78 Facts About Ernie Banks

Ernest Ernie Banks, nicknamed "Mr Cub" and "Mr Sunshine", was an American professional baseball player who starred in Major League Baseball as a shortstop and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs between 1953 and 1971.

Ernie Banks was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977, and was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.

Ernie Banks is regarded by some as one of the greatest players of all time.

Ernie Banks began playing professional baseball in 1950 with the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro leagues.

Ernie Banks served in the U S military for two years, played for the Monarchs again, and began his National League career in September 1953.

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The following year, Ernie Banks was the National League Rookie of the Year runner-up.

Ernie Banks was the Cubs' main attraction in the late 1950s, the National League Most Valuable Player in 1958 and 1959, and the Cubs' first Gold Glove winner in 1960.

Ernie Banks retired from playing in 1971, was a coach for the Cubs in 1972, and in 1982 was the team's first player to have his uniform number retired.

Ernie Banks was active in the Chicago community during and after his tenure with the Cubs.

Ernie Banks founded a charitable organization, became the first black Ford Motor Company dealer in the United States, and made an unsuccessful bid for a local political office.

In 2013, Ernie Banks was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contribution to sports.

Ernie Banks's father, who had worked in construction and was a warehouse loader for a grocery chain, played baseball for black, semi-professional teams in Texas.

Ernie Banks's father bought him a baseball glove for less than three dollars at a five and dime store and motivated him with nickels and dimes to play catch.

Ernie Banks's mother encouraged him to follow one of his grandfathers into a career as a minister.

Ernie Banks' school did not have a baseball team; he played fastpitch softball for a church team during the summer.

Ernie Banks was a member of the Amarillo Colts, a semi-professional baseball team.

In 1951, Banks was drafted into the U S Army and served in Germany during the Korean War.

Ernie Banks served as a flag bearer in the 45th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion at Fort Bliss, where he played with the Harlem Globetrotters on a part-time basis.

Ernie Banks signed with the Chicago Cubs in late 1953, making his major league debut on September 17 at age 22 and playing in 10 games at Wrigley Field.

Ernie Banks was the Cubs' first black player; he became one of several former Negro league players who joined MLB teams without playing in the minor leagues.

Ernie Banks was so grateful to be playing baseball for a living, he did not have time to change the world, and if that meant some people called him an Uncle Tom, well, so be it.

Later, when Ernie Banks felt like becoming more vocal, he discussed the issue with teammate Billy Williams, who advised him to remain quiet.

Ernie Banks hit 19 home runs and finished second to Wally Moon in Rookie of the Year voting.

Ernie Banks participated in a trend toward lighter baseball bats after he accidentally picked up a teammate's bat and liked that it was easy to generate bat speed.

Ernie Banks played and was the starting NL shortstop in his first of 13 All-Star Games that season.

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Ernie Banks's home run total was a single-season record among shortstops.

Ernie Banks set a 30-year record of five single-season grand slam home runs.

Ernie Banks finished third in 1955 in the league's Most Valuable Player voting, behind Roy Campanella and Duke Snider.

In 1956, Ernie Banks missed 18 games due to a hand infection, breaking his run of 424 consecutive games played.

Ernie Banks made the All-Star selection as a reserve player but did not play in the game.

In 1958 and 1959, Ernie Banks became the first NL player to be awarded back-to-back MVP Awards, leading the league in RBI in both those seasons .

Ernie Banks hit a major-league-leading 47 home runs in 1958, while batting.

In 1960, Ernie Banks hit a major league and NL-leading 41 HR, had 117 RBI, and led the NL in games played for the sixth time in seven years.

Ernie Banks was the first Cubs player to receive an annual NL Gold Glove award .

In 1961, Ernie Banks experienced problems with a knee injury he had suffered while in the army.

Ernie Banks later said, "Only a duck out of water could have shared my loneliness in left field".

Ernie Banks credited center fielder Richie Ashburn with helping him learn to play left field; in 23 games Ernie Banks committed only one error.

Ernie Banks was not selected to be an All-Star for the first of two All-Star games that season since 1959, when MLB started having two All-Star Games per season through 1962, but was selected as a reserve player.

Ernie Banks was a pinch hitter in the second All-Star game.

In May 1962, Ernie Banks was hit in the head by a fastball from former Cubs pitcher Moe Drabowsky and was taken off the field unconscious.

Ernie Banks sustained a concussion, spent two nights in a hospital, sat out a Monday game, and hit three home runs and a double on Tuesday.

In May 1963, Ernie Banks set a single-game record of 22 putouts by a first baseman.

Ernie Banks couldn't run, he couldn't field; toward the end, he couldn't even hit.

Ernie Banks had an unfailing instinct for doing the wrong thing.

Ernie Banks competed with John Boccabella for a starting position at first base.

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Ernie Banks hit 23 home runs and drove in 95 runs, and went to the All-Star Game that year.

Ernie Banks won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 1968, an honor recognizing playing ability and personal character.

Ernie Banks made his 11th and final All-Star season appearance as a pinch hitter; it was his 14th All-Star Game appearance overall.

Ernie Banks was an instructor in the minor leagues for the next three seasons and worked in the Cubs' front office.

Ernie Banks finished his career with 512 home runs; his 277 home runs as a shortstop were a career record at the time of his retirement.

Ernie Banks excelled as an infielder; he won an NL Gold Glove Award for shortstop in 1960.

Ernie Banks led the NL in putouts five times and was the NL leader in fielding percentage as shortstop three times, and once as first baseman.

Ernie Banks holds the major league record for most games played without a postseason appearance .

Ernie Banks was a lifelong Republican – and he once stated that "I'm not goin' anywhere I'm not wanted" – prompting critics to claim that he was "soft" on Jim Crow; he ran for alderman in Chicago in 1963.

Ernie Banks ran in the 8th Ward against Democratic incumbent James A Condon.

In 1966, Ernie Banks worked for Seaway National Bank in the off-season and enrolled in a banking correspondence course.

Ernie Banks bought into several business ventures, including a gas station, during his playing career.

Ernie Banks later spent time working for an insurance company and for New World Van Lines.

Ernie Banks was appointed to the board of directors of the Chicago Transit Authority in 1969.

Ernie Banks's received several valuable items from his playing career as part of their divorce settlement, including his 500th home run ball.

Ernie Banks married Liz Ellzey in 1997 and Hank Aaron served as his best man.

Ernie Banks's nephew, Bob Johnson, was a major league catcher and first baseman for the Texas Rangers between 1981 and 1983.

Ernie Banks had been appointed to the Chicago Transit Board in 1969 by the governor of Illinois.

Ernie Banks was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977, his first year of eligibility.

Ernie Banks was the first player to have his number retired by the team.

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At the time of the ceremony, Ernie Banks was employed as the Cubs' corporate sales representative.

Ernie Banks served as a team ambassador after his retirement, though author Phil Rogers says the team had never placed Ernie Banks in a position of authority or significant influence.

Rogers wrote that after the sale, Ernie Banks was viewed as "something of a crazy uncle who hung around the house for no apparent reason", and that team officials anonymously told the press that Ernie Banks had been fired because he was unreliable.

At the 1990 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the first one held at Wrigley Field since Ernie Banks' playing days, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch to starting catcher Mike Scioscia.

Ernie Banks was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.

In June 2006, Crain's Chicago Business said 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 was an ordained minister; he presided at the wedding of MLB pitcher Sean Marshall.

That year, Eddie Vedder released a song called "All The Way", which Ernie Banks had asked Vedder to write about the Cubs as a birthday gift.

In 2009, Ernie Banks was named a Library of Congress Living Legend, a designation that recognizes those "who have made significant contributions to America's diverse cultural, scientific and social heritage".

Ernie Banks remained close to the Cubs team and made frequent appearances at their spring training grounds, HoHoKam Stadium in Arizona.

Ernie Banks was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln by the Governor of Illinois in 1970, in the area of Sports.

Ernie Banks had been diagnosed with dementia shortly before the change in his will.

Ernie Banks was buried in Graceland Cemetery, just a few blocks north of Wrigley Field.