was my least favorite among the Big 3 1983 rookies. But towards the end of his career... he won me over. I wouldn't claim that he was a personal favorite or anything, but I was definitely impressed with what he had accomplished during his career.
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