1971 Ron Santo Chicago Cubs Player Contract (BAS)

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/6/2025

This is an extraordinary, museum-worthy piece from one of the most beloved players in the storied history of the Chicago Cubs, Ron Santo’s 1971 MLB Player Contract presented in a unique, two-sided display that is a worthy complement to the artifact itself. The $90,000 price tag for the nine-time All-Star approached his career peak of $110,000, which he earned two years later in the last of his 14 seasons with the Cubbies. His 342 career home runs and 1,331 RBI (and 1,108 walks) combined with his stellar defense (five straight Gold Gloves from 1964-68) finally earned Santo his ticket to Cooperstown, which came two years after his death in 2010. Later generations of Cubs fans would come to know him as the color man for the team’s radio broadcasts, with all of these accomplishments managed against the rigors of diabetes, which he had battled since age 18. In the decades after retiring as a player, he championed the cause of combating diabetes, helping to raise more than $65 million for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and other causes. The four-page, 17-by-11-inch contract features a light Santo signature alongside those of National League President Chub Feeney and Cubs General Manager John Holland. Lavishly presented in a brushed stainless steel standing frame of similar dimensions, the contract displays two pages each front and back, protected by a plexiglass shield, with both contract and elegant frame seemingly without issues. Three nickel-sized Cubs logo stickers have been neatly spaced at the base of the frame. Surely the winning bidder will joyously leap into the air and click his heels when the final hammer falls on this one, assuming said bidder is capable of Santo-worthy gymnastics. The signature is also authenticated by BAS with a full LOA.