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A panel of ESPNChicago.com experts ranked the Top 50 Cubs of all time.

Here is a gallery of our Top 50.

Who did we miss?

Did Kerry Wood belong? Randy Hundley?

Should Shawon Dunston have been left off?

For a team with so few championships, there is no shortage of Hall of Famers who have donned the Cubs jersey.

Ron Santo wanted this day for so long, and now that it’s finally here, he isn’t. The Hall of Fame call, the one he waited for and agonized over pretty much his entire adult life, came on Monday, but he’s no longer with us to answer the phone and hear this: “Ronnie, welcome to the Hall of Fame.” And that’s not right.

He was asked once, on one of the many days a new group of inductees was announced and he wasn’t among them, if he’d be OK getting a spot in Cooperstown, even if it came after he died. And, in that style that endeared him to generations of Cubs fans, he said “I don’t want to go in post-humorously.” Of course, he meant posthumously, but then an E-5 on words was part of what made Ron Santo.

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That there are Chicago Cubs Fans Monday who were furious and heartbroken over the news that Ron Santo was voted into the Hall of Fame posthumously, only underscores the Santo phenomenon.

And he is a phenomenon, both in life and death.

The Santo Hall of Fame argument was always obscured by discussion over his statistics, both traditional and otherwise. It was and is about more than that, which is why his induction was up there with all the great Hall of Fame debates.

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The Hall of Fame is a better place today with Ron Santo in it.

For reporters like myself who became friends with Santo over the years before he died last December, Monday was certainly a great day as the legendary Chicago Cubs third baseman was voted into the Hall of Fame.

I always laughed at the arguments against Santo being in the Hall of Fame, and about his credentials.

Growing up in the years Santo was a star, no one ever questioned that he was among the elite players in the game. And that was during baseball's golden era of the 1960s.

Santo was a great defensive player and power hitter long before the steroids era. The captain of those outstanding Cubs teams in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, he played hard on the field and lived life to its fullest off the field.

The hard work he did for Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund and his fundraising showed the real person Santo was, and how deep his commitment was to finding a cure for the disease he battled for most of his life.

Santo's life was all about people and his love and respect for them. I can't tell you how many times people stopped him in my presence and walked away feeling like they had known him for years.

Ron had a special gift, and that was his big heart.

On the other side, he had no filter, which meant if he disagreed with you he'd argue it until he either changed your mind or you walked away.

One time we were discussing the greatest pitcher he had ever faced, Santo said hands down it was Sandy Koufax. I argued that as great as Koufax was, Warren Spahn did it for 25 years and won 363 games. Koufax pitched 10 and won 165.

"You never played, what would you know about it?" Santo said to me. "But let me tell you, nobody could hit Koufax. Not Mays, Aaron or Ernie, when Koufax was on, and he was on most of the time. By far he was the best."

I said, "Ok, then how did you do against Spahn."

"Not too (blanking) good," he said, as we started laughing.

That was the beauty of Ron Santo, funny, honest, always in your face.

I asked him once why he never complained about his health issues. He said, "I live in the here and now, and there are a lot of people who have things a lot worse than I do. Why should I complain?"

Santo's life changed forever in the early 1960s when his mother and stepfather were killed in an automobile accident on their way from Seattle to Mesa, Ariz. to watch Santo in spring training.

"You never get over something like that," he told me in 2010. "Maybe that's why I'm always happy to meet people and to have a nice experience with them. You just can't take this life for granted, or the people in it."

Santo used to listen to me on the radio at times, and when he thought I was full of nonsense, he'd grab me aside and say, "Hey, you really do it know it all don't you? In fact, you may know more than anybody about baseball."

I always got the message when he'd say something like that to me. I became a little more humble every time I was around him.

Wherever you're at Ronnie, this Bud's for you. And tell some of those Hall of Famers up there with you who didn't vorte for you to get in, where to go.

It took 32 years, but former Chicago Cubs third baseman Ron Santo was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday with at least 75 percent of the vote from the Golden Era committee.

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On the one year anniversary of Ron Santo’s death, his family may have something to feel good about come Monday morning. According to industry sources, Santo’s chances of gaining entry into baseball’s Hall of Fame appear “excellent.”

The Golden Era Committee, a newly founded wing of the Veterans Committee, is voting on 10 different candidates nominated to the ballot. The committee is meeting over the weekend in Dallas to debate the merits then vote on each of the former players.

The Hall of Fame has changed the structure of voting players not elected by the Baseball Writers of America during their 15 years of eligibility into Cooperstown. The new format has 16 voters, including Hall of Fame members Billy Williams, Hank Aaron, Al Kaline, Ralph Kiner, Tommy Lasorda, Juan Marichal, and Brooks Robinson as part of the electorate. The group also features former executives and writers.

A candidate must receive 12 of 16 votes to gain entry.

The Golden Era votes on managers, umpires, executives and players whose most significant career impact occurred between 1947-1972. The committee votes every three years.

“Ronnie has a lot of support this time around,” said a major league source who has been working behind the scenes on Santo’s behalf. “Everything looks good for his election.”

The change in voting procedures can only help Santo and other Golden Era candidates this time around.

From 2003-2007, only living members of the Hall of Fame comprised the Veterans Committee, which was charged with voting on the eligibility of candidates who weren’t elected by the baseball writers. Three votes were taken during that time (2003, 2005 and 2007) without any candidate getting elected.

Frustrated with the process, the Hall changed the procedure of voting after its 2007 vote.

Cubs owner Tom Ricketts has been among the most vocal candidates of Santo’s candidacy, campaigning rigorously to get the team’s iconic third baseman into Cooperstown.

“They meet this weekend,” Ricketts said on ESPN 1000’s “Talkin’ Baseball” on Saturday. “We’ve created a lot of information and sent it out to everyone [on the committee]. Billy Williams is on the committee. He’s been focused on making everyone aware of Ron’s situation. It was one year ago today that Ron passed away. We hope they will really focus hard on Ron this time around.”

During his 15 years of initial eligibility through the Baseball Writers of America, Santo’s highest vote total was 43.1 percent in 1998. A candidate needs 75 percent of votes to gain entry. In 2007 under the previous Veterans Committee setup, Santo received 39 votes from the 64-member panel (61 percent) again falling short of the 75 percent needed. His non-qualifying total in 2007 was the highest of any candidate voted on by the committee.

Santo’s career spanned from 1960-74. He spent all but his final season with the Cubs. Santo hit 342 home runs, batting .277 with 1,331 RBIs. Santo was a nine-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner.

After finishing his baseball career, Santo went into the private business for 16 years. In 1990, Santo became the Cubs radio color commentator. He held that position for 21 years until his death last year.

It appears the path to Cooperstown for Chicago Cubs legend Ron Santo has been cleared. The Hall of Fame announced that Santo is one of 10 candidates to be put on the ballot for the 2012 Golden Era nomination.

The Golden Era is for the election of players and executives who participated from 1947-72 and were passed up by the Baseball Writers Association of America for 15 years.

This will be the first time since 2002 that a committee will decide on the fates of players such as Santo. Over the past nine years, living Hall of Famers have voted on whether these former players and executives would go into the Hall. The Hall of Fame changed its way of voting after the 2009 vote.

Nominees who receive 12 or more votes (75 percent or more) will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in July. The inductees will be announced on Dec. 5 at the winter meetings in Dallas.

Santo and the other candidates, which include former White Sox great Minnie Minoso, will be voted on by a 16-man committee which includes former players, managers, executives and veteran baseball writers who have been longtime participants in their area of the game.

Former White Sox general manager Roland Hemond, Cubs Hall of Famer Billy Williams and Chicago writer Dave van Dyck are on the 16-man committee.

The Golden Era candidates are voted on every three years. The cycle includes the Pre-Integration Era (1871-1946), the Golden Era and the Expansion Era (1973-present). Santo was snubbed on the previous veterans committee elections that was voted on by the players.

A nine-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glover, Santo passed away in 2010 at age 70. He became an iconic figure as the Cubs' color commentator on WGN Radio from 1990-2010.

The Ron Santo statue at the corner of Sheffield and Addison depicts the five-time Gold Glove winner at his best, on the run, throwing out a base runner in the prime of his illustrious 15-year major league career.

Santo’s family, including his wife, Vicki, his sons, Jeff and Ron Jr., and his daughter, Linda, were all in attendance at Wednesday’s unveiling, and Jeff Santo spoke to the crowd about his father’s zest for life.

“When we were going through the footage for the film about my father, we found some film of my dad giving instruction on how to play third base. In the film he said this, ‘When the ball is hit to you, you should always move forward on the ball. Never stay back on the ball and let the ball play you. You play the ball.’ That’s how he lived his life. He never stayed back on the ball. He was always moving forward. Every challenge, all the adversity that came his way, he charged it like he was making a play at third base. This statue really does symbolize that. He was a great father and a great man and a great inspiration.”

The statue lists many of Santo’s accomplishments on the field and in the broadcast booth, but more importantly it tells of his humanitarian needs, including his commitment to JDRF, for which he personally helped raise $60 million during his lifetime.

“Ron was a lucky guy,” Vicki Santo said. “I don’t know an organization that has honored a player more than the Chicago Cubs have honored Ron. To Ron, the Chicago Cubs was his family. So much so, that he never worried when he went in to negotiate a contract. He said, ‘Vicki, they are my family and they will do what’s right for me.’ “

Santo’s former teammates in attendance included Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Fergie Jenkins. All three gave speeches about Santo as a teammate and a person. Former catcher Randy Hundley and second baseman Glenn Beckert, Santo’s best friend and one-time roommate, helped unveil the statue.

“When I hit my 500th home run, Ronnie got the hit to win the game,” said Banks, whose statue sits at Addison and Clark. “Ron was such a clutch player, so determined. His spirit lingers with this organization. He is my Hall of Fame and he belongs in THE Hall of Fame.”

Present Cubs who attended the ceremony included manager Mike Quade, Kerry Wood, Ryan Dempster, Reed Johnson, James Russell and Sean Marshall, as well as members of the coaching and training staff.

Broadcasters Pat Hughes and Len Kasper were co-masters of ceremony for the event. Although Santo died in December of 2010, Vicki Santo said he knew about the statue before he died.

“In 2010, Crane Kenney called and told Ron, ‘We’re putting up a statue of Billy in front of Wrigley Field, and the following summer [Santo’s] statue would go up. He did know about the statue and he was so excited. He said to me, ‘Do you know what a big deal that is. I can’t believe they would do that for me.’”

Santo’s grandson, Sam Brown, threw out the first pitch before the Cubs’ game against the Nationals. Santo’s favorite player and close friend Kerry Wood was the catcher.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs will honor the career and life of Ron Santo on Wednesday as they unveil a statue of the beloved third baseman near his teammate Billy Williams' outside Wrigley Field at Sheffield and Addison.

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Ron Santo over Mr. Cub for a spot in the inaugural class? Gene Wojciechowski defends his pick.

BOSTON -- Five things every Cubs fan should know about the Red Sox:

1. We had our Monster before you had your ivy.
And it’s all because of a fire. A five-alarm, four-hour fire wiped out the renovations that were being undertaken at Fenway in 1934. When they rebuilt the place, they built a 37-foot left-field wall made of concrete and tin, and in 1936, they placed a 23-foot screen on top of it. The screen is gone now, replaced by “Monster” seats that will set you back a C-note or more. Your ivy was planted by Bill Veeck in 1937. It’s Boston ivy, by the way.

2. Johnny Pesky is our Ernie Banks.
If you’re just checking Hall of Famer credentials, then Ted Williams or Carl Yastrzemski would be more apt comparisons. But when you talk about someone who has never fallen out of love with the game, it’s Pesky, who has been with the club for 60 years, including the last 43 in a row. JP, who just this season moved into an assisted-living facility, was born in September 1919, one year after the Sox beat the Cubs in the World Series.

3. Jerry Remy is our Ron Santo.
And we can only imagine how much you miss Santo since he died last December of complications from bladder cancer. Remy is truly one of our own, growing up here, playing for the Sox and then returning here as a broadcaster and morphing into a local institution. Remy has had his own health issues, having been treated for lung cancer and sidelined recently during a bout with pneumonia, but he’s back and going strong. If you hear someone yelling for “Remdawg,” that’s who they’re talking about. And yes, that’s his restaurant around the corner.

4. We had Gene Conley before you had Leo Durocher.
Most Cubs fans of a certain age can recall how Durocher in the middle of a pennant race in 1969 called in sick, when in fact he had flown up to a kids’ summer camp in Wisconsin, Camp Ojibwa, to spend his birthday with his stepson. We have our own AWOL story. In 1962, pitcher Gene Conley hopped off a team bus in New York and wound up going to the airport, where he tried to buy a plane ticket to Jerusalem but didn’t have his passport.

5. Lansdowne Street is our Waveland Avenue.
And “Cask and Flagon” is the closest thing we have to your “Murphy’s Bleachers” for those in search of an adult beverage. We don’t have apartment buildings across the street that allow you to watch a game from the rooftop, but when ex-Cub Sammy Sosa was here in 1999 for the All-Star Home Run Derby, he deposited a lot of balls.

Bruce Levine provides a similar service for Red Sox fans here.

The Chicago Cubs honored the memory of Ran Santo on Friday as his son Ron Jr. will sing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch and flags honoring Santo's memory flew above Wrigley Field.

There was a pregame ceremony on the field with former teammates.

Mike Quade's pregame message to his team was: "Take every day as it comes, play like a son of a gun. Play with energy, but play relaxed and loose. It's a fine line between loose and having a good time and understanding the serious nature of winning a ballgame. I think they understand that and they understand me. We'll try to keep them on the right path."

Quade was asked how he handles the media and how much of the day it takes away from him.

"It's just about time," he said. "I like it and I'm good with it. Whether I'm talking baseball, politics, whatever, I like the back and forth with you guys. You guys have questions, let's go. I'm ok with that. But I'm sure at some times I won't be."

Former manager Lou Piniella gave Quade advice before turning the team over on Aug. 22.

"Lou told me before he left that [media] will be my biggest challenge. Probably right. Fortunately I'm comfortable with that challenge," Quade said.

Quade spoke to the team collectively on Thursday during the team workout.

"Today's their day," Quade said Friday. "We needed to get that out of the way. Too much of me is really not a good thing."

Quade received numerous texts from friends and family. He made 10 calls himself, beginning with his mother and father, who live in Indianapolis and are in town for the game.

MESA, Ariz. -- The Chicago Cubs and the city of Mesa honored former broadcaster and third baseman Ron Santo with a special ceremony before Thursday's game.

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As is the tradition every year on the anniversary of Harry Caray's birthday, fans all over the world raised a glass Tuesday night in honor of the beloved Cubs broadcaster. This year, they also paid tribute to legendary player and announcer Ron Santo, who passed away just this past December.

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Former Chicago Cubs stalwart Keith Moreland will be the team's new radio color analyst, replacing Ron Santo, who died in December.

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