Banks, "Ernie" (Ernest)
Baseball
b. Jan. 31, 1931, Dallas, TX
Banks was spotted by major league scouts while playing for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro American League in 1950. After spending two years in the Army, the Monarchs sold his contract to the Chicago Cubs for $10,000 and he joined the team at the end of the 1953 season without ever playing in the minor leagues.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Banks set a record by playing in 424 consecutive games from the start of his career with the Cubs. After batting .275 with 19 home runs in 1954, his first full season, he hit 44 home runs in 1955, a record for shortstops. He broke that with a league-leading 47 home runs in 1958, when he also led the league with 129 RBI and a .614 slugging percentage.
Banks was named the NL's most valuable player in 1958 and in 1959, when he batted .304 with 45 home runs and 143 RBI. He also excelled at shortstop, leading the league in fielding percentage three times in eight seasons, including a record .985 in 1959.
He led the league in home runs for the second time with 41 in 1960. The following season, the Cubs moved Banks to left field and then to first base, where he spent the rest of his career. After initial problems making the transition, he became a good fielder at that position.
His offensive numbers were not as spectacular from 1961 on, though he hit more than 30 home runs twice and drove in more than 100 three times in the next 10 seasons. Banks became a part-time player in 1970 and retired after appearing in just 39 games in 1971.
The smiling, enthusiastic Banks was nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and in 1969 he was voted the team's best player ever by Chicago fans. An 11-time All-Star, he was fond of saying, "It's a great day for baseball. Let's play two today."