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Tributes to Ron Santo

Here is a sample of the tributes to Cubs legend Ron Santo, who died Dec. 2 from complications of bladder cancer at 70. A funeral service was held Friday at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.

“He was the poster boy for joy. … Joy plus hope plus courage equals Ron Santo. ”

Monsignor Daniel G. Mayhall, who presided over the services at Holy Name Cathedral on Friday

“We laughed every single day. Ronnie taught me a lot about the game but he also taught me how to laugh at myself, it's a very important thing to learn, you can't take yourself too seriously. As Ronnie said many times, ‘Life is too short, you got to laugh at yourself.' ”

WGN broadcaster Pat Hughes

“My wife would turn off the TV and say, ‘I want to listen to Ron Santo.' You listened because he spread a lot of joy.”

Former teammate Billy Williams

“I talked to him on the phone last week. I said, ‘How do you feel?' He said, ‘Rooms, I feel great.' He acted the same strong all the way. That's why you've got to love Ron Santo. He didn't want to show anybody he was going through a severe thing.”

Former Cubs second baseman Glenn Beckert, who roomed with Santo after joining the Cubs in 1965

“He was the heart and soul of the team for his listeners. … If you love baseball, you loved Ron Santo. “I've often said that baseball must provide hope and faith. Ron personified that spirit with an array of challenges that would test the courage of the bravest amongst us. Ron Santo never lost hope, he never lost faith in himself, in the city of Chicago, in his beloved Cubs and in the game of baseball.”

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig

#8220;He's like a national treasure. He epitomized Chicago. He's the lifeblood of the Cubs.#8221;

Fred Simms, Cubs fan from Arizona who flew to Chicago to be at Wrigley Field on Friday

#8220;You get what you get, and you love him. You don't ever have to wonder if he's thinking something. He's going to say what he feels and say what he means, and you respect that.#8221;

Kerry Wood, who attended the services with his wife, Sarah, on Santo's outbursts during broadcasts

#8220;He would not want you to be sad for long. He really wouldn't. Ron Santo wasn't about melancholy. Ronnie was about having fun and laughing, living and loving. And the two things he loved more than anything in his life were his family and the Chicago Cubs.#8221;

Pat Hughes

Ron Santo was a great player, but he was even a better human being.#8221;

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig

#8220;Many words and phrases come to mind when I think of Ron. Let's start with unique. Unforgettable. Amazing. Courageous and inspirational. Natural, genuine and real. Generous, charitable and kind. Loyal, strong, tough, optimistic, iconic, outrageous, hilarious, fun, loud, self deprecating, forgetful, nosy, a fashion cop, a food cop, a backseat driver, the No. 1 Cubs fan ever, a partner and a friend. Ron Santo leaves behind multiple legacies of a loving family, a praiseworthy playing career, a memorable broadcast career, he was a champion of diabetes research and the other legacy would be the remarkable way he handled his physical adversity toward the end.#8221;

Pat Hughes

#8220;Whatever memory of Ron you have, I would like to ask you a favor: however you remember him, please do so with a big smile on your face #8230; he would have liked that.#8221;

Pat Hughes

Family members react during the funeral Mass for Chicago Cubs great and longtime radio announcer Ron Santo at Holy Name Cathedral, Friday, Dec. 10, 2010 in Chicago. The nine-time all-star died Dec. 2 in an Arizona hospital from complications of bladder cancer. He was 70. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, Pool)
Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, left, eulogizes Ron Santo on Friday during funeral services at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. Associated Press