Ryne Sandberg’s name, legacy will live on in many ways

We all know one or two.

There is an endless number of “Rynes” out there, young boys and middle-aged men alike, born to Cubs fans named after their parents’ favorite Cub, Ryne Sandberg.

One of the first that comes to mind is former Princeton Tiger basketball standout, Ryne Vrana. He jokes that he thinks his mom, Deb, had a “minor crush” on Sandberg. Coincidently, Vrana, who is a sophomore basketball coach at Rochelle, was at the Cubs game in Milwaukee with his family on Monday night when he learned of his namesake’s passing.

There was little question that Jim and Dawn Muehlschlegel of Princeton would be naming their first born when their son, Ryne, came along in 2002.

“I used to kid around with Dawn that I wanted to name our son Ryne or Rynita if it was a girl,” he said with a laugh. “We loved how Ryno played the game and how he represented himself, the team and the game. His personality was not boastful. His work ethic was outstanding. He treated everyone with respect and always made time for the fans. All things that I admired. As it turns out, Ryne M is a lot like Ryno and I couldn’t be more pleased.”

Jim said when daughter Hannah came along that she may have been a “Grace” had she been a boy after Mark Grace. She did get it as a middle name because the Muehlschlegels liked the sound of “Hannah Grace.”

My colleague Kevin Chlum named his oldest son, Ryne, 9, after Sandberg because he is his all-time favorite Cub/professional athlete.

“Ryno and the 1989 Cubs are what made me love baseball and the Cubs,” Kevin said. “I never got the chance to meet Ryno but he always seemed like such a class act who really cared about the fans. I always wanted to name a son Ryne. Luckily, Justina agreed to go along with it.”

Kevin remembers going to the Cubs Convention in 2017 when the moderator asked the crowd how many Rynes were in the house and a “ton” of hands went up.

I can think of other boys that came through the Bureau County ranks, like Tiger wrestler Ryne Bird and Ryne Enbom of Princeton, and Ryne Birkey of Wyanet. I know there are others.

The late Mike Cuniff, a big baseball follower who was sports editor of the Ottawa Times, named his son after the Cubs second baseman. Tom Jagers of Princeton says that was one of his uncle’s favorite stories.

A classmate of mine from Atlanta, Ill., Sarah Rose-Baumgartner, said she was pregnant with her first child in 1982 when Ryno joined the Cubs and selected the name Ryne, if a boy, “as it was unique and we had hopes for Ryne Sandberg.” Ryne Sherman was born February, 1983. Sarah has had the license plate “Ryne 23″ for 40 years.

Did you know? Sandberg himself was named after Ryne Duren, a relief pitcher who broke in with the New York Yankees in the late 1950s and played for six other teams and whose Sandberg parents admired.

Sandberg ties to Princeton: The sad passing of the Cubs great brought back some fun memories with Princeton ties.

I had the good fortune of accompanying the late Ezby Collins of Princeton on couple of missions to Wrigley Field. Ezby was the biggest Cubs fan around, who liked to say she lived by the decree of “Wait Til Next Year.”

On one trip to the Friendly Confines, Ezby delivered one of her famous apple pies to Ryno, her favorite Cub player. She personally handed it to the right Cubs personnel. I later asked Ryno on the field if he got his pie from Ezby and he said, “Ezby’s pies are the best.”

Ezby also delivered a specially designed Cubs quilt she made for Mrs. Sandberg that was to be part of the Cubs’ wives charity auction.

My good friend, the late Don Smith, “Mr. Cub,” made the trips with us.

There’s another tie to Princeton in the Sandberg files that I’ve always got a kick out of.

The Sandbergs were neighbors in Arizona to Princeton natives Jerry and Patty McDonald. Patty’s father, the late Carl Ellberg, would visit the Sandbergs and see Ryno’s layout of baseballs, trophies, uniforms and other memorabilia from his baseball career.

On a return trip to Arizona, Carl handed Ryno a new collection for his trophy room, a wrench signed by “Carl the Plumber.” I was told that Ryno proudly put it on display.

Carl told me he always wanted to invite Sandberg to Princeton and walk into the Moose Lodge unannounced with him.

I have to say as a Cardinals fan, if I were to name my favorite Cub player, it would be Ryno, even though he was a big Cardinals killer (see the Sandberg Game). He played the game the right way, hard, to win and was never out to show anybody up.

Kevin Hieronymus has been the BCR Sports Editor since 1986. Contact him at khieronymus@bcrnews.com