Ernie Banks

Template:Infobox MLB retired Ernest "Ernie" Banks (born January 31, 1931 in Dallas, Texas) is an American former Major League baseball player who played his entire career with the Chicago Cubs (1953–1971). Banks is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. His nickname is Mr. Cub. He currently lives in the Los Angeles area.

High school years

Banks was a letterman and standout in football, basketball, and track.

Playing career

retired number at Wrigley Field

Banks signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League in 1950 and broke into the Major Leagues in 1953 with the Chicago Cubs as their first black player. He played for the Cubs his entire career, starting at shortstop and moving to first base in 1962.

Initially Banks' double play partner was Gene Baker, the second black player on the Cubs, and Banks' roommate on road trips. When Steve Bilko would play first base, Cubs' announcer and home-town rooter Bert Wilson would refer to the Banks-Baker-Bilko double play combination as "Bingo to Bango to Bilko". This combination would not last quite as long as "Tinker to Evers to Chance", but Banks would become a Cubs institution.

Banks wore number 14 as a Cub, and is the first of only four Cubs players who have had their number retired by the organization. Other players had worn number 14 previously, of course. Earlier in 1953, Paul Schramka had carried that number. It was originally worn by Guy Bush in 1932, the first year the Cubs wore numbers on their jerseys. [Info from list in current Cubs' media guide]

Banks was known for his catch phrase of, "It's a beautiful day for a ballgame... Let's play two!", expressing his wish to play a doubleheader every day out of his pure love for the game of baseball, especially in his self-described "friendly confines of Wrigley Field." In 1955, he set the record for grand slams in a single season with five, a record that stood for over thirty years.

Banks won the National League Most Valuable Player Award twice, in 1958 and 1959 despite the fact that the Cubs were not pennant contenders during the season. He became the first shortstop in the history of the National League to win the MVP award in back to back seasons. Jimmy Dykes reportedly remarked that, "Without him, the Cubs would finish in Albuquerque!"

On September 2, 1965, Banks hit his 400th home run, and five years later, on May 12, 1970 at Chicago's Wrigley Field, hit his 500th home run. Banks finished his career with 512 home runs, and his 277 homers as a shortstop were the most ever at the time of his retirement. (Cal Ripken, Jr now holds the record for most homers as a shortstop with 345.) Ernie Banks also currently holds the record for most extra base hits by a Cub with 1,009. Banks also holds the team's records for games played (2528), at-bats (9421) and total bases (4706).

Coaching career

On December 1, 1971, Banks retired as a player, and the Cubs signed him as a coach.

On May 8, 1973, Cubs manager Whitey Lockman was ejected in the 11th inning of a game against the San Diego Padres. Coach Ernie Banks filled in as manager for the remainder of the game, which the Cubs won 3-2 in 12 innings. Thus, he was technically, if not officially, MLB's first black manager, predating Frank Robinson's hiring by almost two years.

File:Ernie banks mr cub bronze statue wrigley field chicago cubs.jpg

Ernie Banks, "Mr Cub," bronze statue at Wrigley Field

Honors

Ernie Banks was honored alongside the retired numbers of the Chicago Cubs in 1982.

Banks is regarded as one of the most popular baseball players in Chicago sports history. He was a constant promoter of the Cubs and of daytime play at Wrigley Field. His popularity and positive attitude led to the nicknames "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine."

In 1982, his uniform number 14 became the first to be retired by the Cubs. It had already been unofficially retired for nearly 9 years, because it was not assigned to anyone else after Banks' retirement from coaching.

In 1977, in his first year of eligibility, Banks was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The beginning of Banks' induction speech that August 8 leads off the Baseball's Greatest Hits Vol. II CD. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn is heard presenting Banks, who says, "Thank you very much, Commissioner, for the fine introduction. We've got the setting - sunshine, fresh air; we've got the team behind us [past inductees seated behind the podium]; so . . . 'Let's play two!"

In 1999, he ranked Number 38 on The Sporting News list of Baseball's Greatest Players, and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

On March 31, 2008, a statue of Banks was unveiled outside Wrigley Field. Upon its unveiling, the base of the statue was revealed to contain a typographical error, reading "Lets play two" rather than the grammatically correct "Let's play two." Two days later, sculptor Lou Cella came down to the ballpark early in the morning and carved the apostrophe.

Other

During Banks' career, the Cubs were rarely in contention despite his brilliance. They failed to finish in the first division every season until late in his career. Consequently, Banks holds the Major League record of most games played without a postseason appearance (2528).

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Banks operated the Ernie Banks Ford car dealership on Stony Island Avenue in Chicago.

In June 2006, Crain's Chicago Business reported that Ernie Banks was part of a group looking into buying the Chicago Cubs, in case the Tribune Company decided to sell the club.

Ernie Banks established his own charity, the Live Above & Beyond Foundation, to eliminate prejudice, support programs that enhance neighborhoods and relieve discrimination among various age groups and races. In 2008, Banks released a charity wine called Ernie Banks 512 Chardonnay, a nod to his 512 career home runs, with all of his proceeds donated to his foundation.

Banks is the great-uncle of Atlanta Hawks point guard Acie Law IV. and the uncle of former major league catcher Bob Johnson.

Years led league by statistical category

• Shortstop Major League Leader:
  • Fielding Average - 1 time
  • Fewest errors - 1 time
• National League Leader:
  • Games played - 6 times
  • Extra base hits - 4 times
  • Home runs - 2 times
  • RBIs - 2 times
  • Slugging percentage - 1 time
  • Total bases - 1 time
  • At bats - 1 time

See also

• First black MLB players by team and date
• List of Major League Baseball Home Run Records
• 500 home run club
• List of baseball players who went directly to the major leagues
• DHL Hometown Heroes
• List of top 500 Major League Baseball home run hitters
• List of major league players with 2,000 hits
• List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
• List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
• List of Major League Baseball home run champions
• MLB consecutive games played streaks
• Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs

• Ernie Banks at the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Ernie Banks - BaseballLibrary.com
• Ernie Banks' oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project
• Ernie Banks Biography - The HistoryMakers

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Hank Aaron Eddie Mathews	National League Home Run Champion 1958 1960	Succeeded by Eddie Mathews Orlando Cepeda
Preceded by Hank Aaron	National League RBI Champion 1958-1959	Succeeded by Hank Aaron
Preceded by Hank Aaron	National League Most Valuable Player 1958, 1959	Succeeded by Dick Groat
Preceded by Brooks Robinson	Lou Gehrig Memorial Award 1967	Succeeded by Al Kaline

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