Ernie Banks - Honors

Honors

Ernie Banks's number 14 was retired by the Chicago Cubs in 1982.

Banks is regarded as one of the most popular baseball players in Chicago sports history. He was a constant promoter of the Cubs and of daytime play at Wrigley Field. His popularity and positive attitude led to the nicknames, "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine".

In 1977, in his first year of eligibility, Banks was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The beginning of Banks' induction speech that August 8 leads off the Baseball's Greatest Hits, Vol. II, CD. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn is heard presenting Banks, who says, "Thank you very much, Commissioner, for the fine introduction. We've got the setting - sunshine, fresh air; we've got the team behind us so . . . 'Let's play two!"

In 1982, his Chicago Cubs uniform Number 14 became the first to be retired by the Cubs.

The 1990 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was dedicated to Banks. He threw out the ceremonial first pitch to starting catcher Mike Scioscia.

In 1999, Banks ranked Number 38 on The Sporting News list of "Baseball's Greatest Players", and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

On March 31, 2008, a statue of Banks was unveiled outside Wrigley Field. Upon its unveiling, the base of the statue was revealed to contain a typographical error, reading "Lets play two" rather than the grammatically correct "Let's play two". Two days later, sculptor Lou Cella came down to the ballpark early in the morning and carved the apostrophe.

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