Reliving the epic 'Sandberg Game' through everyone's eyes

This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian’s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO -- Ryne Sandberg did not immediately understand the magnitude of his moment against the Cardinals four decades ago. He had five hits, drove in seven runs and belted a pair of homers off Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter, but the then Cubs' second baseman was already thinking about the next game.

“We all felt that was a good win,” Sandberg said. “But that was about it. It was, shower, drive home and there was a game tomorrow. It was pretty much all business.”

Sandberg said things started to sink in after he shook hands with his teammates on the infield following the 12-11, 11-inning comeback win. He was asked to chat with broadcaster Jack Buck on the Cardinals’ postgame show, then a large pack of media was also waiting at his locker in the cramped Wrigley Field clubhouse.

That afternoon tilt at Wrigley Field on June 23, 1984, has become famously known as “The Sandberg Game.” As part of the 40th anniversary, the Cubs unveiled Sandberg’s new statue on Sunday outside the ballpark. During the ceremony, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said “the organization would never be the same again” after that historic game.

“Not many Hall of Famers have a single moment or a single game that comes to mind first,” Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Costas said. “Why is that the case with Ryne Sandberg? You need some context. Those of us who were around for it understand.”

Costas was in the broadcast booth at Wrigley Field for the game, alongside Tony Kubek, as part of NBC’s Game of the Week team. In the 1980s, drawing that national broadcast was a big deal for ballclubs. Costas said when he and Kubek (or Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola) arrived on a Friday to prepare, players would say they got picked for “the game of the world.”

It was particularly important for the 1984 Cubs, who were trying to shake the “lovable losers” label that had followed the team for decades. The game put the ‘84 squad in the spotlight with their longtime rivals from St. Louis on the other side. Chicago would go on to win its division, reaching the playoffs for the first time since '45 and falling just short of the National League pennant.

Not only did that game serve as a national introduction to the ‘84 Cubs, the North Siders also got to show off a budding 24-year-old star in Sandberg. He was piecing together what would become a National League MVP campaign. That year, he hit .314 with 19 homers, 36 doubles, 19 triples, 84 RBIs, 32 steals and 200 hits, while picking up a second of nine straight Gold Glove Awards.

“This is the game that marks Ryne Sandberg as a front-runner for MVP,” Costas said. “The game was legendary almost right away.”

Sandberg had an RBI single in the first inning, but the Cardinals jumped out to a 7-1 lead by the second. He knocked in one more run in the fifth, but St. Louis carried a 9-3 advantage into the bottom of the sixth inning. That is when Sandberg really started to get going. He delivered a two-run single as part of a rally that cut the Cards’ lead to 9-8.

St. Louis handed the ball to Sutter -- in the midst of a 45-save season in which he had a sparkling 1.54 ERA -- for the ninth inning. Sandberg led off with a game-tying home run. The Cards struck for a pair of runs in the 10th, so Sutter went to work again, retiring the first two batters he faced.

“With two out and nobody on, on a borderline 3-2 pitch, Bobby Dernier draws a walk,” Costas said. “Up comes Sandberg again, and the same thing happens -- almost to exactly the same spot in the left-center-field bleachers. Almost like the same fan could have caught it.”

Sandberg’s second shot of the day pulled the game into an 11-11 deadlock, setting the Cubs up for a game-winning rally in the 11th. Costas noted that the baseball film, “The Natural,” had been released in theaters in the previous month. That led to a memorable call during the famous game.

“It was a great time for baseball movies,” Costas said. “I recall saying something to the effect of, ‘Roy Hobbs, The Natural, played by Robert Redford would be happy to be Ryne Sandberg today, because this is almost something out of mythology.’”