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Ernie Banks
Shortstop / First Baseman
Born: January 31, 1931 (1931-01-31) (age 77)
Dallas, Texas
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 17, 1953
for the Chicago Cubs
Final game
September 26, 1971
for the Chicago Cubs
Career statistics
Batting average     . Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and Third base. First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a Baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1176 - The Battle of Myriokephalon is fought 1462 - The Battle of Świecino (or Battle of Żarnowiec Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers (4-2 All-Star Game The Chicago Cubs are a Professional Baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a Champions Major League Baseball World Series MVP Roberto Clemente All-Star Game, July 13 at The Chicago Cubs are a Professional Baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively 274
Home runs     512
Run batted in     1,636
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Elected     1977
Vote     83. The Chicago Cubs are a Professional Baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers (4-2 All-Star Game Champions Major League Baseball World Series MVP Roberto Clemente All-Star Game, July 13 at The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also popularly known as the "Midsummer Classic" is an annual Baseball game between players from the National League The Most Valuable Player Award (commonly known as the MVP award is an annual award given to one outstanding player in each league of Major League Baseball. For the award given to amateur boxers see Golden Gloves. In American Baseball, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to The Chicago Cubs are a Professional Baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Los Angeles Dodgers (4-2 Reggie Jackson, 8% (first ballot)

Ernest "Ernie" Banks (born January 31, 1931 in Dallas, Texas) is an American former Major League baseball player who played his entire career with the Chicago Cubs (1953-1971). Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each Banks is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. His nickname is Mr. Cub. He currently resides in the Los Angeles area.

Contents

High school years

Banks was a letterman and standout in football, basketball, and track.

Playing career

Banks signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League in 1950 and broke into the Major Leagues in 1953 with the Chicago Cubs as their first black player. The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of Baseball 's Negro Leagues. The Negro American League was one of the several Negro Leagues which were created during the time organized baseball was segregated Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Philadelphia Phillies (4-0 All-Star Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers (4-2 All-Star Game The Chicago Cubs are a Professional Baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. He played for the Cubs his entire career, starting at shortstop and moving to first base in 1962. Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and Third base. The 1962 season is perhaps most notable for the dismal 40-120 record of the New York Mets, which has been a continuing source of humor among baseball fans as well as comedians such as

Initially Banks' double play partner was Gene Baker, the second black player on the Cubs, and Banks' roommate on road trips. Eugene Walter Baker (June 15 1925 in Davenport Iowa – December 1 1999 in Davenport Iowa was a Major League Baseball player When Steve Bilko would play first base, Cubs' announcer and home-town rooter Bert Wilson would refer to the Banks-Baker-Bilko double play combination as "Bingo to Bango to Bilko". Stephen Thomas Bilko ( November 13, 1928, Nanticoke Pennsylvania - March 7, 1978) was 20 years old when he broke into the big This combination would not last quite as long as "Tinker to Evers to Chance", but Banks would become a Cubs institution. " Baseball's Sad Lexicon " also known as Tinker to Evers to Chance after its refrain is a 1910 Baseball poem by Franklin Pierce Adams

Banks wore number 14 as a Cub, and is the first of only four Cubs players who have had their number retired by the organization. Major League baseball has retired various Uniform numbers in its history ensuring that they will always be associated with one player of note Other players had worn number 14 previously, of course. Earlier in 1953, Paul Schramka had carried that number. It was originally worn by Guy Bush in 1932, the first year the Cubs wore numbers on their jerseys. Guy Terrell Bush ( August 23 1901 - July 2 1985) was an American right-handed Pitcher in Major League Baseball [Info from list in current Cubs' media guide]

Banks became well known for his catch phrase of, "It's a beautiful day for a ballgame. A catch phrase (or catchphrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance . . Let's play two!", expressing his wish to play a doubleheader every day out of his pure love for the game of baseball, especially in his self-described "friendly confines of Wrigley Field. Doubleheader is the term used to describe two Baseball games played between the same two teams on the same day Wrigley Field is a Baseball Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago " In 1955, he set the record for grand slams in a single season with five, a record that stood for over twenty years. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Brooklyn Dodgers over New York Yankees (4-3 Johnny Podres, MVP

Banks won the National League Most Valuable Player Award twice, in 1958 and 1959 despite the fact that the Cubs were not pennant contenders during the season. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Milwaukee Braves (4-3 Bob Turley, MVP Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Chicago White Sox (4-2 Larry Sherry, MVP Jimmy Dykes reportedly remarked that, "Without him, the Cubs would finish in Albuquerque!"[1]

On September 2, 1965, Banks hit his 400th home run, and five years later, on May 12, 1970 at Chicago's Wrigley Field, hit his 500th home run. James Joseph Dykes ( November 10 1896 - June 15 1976) was an American third and Second baseman, manager Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Wrigley Field is a Baseball Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Banks finished his career with 512 home runs, and his 277 homers as a shortstop were the most ever at the time of his retirement. (Alex Rodriguez now holds the record for most homers as a shortstop with 345. Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27 1975 in New York New York) commonly nicknamed A-Rod, is an American Third baseman for the ) Ernie Banks also currently holds the record for most extra base hits by a Cub with 1,009. Banks also holds the teams records for games played (2528), at-bats (9421) and total bases (4706).

Coaching career

On December 1, 1971, Banks retired as a player, and the Cubs signed him as a coach.

On May 8, 1973, Cubs manager Whitey Lockman was ejected in the 11th inning of a game against the San Diego Padres. Carroll Walter "Whitey" Lockman (born July 25, 1926 in Lowell North Carolina) is a retired player coach, Manager and front The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego California since their founding in 1969 Coach Ernie Banks filled in as manager for the remainder of the game, which the Cubs won 3-2 in 12 innings. Thus, he was technically, if not officially, MLB's first black manager, predating Frank Robinson's hiring by almost two years. Frank Robinson (born August 31, 1935 in Beaumont Texas) is a Hall of Fame former Major League Baseball player

Honors

Banks is regarded as one of the most popular baseball players in Chicago sports history. He was a constant promoter of the Cubs and of daytime play at Wrigley Field. His popularity and positive attitude led to the nicknames "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine".

On August 22, 1982, his uniform number 14 became the first to be retired by the Cubs. It had already been de facto retired for nearly 9 years, not having been assigned to anyone else following Banks' retirement from the coaching ranks.

In 1977, in his first year of eligibility, Banks was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Los Angeles Dodgers (4-2 Reggie Jackson,

In 1999, he ranked Number 38 on The Sporting News list of Baseball's Greatest Players, and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves (4-0 Mariano Rivera, MVP In 1998 The Sporting News compiled a list of Baseball's Greatest Players In 1999 MasterCard sponsored the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

On March 31, 2008, a statue of Banks was unveiled outside Wrigley Field. Events 307 - After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Calendar Major League Baseball See also 2008 Major League Baseball season Postseason October 1 – ALDS and Wrigley Field is a Baseball Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Upon its unveiling, the base of the statue was revealed to contain a typographical error, reading "Lets play two" rather than the grammatically correct "Let's play two. " Two days later Sculptor Lou Cella came down to the ballpark early in the morning and carved the apostrophe.

Other

During Banks' career, the Cubs were rarely in contention despite his brilliance. They failed to finish in the first division every season until late in his career. First division is a term that has had various meanings at various times in the sport of Baseball: Prior to 1961 the two major baseball leagues &mdash the National League Consequently, Banks holds the Major League record of most games played without a postseason appearance (2528). [1]

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ernie Banks operated car dealership Ernie Banks Ford on Stony Island Avenue in Chicago. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. Stony Island Avenue is a major thoroughfare on South Side of the city of Chicago, designated 1600 E in Chicago's street numbering system. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States.

In June of 2006, Crain's Chicago Business reported that Ernie Banks was part of a group looking into buying the Chicago Cubs, in case the Tribune Company decides to sell the club. Crain Communications Inc is a major publishing conglomerate based in Detroit Michigan. The Chicago Cubs are a Professional Baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. The Tribune Company is a large American Multimedia Corporation based in Chicago Illinois. [2]

Ernie Banks established his own charity, the Live Above & Beyond Foundation, to eliminate prejudice, support programs that enhance neighborhoods and relieve discrimination among various age groups and races. In 2008, Banks released a charity wine called Ernie Banks 512 Chardonnay, a nod to his 512 career home runs, with all of his proceeds donated to his foundation.

Banks is the great-uncle of Atlanta Hawks point guard Acie Law IV. The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional Basketball team based in Atlanta Georgia. [2]

Years led league by statistical category

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ernie Banks", The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Games played (most often abbreviated as G or GP) is a Statistic used in Team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has In Baseball statistics, slugging percentage (abbreviated SLG) is a popular measure of the power of a hitter. In Baseball statistics, total bases refers to the number of bases a player has gained with hits, i In Baseball, an at bat ( AB) or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including Batting average, On base Below is a list of the first black players in Major League Baseball by team and chronological order since the abolition of the Baseball color line. Players denoted in boldface are still actively contributing to the record noted In Major League Baseball, the 500 Home Run Club is an informal term applied to the group of players who have hit 500 or more career Home runs The first member of the A number of Baseball players are distinguished by the fact that they made their North American professional debut in the majors without having played a single game at the On September 27, 2006, Major League Baseball announced a list of players one from each team voted by MLB fans The Official "Hometown See also List of lifetime home run leaders through history This is a list of the top 500 Major League Baseball home run hitters. Below is the list of 254 Major League Baseball players who have reached the 2000 hit milestone during their career in MLB Below is the list of 155 Major League Baseball players who have reached the 400 doubles milestone Below is the list of 300 Major League Baseball players who have reached the 1000 Runs milestone Below is the list of 257 Major League Baseball players who have reached the 1000 RBI milestone Major League Baseball recognizes Runs batted in champions in the American League and National League each season Major League Baseball recognizes home run champions in the American League and National League each season Listed below are the 15 longest consecutive games played streaks in Major League Baseball history Listed below are the occurrences of Major League Baseball players who have hit three Home runs in a single game
  2. ^ "Ernie Banks Eyes Bid for Chicago Cubs", Steven Strahler, Crain's Chicago Business, June 9, 2006. Crain Communications Inc is a major publishing conglomerate based in Detroit Michigan. Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

External links

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