Background

Ernest Banks was born in Dallas, Texas, United States, on January 31, 1931, the second child and first boy of 12 children in his family. His father, Eddie Banks, picked cotton, worked for the Works Project Administration and stocked for the Texas Wholesale Grocery Corporation. His mother, Essie Banks, was a domestic worker.

Education

Banks' father was a pitcher and catcher with the Dallas Green Monarchs and the Black Giants, two teams of the all-black Negro League circuit that flourished before the major leagues were integrated in 1947, and he often brought his son along to serve as a batboy. Nevertheless, though naturally athletic, he rarely played baseball as a youngster. Attending Booker T. Washington High School (now Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts) in Dallas he notched a basketball average of 20 points per game and excelled as a track star (he could clear five feet, eleven inches in the high jump). Baseball wasn't a school sport at the time, and Banks knew little of the world beyond Dallas except for the cotton farms where he worked the fields for $1.75 a day.

But playing softball one day in 1947, Banks was spotted hitting home runs nearly at will by a local baseball scout and newspaper publisher, Bill Blair, who had once pitched for the Negro Leagues' Indianapolis Clowns. That led to a room-and-board gig with a small all-black club called the Amarillo Colts, playing around Texas and the Southwest. Banks, who was still in high school, played only in the summer. Though he was new to baseball, his skills developed rapidly.

Soon Banks moved up to the Kansas City Monarchs, a top-level team that had featured the talents of major-league pioneer Jackie Robinson and quotable pitcher Satchel Paige. After graduating from high school, Banks joined the Monarchs in 1950.

In his later years, Banks took night courses in English and Sociology at the University of Chicago.

Career

Banks joined the Monarchs after he graduated from high school in 1950. After a successful season, he toured with Jackie Robinson's Major League All-Stars in the fall of 1950. There he was mentored by future Hall of Famers Roy Campanella, Larry Doby, and Robinson.

Banks served in the United States Army from 1951 to 1953, but before shipping overseas he played basketball briefly for the Harlem Globetrotters. Coach Abe Saperstein told Banks to sit beside him on the bench and learn the Globetrotters' routines, but Banks didn't know how to respond. He had never before sat next to a white person.

After serving in Germany, where a softball mishap caused his knee to lock up (an injury that prefigured knee problems that would plague his career), Banks rejoined the Monarchs. In 1953, Monarchs' manager Buck O'Neil accompanied twenty-two-year-old shortstop and pitcher Bill Dickey to meet Chicago Cub officials at Wrigley Field. The Cubs planned to call up shortstop Gene Baker from their Los Angeles minor league affiliate as their first African-American player, but Baker was injured. So they offered Banks a contract at $800 per month. Because the Negro Leagues weren't affiliated with Major League Baseball, players had to be released by their Negro League team before signing with any major league organization. O'Neil, who was aware that integration would mean the end of the Negro Leagues, actively sought to place his best players in good major or minor league situations.

After joining the Cubs, Phillies' outfielder Richie Ashburn told Banks that he was played as a "punch-and-judy" hitter in his first season, so Banks learned to accelerate his wrists through the swing and quickly developed one of the smoothest right-handed power strokes the game has ever seen. In 1955, he set a record for shortstops by hitting forty-four home runs, five of which came with the bases loaded, then broke it with forty-seven in 1958.

Between 1955 and 1960, Banks hit more homers than any other major leaguer - including Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Roger Maris, and Hank Aaron. Before his career ended, he surpassed the threshold of 500 career home runs (512), with five seasons at 40 or more, and played eight seasons with more than 100 runs batted in.

His fielding was almost as impressive as his batting. In 1959, Banks set a National League shortstop record of .985. He led National League shortstops in fielding percentage in three of his eight seasons at that position. In 1958, and again in 1959, he was named the National League's Most Valuable Player, an honor usually reserved for stars of contending teams. The Cubs had finished in fifth place both years.

In addition to being steady in the field and dangerous with the bat, Banks was durable in a position noted for causing injury. He set a league record by playing shortstop in 424 consecutive games from the day he joined the Cubs, then after being sidelined for 15 days, began another string of 717 straight games before a knee injury sent him to the bench. Banks moved to left field for 23 games starting in 1961, when his arthritic knees prevented his returning to shortstop. He then moved to first base for the rest of his career, leading the league in fielding with a .997 percentage (four errors in 1,506 chances) in 1969, the year Cubs fans voted him the best player in franchise history.

On 2 July 1967, the Cubs took sole possession of the first place for the first time in his career. It was his proudest moment, although he was sidelined by an injury resulting from a collision the previous day. The team finished second in 1969 and 1970. It was as close to the World Series as Banks ever came. When his knees gave out in 1971 and forced him to retire from the game, Banks held franchise records in games played, base hits, total bases, runs batted in, and home runs.

After his retirement, Banks brought his optimism and versatility to many commercial and philanthropic projects. He served on the Chicago Transit Authority Board of Directors and held positions in commercial banking and corporate insurance. His charitable interests included the World Children's Baseball Fair, the Children's Miracle Network, the Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and the Ernie Banks International Live Above and Beyond Foundation.

Achievements

• Banks was the most popular baseball player ever to play for the Chicago Cubs. He was known for his enthusiasm and love of the game, his trademark cry of "let's play two!" reflecting the pure enjoyment he took in baseball. When he retired in 1971, he was the holder of most of the Chicago Cubs' offensive records. In his career Banks totaled 512 home runs and 1,636 runs batted in.
  
  Ernie was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977; he was the eighth player to be elected in his first year of eligibility. He was also named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999. In the same year, the Society for American Baseball Research listed him 27th on a list of the 100 greatest baseball players. In 2013 Banks was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
  
  Ernie Banks was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln in 1970, in the area of Sports.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Mr. Cub

    (Autobiography of the Hall of Fame Major League Baseball p...)

    1971

Religion

Ernie was an ordained minister. He performed a wedding ceremony of Sean Marshall, an American former professional baseball pitcher.

Politics

In 1963, Banks ran for alderman in Chicago in the 8th Ward against Democratic incumbent James A. Condon. In the primary, he finished a distant third, garnering just 12% of the vote.

Ernie also endorsed George W. Bush for president in 2004.

Views

Banks established a charity, the Live Above & Beyond Foundation, which assists youth and the elderly with issues including self-esteem and healthcare. He also released a charity wine called Ernie Banks 512 Chardonnay, the proceeds of which were donated to his foundation.

Quotations: "Awards mean a lot, but they don't say it all. The people in baseball mean more to me than statistics."

"Did you hear that? I didn't hear anything. Put that question another way."

"I like my players to be married and in debt. That's the way you motivate them."

"It's a great day for a ball game; let's play two!"

"I was thinking (when he hit his 500th home run) about my mother and dad, about all the people in the Chicago Cubs organization that helped me and about the wonderful Chicago fans who have come out all these years to cheer me on. They've been a great inspiration to me."

"The Cubs are due in sixty-two."

"The Cubs are gonna shine in sixty-nine."

"The only way to prove that you're a good sport is to lose."

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money."

"You must try to generate happiness within yourself. If you aren't happy in one place, chances are you won't be happy anyplace."

Personality

Some people called Banks "Mr. Sunshine" for his optimistic and joyful outlook on the game he played and for life in general.

Physical Characteristics: Ernie Banks was 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) tall and weighed 180 lb (81 kg).

Banks died of a heart attack. He had also been diagnosed with dementia.

Quotes from others about the person

• Arthur Daley: "Ernie (Banks) rejoices merely in living and baseball is a marvelous extra that makes his existence so much more pleasurable."
  
  Bud Selig: "Ernie Banks was synonymous with a childlike enthusiasm for Baseball. It was not just great talent but also his relentless spirit of optimism that made him a back-to-back National League MVP, a Hall of Famer, a member of our All-Century Team, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and, indeed, forever 'Mr. Cub.' His joyous outlook will never be forgotten by fans of the Cubs and all those who love Baseball. On a day when I finish my duties as the Commissioner of America's National Pastime, I know well that Ernie was one of the special individuals who embodied its goodwill all his life."
  
  Joe Mantegna: "He never complained about his team's bad luck or bad talent, never stopped playing the game with joy, never stopped giving his all, never lost his proud demeanor, and never acted like anything but a winner. He was a symbol of the Cub fan's undiminishing resilience. If he could be happy to come to the park each afternoon, then so could we."
  
  Bill Furlong: "His wrists are the secret of (Ernie) Banks' success. Instead of taking the big Ruthian type swing of the lively ball era, he swings his bat as if it were a buggy whip, striking at the ball with the reflexive swiftness of a serpent's tongue."
  
  Elroy Face: "There's another case - Ernie Banks. What could he do other than hit home runs? He didn't hit .300 lifetime. He couldn't play shortstop. He didn't have an arm. He couldn't run."

Interests

• Sport & Clubs

  baseball

Connections

In 1953, Ernie Banks married his first wife Mollye Ector. In 1959, the couple divorced. Shortly thereafter, Banks eloped with Eloyce Johnson. They had twin sons and a daughter.

Banks was divorced from Eloyce in 1981 and three years later married Marjorie Banks. Ernie married Liz Ellzey in 1997. In 2008, the couple adopted an infant daughter.

Father:

Eddie B. Banks

(December 15, 1894 - February 7, 1978)

Mother:

Essie Banks

(February 8, 1912 - March 9, 2009)

Spouse:

Liz Ellzey

ex-spouse:

Mollye Ector

ex-spouse:

Eloyce Johnson

ex-spouse:

Marjorie Banks

Son:

Joey Banks

Son:

Jerry Banks

Daughter:

Alina Olivia Banks

Friend:

Hank Aaron

References

• Let's Play Two: The Legend of Mr. Cub, the Life of Ernie Banks The definitive and revealing biography of Chicago Cubs' legend Ernie Banks, one of America's most iconic, beloved, and misunderstood baseball players, by acclaimed journalist Ron Rapoport.
  2019
• Let's Play Two: The Life and Times of Ernie Banks In Let’s Play Two: The Life and Times of Ernie Banks, Doug Wilson explores the life of one of baseball’s most immortal figures, from his humble beginnings as a young boy living in the segregated South to his last few years and the public battles over his remains and will.
  2019
• Ernie Banks A biography of the baseball player who hit over 500 homeruns in his nineteen seasons with the Chicago Cubs.
  1994
• Ernie Banks: Mr. Cub and the Summer of '69 Respected by his baseball peers and beloved by Chicago fans and teammates, Ernie Banks did everything there was to do in the game he loved. Everything, that is, except play in a World Series. How and why that experience eluded him during one season of particular promise - 1969 - is a key storyline of this fresh look at one of baseball's legendary players. The life of Banks, who had picked cotton outside Dallas as a youth, ascended from a barnstorming semipro team to the major leagues after Kansas City Monarchs' manager Buck O'Neil placed him with the Cubs, is detailed in this biography of Mr. Cub.
  2011
• Ernie Banks: The Life and Career of "Mr. Cub" Based on extensive research and personal interviews conducted by the author, this biography details the life of the Texas-born shortstop and first baseman, from his childhood playing softball to his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame to his death in 2015.
  2019