Former Chicago Cubs All-Star Shawon Dunston has objected in bankruptcy court to the sale of the team because it owes him money to pay for a college education, according to court documents filed on Thursday.

The bankrupt Tribune Co, which owns the Cubs, has reached a deal to sell one of baseball's most popular teams to the Ricketts family for $845 million.

The deal must be approved by a bankruptcy court, and Dunston wrote to the judge to object.

I, Shawon Dunston, being a former player of the Chicago Cubs from 4-9-85 - 10-5-95/4-5-97 - 10-4-97 am entitled to college scholarship funds obligated to me by the Chicago Cubs, the three-sentence handwritten letter said.

To date, these scholarship funds have not been paid to me.

The Tribune said in a statement that we are aware of Mr. Dunston's concerns and are working to reach a satisfactory conclusion on this issue as quickly as possible. We do not believe this will have any impact on closing of the Cubs transaction.

The two-time All-Star shortstop was the first overall draft pick in 1982, selected straight out of high school. He ended his career with the San Francisco Giants, retiring in 2002, and continues to work for the team.

While Dunston, who helped the Cubs reach the playoffs in 1989, could not be reached for comment, a spokesman for the Giants said that when the Cubs signed him they agreed to pay for his college education.

The spokesman said the Cubs would annually ask him if he planned to go to school and he would put it off. To protect that part of his agreement, his advisers told him he should send in the letter to the bankruptcy court.

He has no objection at all to them being sold, the Giants spokesman, Jim Moorehead, said.

The case is in Re: Tribune Company et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 08-13141 (Additional reporting by Ben Klayman in Chicago)

Major league baseball