Hall Of Famer And Chicago Cubs Legend Ernie Banks Dies

Legendary Chicago Cubs player Ernie Banks has died tonight. The Hall of Fame shortstop passed away at the age of 83-years-old at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts made the somber announcement on Friday night:

“Words cannot express how important Ernie Banks will always be to the Chicago Cubs, the city of Chicago and Major League Baseball. He was one of the greatest players of all time. He was a pioneer in the major leagues. And 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 was known for his fun-loving, positive attitude, and was nicknamed “Mr. Cub.” Banks began his professional baseball career at 19 when he signed a contract with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues. After returning to baseball after two years in the army his contract was sold by the Monarchs to the Cubs for $10,000. He broke into Major League Baseball in 1953 for the Cubs. Banks was the first African-American to play in a Cubs game. For the next 19 years Banks would anchor the Cubs lineup where he displayed his Hall of Fame talents. Banks hit .274/.330/.500 with 2583 hits, 407 doubles, 512 homers, 1305 runs and 1636 RBI.

He smacked 44 home runs in the 1955 season. He won the National League MVP in 1958 and 1959. Banks was a 12-time All-Star and led the NL in homers and RBI twice each. He is still regarded as one of the best power-hitting shortstops in history.

Despite the annual all-world performance on the field by Banks, the Cubs never made the playoffs.

In 1977, Banks was inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame on his first ballot, receiving 83.8 percent of the vote. His No. 14 was the first one retired by the Cubs and in 2008 the team dedicated a statue of Banks. He was bestowed with the Presidential Medal of Honor at the White House in 2013.

He might best be known for his iconic quote of “Let’s play two.” Banks attempted to rally his team by saying, “It was about 105 degrees in Chicago and that’s a time when everybody gets tired. I came into the clubhouse and everybody was sitting around and I said, ‘Beautiful day. Let’s play two!’ And everybody looked at me like I was crazy. There were a couple of writers around and they wrote that and it stayed with me.”