Tribute To Ernie Banks (January 31, 1931- January 23, 2015)

As a long-time Cub fan (since 1955), I always knew the day would eventually come when I would wake up and have to hear the I sad news that Ernie Banks had passed away. That day finally came today.

I can still hear the exuberant cheers that erupted from the stands whenever the old field announcer from the 50’s, raspy-voiced Pat Piper, announced Ernie’s name for the day’s game. (Old-time Cub fans will know what I mean when I write: “A-ten-chin’!…A-ten-chin’ please!…Have your pencils and scorecards ready, and I’ll give you the correct line-up for today’s game…”).

Those cheers for Ernie always dwarfed the cheers for any other Cub player. It was always worth watching a Cub game just to see Ernie play. Those Cub teams in the 50’s were pretty miserable, so Brickhouse had little to get excited about, except for this young power-hitting shortstop, just up from the Kansas City Monarchs, whoever they were. I can still remember how excited Brickhouse got whenever Ernie hit one into the bleachers:

Back!…Back!…Back!…Hey Hey!! Atta’ boy, Ernie!

We all have fond memories of how Ernie stood at the plate, bent slightly forward at the waist, bat held erect, and fingers wiggling nervously along the shaft of the bat. Ernie was known for his incredibly strong wrists. I remember shaking hands with Ernie once back in the 1970’s shortly after he had retired. The reason I remember it so vividly is that I felt like I had put my hand in a vise! Yes…I can attest that Ernie had strong hands and wrists!

Ernie personified everything that is good about this game we grew to love in our childhood: his sunny disposition, his love of the game, the way he interacted with the fans. Everybody loved Ernie. Even White Sox fans had a grudging admiration for him. I don’t think I ever heard a Sox fan say a bad word about him. He was a living personification of the Martin Luther King ideal of judging a man by the content of his character rather than the color of his skin. He lived this in the way he treated others – and the way others treated him.

That’s because Ernie Banks had a rare but wonderful God-given gift of being able to bring out the very best in everyone he met. What a wonderful legacy! Who among us would not be proud to have the same said about us when our days are over?

Little did I know that over 60 years later, the love affair he inspired in a five-year-old kid would still be going strong. Ernie Banks was a great ball player for sure, but much more important than that, he was an even greater human being. We’ve endured a great loss today and we’re all very sad to hear the news. No doubt a part of all of us goes with him. And yet our lives have been enriched because we have had Ernie Banks in our midst…

May he rest in peace.