By Mark Townsend:
The legacy left behind by Chicago Cubs legend and baseball Hall of Famer Ernie Banks goes well beyond his accomplishments on the playing field. Sure, the game of baseball was his passion and his driving force, but it wasn't what defined him. When you think of Ernie Banks, you think of the person he was, the energy and enthusiasm he possessed and the kindness and loyalty he showed every day of his life.
With news of his death on Friday evening, you can't help but feel like some of the world's optimism and happiness died along with him. He was so filled with both that it always rubbed off on those who met him. That's the man we'll remember and honor, and that's exactly how it should be.
However, we'd be doing his legacy a disservice if we didn't take a step back and marvel at all that he did accomplish while carving out a Hall of Fame career on the diamond.
With that being said, here's a look at 14 remarkable facts about No. 14 in your Wrigley Field program, Mr. Cub himself, Ernie Banks:
1. Banks played in 1,285 regular-season games over 19 seasons at Wrigley Field. That makes up 16.48 percent of the 7,797 games that have been played at Chicago's baseball landmark.
2. Unfortunately, Banks never played in a single postseason game and holds the record for most career games without a playoff appearance.
3. Mr. Cub's rare national showcases were reserved for All-Star games. Selected to 14 All-Star games, he hit .303 with one homer, three doubles and three RBIs. The home run came at Municipal Stadium in 1960.
4. Banks' high school, Booker T. Washington in Dallas, did not have a baseball team while he attended. Instead, Banks played summer softball in a local church league, and later played for the Amarillo Colts. He was eventually spotted and recruited by a Negro League scout named Bill Blair.
5. As a 19-year-old, Banks signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues in 1950. After serving two years in the U.S. Army and spending time with the Harlem Globetrotters, Banks would come back to baseball. When he debuted with the Cubs in 1953, he was the first black player in franchise history.
6. Banks had five seasons of 40 or more homers from 1955-60, all of which came as a shortstop. No other National League shortstop has had one season of 40-plus homers.
7. Banks is also the first shortstop to reach 250 career homers. Cal Ripken Jr. (346), Alex Rodriguez (344), Miguel Tejada (292) and Derek Jeter (255) have all followed suit, but it was Banks who revolutionized the position and changed the way it was viewed by players and scouts.
8. Continuing the home run theme, Banks had four consecutive 40 or more home run seasons from 1957-60. As Aceball Stats notes, neither Hank Aaron nor Willie Mays ever had three straight seasons with 40 homers.
9. In 1962, Banks made the full-time move to first base. He went on to hit another 215 home runs, becoming one of only four major leaguers with 200 or more home runs at two different defensive positions.
10. Oh, and Banks could pick it in the field, too. In 1960, he topped three-time defending Gold Glove shortstop Roy McMillan to win that award for the only time in his career. Maury Wills took over the following season, winning two in a row.
11. Banks won back-to-back MVPs in 1958 and 1959 despite the Cubs finishing a combined 64 games out of first place. A feat made even more impressive by the presence of Aaron, Mays, Eddie Mathews and even Warren Spahn in the NL.
12. Speaking of Spahn, Banks is the only player to have a multi-HR game against both Spahn and Sandy Koufax. Seriously, if he could square up those two Hall of Famers, it's no wonder he never wanted to leave the field.
13. Ernie Banks is the Cubs all-time leader in games played (2,528) and extra-base hits (1,009), and ranks second in HRs (512), RBIs (1,636) and hits (2,583).
14. Banks was a first ballot Hall of Famer and the only BBWAA inductee in 1977. He earned 83.8 of the vote, but never once had to ponder which cap to wear.
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