Four decades later, Cubs 1984 squad enjoys reunion

HUNTLEY — Memories from a baseball season four decades earlier flowed easily from six of the 1984 Chicago Cubs National Eastern Division winning players seated at the Club 400 stage.

The heroes of the 96-65 Cubs regular season were in town to toast one of their own, Hall-of-Famer Ryne Sandberg, for his new statue at Wrigley Field. The statue was unveiled June 23, with the reunion at Huntley’s Pinecrest Golf Course and Club 400 gathering over the next two days.

The 1984 teammates helped mark the famous Sandberg Game against St. Louis. They recalled with the rest of the fandom of the historic events of June 23, 1984. Sandberg hit two home runs to power the Cubs to a tie at 11-11 after a 7-1 deficit to the Cardinals. Dave Owen delivered the final blow, a single for a 12-11 win.

Three months later the team won its first post-season spot in 39 years with a win at Pittsburgh. The dream ended in a 3-2 five game series loss at San Diego.

“It’s the main example of why they’re still talking about the 1984 Cubs,” Bob Dernier, who drew a walk ahead of Sandberg’s second homer, said. “If you take one guy off the 1984 team, they would not be talking about us. The 1984 team showed we weren’t going to be ‘lovable losers’ any more.”

Several 1984 Cubs players attended reunion events for Club 400, a fund-raising organization, after Sandberg’s statue dedication. In addition to Dernier, also on hand during all or part of the local reunion were pitchers Steve Trout, Tim Stoddard, Rich Bordi and Warren Brusstar; outfielder Thad Bosley; first baseman Leon Durham; catcher Jody Davis; trainer Tony Gorofalo and public relations chief Bob Ibach. Famous ball girl at the time, Marla Collins, also attended.

“It’s the loyalty of the Chicago Cubs fans. You could see the excitement build throughout the summer,” Bordi said. “A lot of us lived a few blocks from the park, and when we won, we were like Elvis.”

“We had some great players here – I was proud to be part of it. It was a great joy for me,” Stoddard said.

“I used to play for the Phillies, Pirates and Mets, but I always loved coming to Chicago,” Hebner said. “Cubs fans are unbelievable.”

One of those fans is Patti Munch, who traveled from the heart of Milwaukee Brewers country, Stevens Point, Wis., to be at the reunion.

“I was in college in 1984, and the team’s winning helped me a lot. My favorite player was Davis. He always comes to Club 400 events and is so personable,” Munch said.

The 1984 team ended with a regular season mark of 95-64, won the NL East Division title but fell to San Diego in the NLCS in five games.

“That season changed the perception of Wrigley Field forever,” Trout said.

Club 400 founder Stewart McVicar praised many who help make the reunion a success at a kickoff luncheon golf tournament at Pinecrest. He said he is thrilled that the Cubs 400 origanization’s decade of success. “Cub Fans Helping Cubs Fans” is its motto and is a multi-faceted Cubs man cave in his home.

“It’s been a great honor to reach the goal of raising $851,000 in contributions from my basement,” McVicar said. “The 1984 Cubs changed my life.”

Throughout the reunion, teammates praised Sandberg’s hard work, which led to many honors. These included nine All-Star game selections and nine Gold Gloves, and the 1984 MVP award.

Hebner praised Sandberg’s work ethic that led to Sandberg’s Hall-of-Fame selection in 2005.

“I remember him as a very dedicated hitter,” Hebner said. “If he had an zero-for-two day, he would come back the next day wirh two hits.”

“It was a great year for him and he had a lot of great seasons,” Trout added of Sandberg.

Lou Cella has an interesting take on the celebration. He has been the sculptor for all of the statues on Statue Rowe at Wrigley Field, starting with Harry Caray and leading to Sandberg’s pose as an infielder.

“I worked with Sandberg on many designs until we came up with the design he selected,” Cella said. “He said, ‘thst’s how fans would remember me.’”

He explained the finalization of the sculpting process when Cubs executives met with him before the June 23 official ceremony. This included the accomplishments, a ready-to-field a grounder pose.

Another person with an interesting take on the year was Jim Ritz. Working with Keith Moreland, Durham, Rick Sutcliffe, Davis, and Gary Woods, were the quintet who sang “Men in Blue.” Ritz wrote the lyrics.

“Moreland had a background in country music. We sold 35,000 copies of the song and would have sold 500,000 if they had made the World Series,” Ritz said. As an aside, Ritz worked as a bat boy for one day at age 35.

It was getting late on a Tuesday night at Club 400’s reunion, which also included a long-standing season ticket holder. But it’s never too late for one more chorus of “Go Cubs Go”, the celebration of a win song which is 40 years old this summer.