Cubs honor Ron Santo with heel click, patch

Cubs players clicked their heels to honor Hall of Famer Ron Santo as they took the field for the first inning in Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

By C. Trent Rosecrans

Jul 22, 2012 at 5:02 pm ET • 1 min read

The Cubs wore a patch honoring Ron Santo on Sunday. (US Presswire)

Bryan LaHair clicks his heels to honor Ron Santo. (US Presswire)

Cubs manager Dale Sveum came up with a fantastic way to honor Hall of Famer Ron Santo on Sunday.

"When they jog across the line, they're going to click their heels," Svuem told Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune before the game.

As Santo was being honored in Cooperstown, N.Y., the Cubs honored him in St. Louis with the heel clicking and a patch on their jersey, seen above.

Santo became known for his heel click in 1969, when he did it on June 22, 1969 after the Cubs came back to beat the Montreal Expos. Manager Leo Durocher asked him to do it after every Cubs home win. He stopped as the team faded down the stretch and never did it again.

On Sunday, all of the Cubs starters, other than starter Travis Wood and catcher Steve Clevenger, clicked their heels as they crossed the third-base line as they went out to the field in the bottom of the first. Clevenger did the same as he arrived behind home plate.

Wood, however, did not, and maybe karma caught up to the lefty, who gave up four runs in the first to the Cardinals.

The Cubs will wear the Santo patch on Friday, their first game back at Wrigley Field since Santo's induction.