Ernie Banks, one of the greatest figures of Chicago sports history and baseball history as a whole, has died. Mr. Cub was 83 years old.
The man who often called “Let’s play two!” whenever he could died on Friday, his wife, Liz, said.
Banks was one of baseball’s best international ambassadors and was the first African American player for the Cubs when he took the field in September 1953. He was an 11-time All Star and won the NL MVP award in 1958 and 1959. He hit 512 home runs, with 1,636 RBIs. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1977. Despite all that success, he never played in the playoffs once.
But Banks was much more than his long list of statistics. As the Chicago Tribune points out, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in November 2013.
“It means everything to me,” Banks said when he received the medal. “It means life is just wonderful. When you do things to try to help people and share things, it really comes back to you. I try to do that. I love the players, love Wrigley Field, love all the players. … This award means a lot to me. It’s almost like the Nobel Peace Prize to me.”
“Words cannot express how important Ernie Banks will always be to the Chicago Cubs, the city of Chicago and Major League Baseball,” Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement. “He was one of the greatest players of all time. He was a pioneer in the Major Leagues. And more importantly, he was the warmest and most sincere person I've ever known. Approachable, ever optimistic and kind hearted, Ernie Banks is and always will be Mr. Cub. My family and I grieve the loss of such a great and good-hearted man, but we look forward to celebrating Ernie's life in the days ahead.”
Banks, who was born in Dallas, is one of those players forever linked to a franchise he spent his entire career with. He played 19 seasons for the Cubs, retiring after the 1971 season. He is as much a part of Cubs history as Wrigley Field.
As the Chicago Sun Times notes, the Cubs installed a statue of Banks in 2008 in front of Wrigley Field.