Ernie Banks

At 83 years old, Ernie Banks has this physical status:

Ernest Banks (January 31, 1931 to January 23, 2015), nicknamed "Mr.," is a contraction that occurs in the United States.

"Mr." and Cub" are interchangeable, as well as "Mr.

Sunshine, an American professional baseball player who appeared in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1953 to 1971, he was a shortstop and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs.

He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977 and was voted to the Major League Baseball All-Centure Team in 1999. Some believe that banks are one of the best players of all time.

In 1950, he started playing professional baseball with the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro leagues.

He served in the US military for two years, played for the Monarchs again, and then began his major league career in September 1953.

Banks was the National League Rookie of the Year runner-up last year.

Banks was a National League (NL) All-Star for 11 seasons, appearing in 13 of the 15 All-Star Games held during those years, beginning in 1955.

In the late 1950s, the Cubs' top attraction, as the National League Most Valuable Player in 1958 and 1959, and the Cubs' first Gold Glove winner in 1960. Banks became a regular first baseman for the Cubs in 1962.

He was a player-coach between 1967 and 1971.

Cubs fans voted him the best Cub ever in 1969, according to a Chicago Sun-Times fan poll.

At Wrigley Field in 1970, Banks celebrated his 500th home run in his career.

He retired from playing in 1971, became a Cubs coach in 1972, and 1982 was the team's first player to have his uniform number retired. During and after his time with the Cubs, Banks was extremely involved in the Chicago community.

He founded a charitable group, became the first black Ford Motor Company dealer in the United States, and made an unsuccessful attempt to obtain a local political office.

In 2013, Banks was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his service to sports.

Banks lived in Los Angeles and Chicago.

Early life

On January 31, 1931, banks in Dallas, Texas, were born to Eddie and Essie Banks, the second of twelve children. His father, who worked in construction and was a warehouse loader for a supermarket chain, played baseball in Texas on black and semi-professional teams. Banks were not particularly interested in baseball as a child, preferring swimming, basketball, and football. His dad bought him a baseball glove at a five-and-dollar store and treated him with nickels and dimes to play catch. Banks joined the Dallas Black Giants, a semi-pro baseball team, while still enrolled in high school. His mother encouraged him to pursue one of his grandfathers' careers as a minister.

In 1950, the bank graduated from Booker T. Washington High School. He has worked in basketball, football, and track. He did not have a baseball team; he played fastpitch softball for a church squad during the summer. He was also a member of the Amarillo Colts, a semi-professional baseball team. Banks' aptitude for baseball was discovered by Bill Blair, a family friend who scouted for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League, according to history professor Timothy Gilfoyle. According to other accounts, Cool Papa Bell of the Monarchs discovered the Monarchs.

Banks were drafted into the US Army and served in Germany during the Korean War in 1951. He served as a flag bearer in the 45th Anti-Aircraft Battalion at Fort Bliss, where he played with the Harlem Globetrotters on a part-time basis. In 1953, he was released from the army and joined the Monarchs for the remainder of the season, with a.347 batting average. "Playing for the Kansas City Monarchs was like my childhood, my learning, and my world," the bank later explained. "It was my whole life" In the 1950s, banks operated a program on 1450 WHFC.

Personal life

Banks married Mollye Ector in 1953, after returning from military service in Germany. In a letter from Germany, he suggested to her. Though he filed for divorce two years later, the couple briefly reconciled in early 1959. They had reached an alimony contract that would cost $65,000 to Ector in lieu of alimony by the summer. Eloyce Johnson was eloped shortly thereafter by Banks. Within a year and a daughter four years after that, the couple had twin boys and a daughter four years after that. In 1963, Ector filed a lawsuit against Banks for failure to make payments on a life insurance policy that was not included in their divorce deal.

Banks was a lifelong Republican, and he even said "I'm not going where I'm not wanted" at a time, causing critics to claim he was "soft" on Jim Crow; he ran for alderman in Chicago in 1963. He ran in the 8th Ward against Democratic incumbent James A. Condon. Banks came in a distant third in the Feb. 26 primary, with 55% winning re-election; Gerald Gibbons drew 25%). "People knew me only as a baseball player," he later wrote. They didn't believe I qualified as a government official, and even though I did, I couldn't change my image and it would be difficult for me to get away from my baseball life and I'd have to compensate for it after my playing days ended." In 2004, banks endorsed George W. Bush for president.

Banks served for Seaway National Bank on the off-season and enrolled in a banking correspondence course in 1966. During his playing career, he ventured into several company ventures, including a gas station. Despite being modestly compensated relative to other baseball players, Banks had taken the advice of Wrigley and invested a substantial portion of his money. He spent time with an insurance company and with New World Van Lines later in life. By the time he was 55 years old, banks were beginning to create assets that would be worth $4 million.

On Chicago's south side, bankers and Bob Nelson became the first black owners of a Ford Motor Company dealership in 1967, Ernie Banks Ford. Nelson was the first non-white commissioned officer in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II; he owned an import car dealership prior to joining Banks. In 1969, Banks was appointed to the Chicago Transit Authority's board of directors. On a trip to Europe, bankers visited the Pope, who gave him a medal that became a prized possession.

In 1981, banks were separated from Eloyce. As part of her divorce deal, she received many of her playing time, including his 500th home run ball. The items were not sold immediately after the divorce. In 1984, he remarried. Marjorie's third wife Marjorie was a member of a group that met with MLB executives in 1993 to explore race relations in baseball after rumors of racial insensitivity surfaced against Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott. Hank Aaron was his best man when banks married Liz Ellzey in 1997. Banks and Ellzey adopted an infant daughter in late 2008.

Bob Johnson, the bank's nephew and first baseman for the Texas Rangers from 1981 to 1983, was a major league catcher and first baseman. Acie Law, his uncle, attended Texas A&M University before playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

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MLB career

In late 1953, the Chicago Cubs made his major league debut at age 22 and playing in ten games at Wrigley Field. He was the Cubs' first black player, and he was one of several former Negro league players who transferred to other minor leagues without playing in the minor leagues. Larry Moffi and Jonathan Kronstadt wrote that he "just wasn't the crusading sort." He was so grateful to be playing baseball for a living that he didn't have time to change the world, and if that meant some people called him Uncle Tom, well, so be it.

Banks received a visit from Jackie Robinson during his first game for the Cubs, which inspired his quiet presence in baseball. "Ernie, I'm glad to see you're up here so now listen and learn." Robinson told Banks, "I don't talk or read a lot about people." Later, as bankers became more vocal, he spoke with teammate Billy Williams, who told him to remain anonymous. Williams compared fish that are entangled when they open their mouths to those that are not. "I kept my mouth shut but tried to make a difference," bankers said. "I've just wanted to make people better."

Gene Baker, the Cubs' second black player, was the bank's double play partner during his rookie season in 1954. On road trips, bankers and Baker became the first all-black double-play team in major league history. When Steve Bilko played first base, Cubs announcer Bert Wilson referred to the Banks-Baker-Bilko double play combination as "Bingo to Bango to Bilko." In Rookie of the Year voting, the banks earned 19 home runs and finished second to Wally Moon. Since he mistakenly picked up a teammate's bat and liked that it was fast to generate bat speed, banks joined a trend toward lighter baseball bats.

In 1955, the bank had 44 home runs, had 117 RBI, and batted.295. In his first of 13 All-Star Games that season, he appeared and was the starting NL shortstop. His home run total was a single-season low for shortstops. He also hit a 30-year record of five single-season grand slam home runs. In 1955, the bank finished third in the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) poll, behind Roy Campanella and Duke Snider. The Cubs won 72–81, losing 29 of 77 road games. Banks in 1956 missed 18 games due to a hand infection, snapping his streak of 424 consecutive games played. He finished the season with 28 home runs, 85 RBIs, and a.297 batting average. He was selected as a reserve player but did not participate in the tournament, but not participate in the tournament. Banks ended the season with 43 home runs, 102 RBI, and a.285 batting average.

Banks became the first NL player to be named back-to-back MVP Awards in 1958 and 1959, and they led the league in RBI in both those seasons (with 129 and 143, respectively) in 1958 and 1959. In 1958, the bank managed to post a major-league run-down, while batting.313, the third best in the NL, was third best. He hit.304 with 45 home runs the year before. The Cubs came closest to winning season after Banks' arrival in 1959, winning with a 74–80 record.

On June 30, 1959, the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Cubs at Wrigley Field, with a small part in an unusual performance. Stan Musial was on the plate against Bob Anderson on a score of 3–1. Anderson's next pitch was errant, the ball chased catcher Sammy Taylor and rolled all the way to the backstop. Vic Delmore called "ball four," but Anderson and Taylor argued that Musial foul had tipped the ball. Musial tried to run for second base because the ball was still in play and Delmore was embroiled in an argument with Anderson and Taylor. Alvin Dark, the third baseman, was running to second base as Musial was running to second baseman Alvin Dark ran to the backstop to retrieve the ball. The ball went into the hands of field announcer Pat Pieper, but Dark ended up getting it back anyway. Delmore, on the other hand, pulled out a new baseball and gave it to Taylor. Anderson grabbed the new ball from Sammy Taylor and threw it at Tony Taylor, covering second base, and Taylor went over Taylor's head into the outfield. Dark threw the original ball to shortstop Ernie Banks at the same time Anderson threw the ball towards second baseman Taylor. Musial did not see the throw and was reported out when the tag was made.

Banks reached 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. He was also the first Cubs player to be named a NL Gold Glove Award every year (for shortstop). Joe Reichler, a writer for the Associated Press, announced that the Milwaukee Braves were able to pay cash and trade pitchers Joey Jay, Carlton Willey, and Don Nottebart, outfielder Billy Bruton, shortstop Johnny Logan, and first baseman Frank Torre in exchange for Cubs Banks.

Banks in 1961 had problems with a knee injury he suffered while serving in the army. He dropped himself from the Cubs lineup for at least four games, snapping his record for playing in the most consecutive NL games of 895 games set by Stan Musial. Jerry Kindall will replace Banks at shortstop and that banks will be relocated to left field in May. "Only a duck out of water may have expressed my sadness in the left field," the bank later said. Richie Ashburn, the bank's center fielder, was credited with helping him learn to play left field; in 23 games, only one error was made. He was promoted to first base in June, learning the position from Cubs coach Charlie Grimm. He was not selected to play in the first two All-Star games this season, 1959, but he was not selected as a reserve player in 1962. In the second All-Star game, Banks was a pinch hitter.

In 1961, the Cubs first played under the College of Coaches, a system in which decisions were made by a team of 12 coaches rather than by one boss. Banks hoped to return to shortstop by the 1962 season, but the College of Coaches had already decided that they would remain at first base in perpetuity indefinitely. Banks was struck in the chest by a fastball from former Cubs pitcher Moe Drabowsky in May 1962, and was forced to leave the field unconscious. On Tuesday, he had a concussion, two nights in a hospital, sat out a game on Monday, and he had three home runs and a double.

Banks set a single-game record of 22 putouts by a first baseman in May 1963. Despite this, he caught mumps this year and finished the season with 18 home runs, 64 RBI, and a.227 batting average. Despite Banks' woes this season, the Cubs had their first winning streak since the 1940s. Following his doctor's instructions, the bank foregone his off-season participation in handball and basketball and started the 1964 season weighing seven pounds (3.2 kg) more than the previous year. With 23 home runs, 95 RBI, and a.264 batting average, the bank closed the season. In 1964, the Cubs finished in eighth place, losing over $315,000. Banks reached 28 home runs, had 107 RBI, a.265 batting average, and played and started at first base in the All-Star Game in 1965. He hit his 400th home run on September 2nd. The Cubs ended the season with a $1.2 million deficit, though television and radio sales helped compensated this significantly, as well as the Chicago Bears football team's leased Wrigley Field.

In Durocher's autobiography, he says:

Durocher's bankers expressed dissatisfaction with his words: "I wish there had been someone around like him right away in my career," the banker said. He's made me go for the little extra I needed to win." Durocher served as the Cubs' boss until mid-1972, the season after Banks retired. Mr. Cub, a banker who died before banks' independence, said that no mention had been made of the racial implications in his friendship with Durocher, according to Mr. Cub, who appeared shortly after the Banks' separation.

For the 1967 season, the Cubs named Banks as a player-coach. With John Boccabella for a starting position at first base, the banks battled for a starting position. Durocher appointed Banks the outright starter at first base a few weeks later. Banks reached 23 home runs and drove in 95 runs, and they were able to attend the All-Star Game this year. Banks were not expected to have made more than $65,000 (equal to $528,239 today) in any season after the 1967 season, according to an article in Ebony. He had his salary increase from $33,000 to $50,000 during his MVP tenures in 1958 and 1959, but Ebony said that several MLB players were earning $100,000 at the time.

In 1968, the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award was given to banks for their leadership and personal appearance. The 37-year-old Banks hit 32 home runs, had 83 RBI, and finished the season with a.246 batting average. He came nearest to assisting the Cubs in winning the National Pennant in 1969, and the Cubs fell from first place after losing an 8+1 game lead in August. Banks made his 11th and final All-Star season appearance as a pinch hitter, his 14th appearance in totality. On May 12, 1970, at Chicago's Wrigley Field, the bank celebrated his 500th home run. Banks retired as a player on December 1, 1971, but the Cubs continued to coach for the Cubs until 1973. He was an instructor in the minor leagues for the next three seasons and also served in the Cubs' front office.

Banks retired with 512 home runs; his 277 home runs as a shortstop were a career record at the time. (Cal Ripken Jr. has the most home runs as a shortstop at 345.) The bank holds Cubs records for games played (2,518), at-bats (9,421), extra-base hits (1,009), and total bases (4,706). Infielders also excelled; he received an NL Gold Glove Award for shortstop in 1960. He led the NL in putouts five times and was the NL's top fielding percentage as a shortstop three times and once as first baseman.

(2,528) Banks hold the most games played without a postseason appearance (2,520). Banks cited his fondness for the Cubs and owner Philip K. Wrigley's, who said he did not regret signing with the Cubs rather than one of the more popular baseball franchises in his book. "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine" were among the bank's most popular and positive attitudes. "It's a beautiful day for a ballgame," the banker said. Let's play two! "I'd like to play a doubleheader every day out of a love of baseball."

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