Ernie Banks passed away yesterday. He was 83 years old and had been out of baseball as a player since 1971. However, for a kid from Park Forest, Illinois whose Dad had trained him well to be a Cubs fan, Ernie Banks never stopped playing the game he loved so much. He was my favorite baseball player from the time I knew what baseball was and little did I know that a lot of people resented him because of his skin color. You see Ernie Banks was the first of eventually two black players on the Cubs roster in 1953 when his contract had been purchased from the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League. He at shortstop and Gene Baker at second were two thirds of any double play turned by the Cubs' infield.
Bank was not as appreciated in the black community in the civil rights era because he would not use his popularity to stand up for racial equality preferring to let his actions speak for him. He later wrote:
Our family had left Illinois and was living in Dallas in the heartbreaking year of 1969. While playing sandlot or driveway baseball in the evenings with neighbor kids, I would imagine the roar of the crowd when I, as #14, would step up to the plate. However, unlike Mr. Cub, I was not a gifted hitter or fielder like him. Still, a kid needs to dream, right?
Ernie was seen as a liability to the team by then Manager Leo "the Lip" Durocher, a coach Banks admired, who felt pressured by his popularity to leave him in the line up, despite the fact he had slowed down and was largely platooned at first base due to his years of a nagging knee injury (which in those days there were few players who continued if it came down to knee surgery). However in 1969, Banks played 155 games, hit 23 home runs, and drove in 106 runs. Not bad for a guy thought to be washed up. Sadly, as the Cubs fell apart unexpectedly in September and the Amazing Mets won the pennant and the World Series, the Cubs and Banks would never be the same.
He retired in 1971 and was inducted in his 1st year of eligibility on August 8 of 1977. During his induction speech, Banks said, "We've got the setting - sunshine, fresh air, the team behind us. So let's play two!"
Somewhere in the field of Dreams, Ernie Banks is playing two and hopefully he finally makes it to the Series.
Bank was not as appreciated in the black community in the civil rights era because he would not use his popularity to stand up for racial equality preferring to let his actions speak for him. He later wrote:
My philosophy about race relations is that I'm the man and I'll set my own patterns in life. I don't rely on anyone else's opinions. I look at a man as a human being; I don't care about his color. Some people feel that because you are black you will never be treated fairly, and that you should voice your opinions, be militant about them. I don't feel this way. You can't convince a fool against his will... If a man doesn't like me because I'm black, that's fine. I'll just go elsewhere, but I'm not going to let him change my life.[43]Of course, Banks was beloved as a player among baseball fans and hit 512 homers before hanging up his cleats. He was made an NL all-star 14 times in his stellar career and won batting titles, Golden Gloves, NL MVP awards, and played his whole MLB career as a Cub, something that likely cost him the opportunity to play in a World Series. But Ernie Banks, who was born in Dallas, TX and came to baseball only after his father bribed him to play catch with him for nickels and dimes as a kid, was forever loyal to the team that took the chance on him, as he also became a batting coach, scout, and had other responsibilities in the Cubs' organization including tram ambassador which he was well into the 1980s. He was called "Mr. Cub" for a very good reason!
Our family had left Illinois and was living in Dallas in the heartbreaking year of 1969. While playing sandlot or driveway baseball in the evenings with neighbor kids, I would imagine the roar of the crowd when I, as #14, would step up to the plate. However, unlike Mr. Cub, I was not a gifted hitter or fielder like him. Still, a kid needs to dream, right?
Ernie was seen as a liability to the team by then Manager Leo "the Lip" Durocher, a coach Banks admired, who felt pressured by his popularity to leave him in the line up, despite the fact he had slowed down and was largely platooned at first base due to his years of a nagging knee injury (which in those days there were few players who continued if it came down to knee surgery). However in 1969, Banks played 155 games, hit 23 home runs, and drove in 106 runs. Not bad for a guy thought to be washed up. Sadly, as the Cubs fell apart unexpectedly in September and the Amazing Mets won the pennant and the World Series, the Cubs and Banks would never be the same.
He retired in 1971 and was inducted in his 1st year of eligibility on August 8 of 1977. During his induction speech, Banks said, "We've got the setting - sunshine, fresh air, the team behind us. So let's play two!"
Somewhere in the field of Dreams, Ernie Banks is playing two and hopefully he finally makes it to the Series.
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