Ernie Banks

Ernest Banks, better known as Ernie Banks (born January 30, 1931), is an American former Major League Baseball player who played with the Chicago Cubs (1953–1971). He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.

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• Did you hear that? I didn't hear anything. Put that question another way.
• Sports Illustrated (August 23, 1982)

• I like my players to be married and in debt. That's the way you motivate them.
• The New York Times (April 11, 1976)

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

• 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.
• Sporting News (May 12, 1970)

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

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

• 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.

• Anyone can have a bad century!!!

Quotes about Ernie Banks

• He never complained about his team's bad luck or bad talent, never stopped playing the game for 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 Cubs' fans undiminishing resilience. If he could be happy to come to the park each afternoon, then so could we.
• Joe Mantegna

• 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.
• Bill Furlong in Baseball Stars of 1959