Dept. of Let's Play Two

[kaffy_r]

Ernie Banks, 1931-2015

Ernie Banks, "Mr. Cub," the man who always wanted to play two, now has an eternal seat behind home base from which to watch the Chicago Cubs win the World Series. They owe him that.

"Mr. Cub" (Watch on YouTube)

Comments

[bibliofile]

Alas. Goodnight, Ernie Banks!

[kaffy_r]

I'm so very glad that Obama awarded him the Congressional Medal of Freedom; the man did so much more than be a fantastic baseball player.

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

*hugs you close*

[kaffy_r]

He was a remarkably good man, whose ebullience never obscured his kindness, and he was a hell of a baseball player. The Cubs may not have won the World Series (yet), but I know that when they do, with luck before I die of old age, Ernie's ghost will be kicking up his heels in joy.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

I feel like I've entered the Twilight Zone. About 15 minutes before reading your post and learning of Ernie's death., I watched and listened to this YouTube video of Steve Goodman overlooking Wrigley Field, singing "A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request." Yep. Complete with "Hey, Ernie, let's play two."

[kaffy_r]

Oh, man - I was actually looking for that video, before deciding to go with the one I featured. Perhaps I should add this one. Hey Ernie, let's play two, indeed. Sigh.

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

RIP… ♥

[kaffy_r]

I don't know how well known professional baseball is in your neck of the woods, but of all the highly-touted professional sports here in North America (and the Caribbean and Japan), baseball is my favorite. It's both contemplative and exciting, something none of the other sports can say. And Ernie was so much more than a baseball player. Even I hadn't known he was the first black American to play for the Chicago Cubs, for example.

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

♥

Baseball isn't a very big thing in France at all, indeed. It does sound pretty interesting from what you're saying here, though…

[carbonel]

Sometime during the mid-to-late 1970s (IIRC; I'm pretty sure I was in college at the time), at the end of an absolutely terrible year, my mother and I went to a game. It was the day the Cubs had their first Fan Appreciation Day. There were drawings for prizes throughout the game, and there were five big-ticket items after the game. The best one was a car, and my mother said that I could have the car if we won. (I'm quite sure she meant it, but I'm also quite sure that she totally didn't believe there was any chance, so it was an easy promise.) There was also a catamaran boat. I don't remember what the other three items were.

But I remember that when it came time for the boat, OUR NUMBER WAS DRAWN! My mother and I were both of the "we never win anything" school, so the fact that we'd won was as exciting as what it was that we won. Also exciting was the fact that we got to GO ONTO THE FIELD and meet some of the Cubs who were sticking around to do the obligatory publicity thing. And one of them was Ernie Banks, and I got to shake his hand. If I had been less bedazzled, I would have asked for an autograph for my brother Rick, who was even more of a Cubs fan than I was. But I'll always remember how he smiled at me, and had a nice firm handshake.

Our family sailed as a hobby, so the catamaran wasn't the mathom it might have been for other families. On the other hand, it was too large to put on top of the car (as we'd done with previous smaller sailboats), so it ended up costing an extra $300 or so for the trailer needed to carry it. Eventually my parents sold it once we graduated and moved out, but we got a fair amount of use out of it before then.

But it's mostly the golden day at Wrigley Field and meeting Ernie Banks that sticks in my memory.

[kaffy_r]

This is a lovely story - both because you won an amazing prize, and because you met Ernie Banks. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.