With the passing of Ryne Sandberg (1959-2025) just announced earlier this evening, we felt the need to re-publish this exclusive with my all-time favorite Cubs player, from May, 2021.
On June 23, 2024, a statue depicting Sandberg’s iconic defensive stance was dedicated at Gallagher Way next to Wrigley Field during a ceremony that featured former teammates, members of the Sandberg family, and the entire 2024 Cubs team. The day was selected to honor the 40th anniversary of the famous “Sandberg Game” where he went 5-for-6 with seven RBI and home runs in the ninth and tenth innings to help the Cubs to a thrilling 12-11 win over their rival St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field.
The Sandberg Family has asked that donations can be made in remembrance of Ryne to Cubs Charities. The Cubs will commemorate Sandberg the rest of the season with a special jersey patch.
How strange is 2021? It’s weird enough that Chicago Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg, one of the greatest second basemen of all time, is now an endorser of cannabis products.
The first ballot hall-of-famer is truly the genuine article, so when he’s a pitchman for a product or service, it’s something he authentically believes in.
Ryne Sandberg was great! Super nice guy! We'll have a story up sometime tomorrow about our chat and the experience overall. #CubTogether #teamverilife pic.twitter.com/E5ElBlGwxg
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) May 23, 2021
Sandberg is as wholesome, clean-cut, All-American as it gets, and that has not changed with his now working for Verilife, a Chicago based company and division of Pharmacann.
Sandberg made a public appearance at the Gold Coast dispensary on May 23rd, in which the store was running a 23% off sale in conjunction with the immortal #23’s appearance.
The whole vibe was very chill, just as one would expect for an event held at a marijuana dispensary. It was a beautiful summer day, perfect time for an exclusive conversation with a 10 time All-Star, nine time Gold Glove, seven time Silver Slugger and 1984 NL MVP.
The outdoor meet-and-greet was the right opportunity to hear a first ballot hall-of-famer discuss how the legalization of marijuana has changed his outlook completely.
The 61-year-old is originally from Spokane, Washington, a state that was well ahead of the national curve when it comes to the issue of legal weed.
Life after baseball (Sandberg also works for the Cubs owned, in partnership with Sinclair Broadcasting, television apparatus, Marquee Network) provided Ryno the opportunity to meet the right people in this booming industry, and get involved in its growth.
With legalization, dispensaries are popping up all over the place these days, and it’s the educational aspect where Ryne Sandberg comes in.
He said that he’s striving to tell the public what these products are all about, what they do and what they don’t do, so that they aren’t just randomly going in and buying things without having the requisite knowledge.
Sandberg became knowledgeable and aware of the good weed later in life and from this vantage point, he said that the responsibility side of it is what he’s most focused on.
As he emphasized, a couple times during our conversation, the legality aspect had everything to do with his later in life awakening on cannabis substances.
With Ryne Sandberg that interest comes off as the genuine article, completely different from Jim Belushi, another Chicago superstar who “discovered” the pot business in middle-age.
With Belushi, it all seems a bit overdone, like he’s trying too hard (just like in some of his film and tv roles). Sandberg comes off more down to Earth, grassroots (pun obviously intended), if you will.
Like the rest of us, he said he was offered it throughout high school and his youth/young adult years, but he consistently abstained. I asked him if pot was big in Major League Baseball when he played, and he said no, or least not that he was aware of.
He said there was so much drug testing that guys who were on the ball and focused stayed clear of it all.
He then brought up how during the last few years of his career, there was heightened testing, and a shift in the focus of that testing. I assume he meant Performance Enhancing Drugs.
Marijuana is certainly not a PED, unless the individual performance you’re seeking to enhance is binge-watching the work of Method Man and Red Man, or the consumption of Funyans.
With legalization, we’re in a brave new world now, and Ryne Sandberg will certainly not be the last 1980s and 1990s superstar athlete to plant himself in the pot trade.
I’ve interviewed Ryne Sandberg before Sunday, a few times, but doing so at a fan event was a much better vibe, and certainly more fun, than at a press conference.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter