Ernie Banks
January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015,
Erin Banks( Mr. Cub) was born on January 31, 1931, in Dallas, Tx. His parents were Eddie Banks and Essie Banks. His father worked in construction and had played baseball for black Semipro teams in Texas. As a child, He was not very interested in baseball. His father bought him a baseball glove because he knew Ernie had a passion for the sport. His mother encouraged him to follow one of his grandfathers into a career as a minister.
Ernie Banks graduated in 1950 from Booker T. Washington High School. He did not play high school baseball but was a letterman and standout in football, basketball, soccer, and track.
Ernie Banks began his baseball career in the Negro American League with the Kansas City Monarchs. The Chicago Cubs signed him in 1953, and on September 17 of that year he became the first African-American player to compete for the team. Banks flourished in MLB and went on to appear for the Cubs for 19 seasons, playing as a shortstop and first baseman. He joined the 500 home run club on May 12, 1970, and by the time his career ended in 1971, he had hit 512 home runs and held the record (at the time) for the most home runs as a shortstop. In 1955, Banks hit five grand slams in a season – a record that remained unbroken for more than three decades.
Early on, Banks’ double play partner was Gene Baker the second black player on the Cubs. Banks and Baker roomed together on road trips and became the first all-black double-play combination in major league history. Banks hit 19 HR and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1954.
In 1955, He made the first of 14 All-Star Game appearances. Banks hit .295, slugged 44 HR and His HR total was a single-season record among shortstops. He also set the record for grand slams in a single season with five, a record that stood for over thirty years. Banks finished third in the league’s most valuable player (MVP) voting. In 1955 Cubs finished with a 72-81 Win-loss record playing well at Wrigley Field, but winning only 29 of 77 road games.
Banks ran for a position as an alderman in Chicago in 1962. He lost the election. Banks later said, “People knew me only as a baseball player. They didn’t think I qualified as a government official and no matter what I did I couldn’t change my image… What I learned, was that it was going to be hard for me to disengage myself from my baseball life and I would have to compensate for it after my playing days were over.”
In 1967, Banks and Bob Nelson became the first black owners of a Ford Motor Company dealership in the United States. In 1969 he was appointed to the board of directors of the Chicago Transit Authority.
Ernie Banks married Mollye Ector in 1953 and divorced her in 1959. In 1959 he married his second wife Eloyce and had three children twin sons Joey and Jerry and daughter Jan they divorced in 1982. In 1984 he married Majorie and divorced in 19997. In 1997 he married Liz Ellzey
Banks retired on December 1, 1971, but stayed with the Cubs as a coach. During his career, he earned the nicknames “Mr. Cub” and “Mr. Sunshine,” and he is still one of Chicago’s most beloved players. In 1977 Banks received a spot in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and in 2011 he was honored for his contribution to civil rights. In an interview with the website AARP.com, he said, “I tried to get along with people who did not normally associate with blacks – and didn’t know anything about blacks. I let them know there’s good and bad in every ethnic group.”
Banks died of a heart attack at a Chicago hospital on January 23, 2015, eight days before his 84th birthday.
