January 27, 2015

Chicago Tribune Visitation and memorial services set for Ernie Banks By Paul Sullivan

A visitation for Ernie Banks will be held from noon to 8 p.m. Friday in Fourth Presbyterian Church, the Cubs announced Monday.

A memorial service will be held at the church at 10 a.m. Saturday. There will be limited public seating available. Fourth Presbyterian is located at 126 E. Chestnut St. in Chicago.

A decision on whether the funeral procession will pass Wrigley Field is expected to be made by Tuesday, a source said. Ron Santo's funeral procession circled Wrigley Field, but that's not possible now since Waveland and Sheffield avenues are closed due to the ballpark renovation. A procession could still pass the ballpark on Clark and Addison streets.

Also being determined is who will speak at the memorial service. Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts, who spoke at Santo's memorial, is likely to be one of the main speakers.

Those who want to pay tribute to Banks also will be able to visit his statue, which will be installed in Daley Plaza on Wednesday and put on display through Saturday. Cubs spokesman Julian Green said there will be no ceremonies or speeches at the statue.

"We are just putting the statue on display as a tribute to Ernie," he said, adding it would be a place for fans to show their respect for Banks.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Banks' memory can be made to Cubs Charities, 1060 W. Addison St., Chicago, IL 60613, or by going to cubs.com/give and clicking "Donate now."

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Chicago Tribune Many ways Cubs can honor Ernie Banks at Wrigley Field this season By Paul Sullivan

The Cubs plan to celebrate Ernie Banks' legacy this season at Wrigley Field, and no doubt that will include a shoulder patch to commemorate him and a day in his honor.

But those are go-to ideas that many organizations employ when a prominent player, announcer or owner dies, and the Rickettses should come up with some unique ideas for someone as beloved as Mr. Cub.

Since they're busy trying to get the bleachers completed before June, here are some suggestions for the Cubs to clip and save:

'Let's Play Two' Day: Sure, the Cubs are planning a Banks day, and making it a doubleheader is a no-brainer. But that will take some work, particularly in getting league approval and an agreeable opponent.

In this era, no one schedules doubleheaders, which tax pitching staffs and are considered an anachronism. But the Cubs made a change last year to ease congestion for the nearby Pride Parade, eliminating one Sunday date and playing two games on a Saturday.

The obvious choices as an opponent are the Cardinals or White Sox, but the Cardinals don't play a weekend series at Wrigley, aside from the April 5 opener, until mid-September. The Sox, however, play at Wrigley the weekend of July 10-12, just before the All-Star break.

Switching the July 11 game to a doubleheader on the 12th would be the best move, and neither team would have to worry about burning out its bullpen because they would have the All-Star break to rest.

The 'Ernie L': The CTA has a popular holiday train that runs in November and December, decorated on the outside and featuring Santa and his elves inside, passing out candy canes. During summer weekends when the Cubs are at home, the CTA could change the holiday train to the Ernie Banks L, running on the Red Line and stopping, of course, at Wrigley Field. Ernie was once on the CTA board, which makes this a perfect mesh of two of his favorite Chicago institutions.

Ernie Karaoke: It's no secret Banks loved to sing, and the video clip of him belting out the opening to "Hey Hey, Holy Mackerel" during 1970 spring training has been viewed more than 18,000 times on YouTube. There's no reason the clip can't be a staple of the new jumbo-sized video board and perhaps inspire fans to sing along with Ernie. It could even replace "Go, Cubs, Go" as the postgame song for Cubs victories.

Ernie Banks Plaza: A beer company already has the naming rights to the Wrigley bleachers, and a company that makes toilet valves recently bought naming rights to the team's spring training park. The only place left for Banks is the plaza the Cubs will eventually construct between Clark Street and the ballpark. Another company will likely offer the Cubs a large sum of money for the naming rights, but they don't have to sell every square inch of Wrigley Field, do they?

1969 Cubs Reunion: It has been 46 years since that infamous season, and though some are now gone, including Banks and Ron Santo, enough players are alive to come get introduced before a game. It may seem strange to honor a team that didn't win a title, but the '69 Cubs have endured as the most beloved Cubs team of any era, mostly because of Banks, Santo, Billy Williams and Fergie Jenkins. Is it wrong to honor a team that blew a pennant? Who really cares if they do?

Sundays at the Park with Ernie: The Cubs have 12 home games scheduled on Sundays. Many could be made into Ernie Banks theme days, with throwback uniforms, music from a particular year and old Ernie videos all day. It wouldn't have to be limited to his Cubs career either. Honoring Ernie by wearing Kansas City Monarchs uniforms for one game would be just as cool.

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Chicago Sun-Times Ernie Banks' visitation, memorial service set for Friday, Saturday By LeeAnn Shelton

Visitation and memorial services were announced Monday for legend Ernie Banks, who died Friday after suffering a heart attack days before his 84th birthday.

A public visitation will take place Friday from noon to 8 p.m. at the Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E. Chestnut, according to a news release issued by the team.

A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, also at Fourth Presbyterian Church, the statement said. The service begins at 10 a.m. and public seating will be limited.

In lieu of flowers, the team is suggesting fans make a donation in Banks’ memory to Cubs Charities, at www.cubs.com/give.

Fans also can honor Banks at Daley Center Plaza this week, where the city will display the statue of Banks that usually resides at Wrigley Field. The statue will be on display from Wednesday morning through Saturday.

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Chicago Sun-Times Louisville Slugger honors Ernie Banks with memorial wreath By David Just

Louisville Slugger laid a memorial wreath at the Walk of Fame bat honoring Ernie Banks’ prolific career Monday in Louisville.

Banks died Friday of a heart attack at age 83.

According to a release from the company, Banks signed a bat contract with Louisville Slugger during Spring Training in 1954, his first full season in Major League . The company had more than a 60-year relationship with him, and he visited the Louisville Slugger factory several times over the decades.

Banks used a Louisville Slugger S2 model bat for most of his Hall of Fame career, usually ordering bats that were 35 inches long and weighed 31 ounces. He liked wide grain and a natural finish, according to the company.

Banks’ Walk of Fame bat is located located on the southwest corner of Fifth and Main streets in downtown Louisville.

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Cubs.com Visitation, memorial service for Banks to be held in Chicago By Carrie Muskat

CHICAGO -- Public visitation and memorial services for Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, will be held Friday and Saturday at Fourth Presbyterian Church, the Cubs announced.

The public visitation will be from 12-8 p.m. CT at the church, located at 126 East Chestnut Street, Chicago. On Saturday, there will be limited public seating available for the memorial service, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. CT at the church.

Banks passed away Friday after suffering a heart attack. He would have celebrated his 84th birthday on Saturday. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Banks' memory to Cubs Charities, 1060 W. Addison Street, Chicago, Ill., 60613, or by visiting cubs.com/give and clicking "Donate Now."

There will be a public memorial for fans starting Wednesday at Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago. The bronze statue of Banks, which had been moved from Wrigley Field once renovation work began on the 100-year-old ballpark, will be installed at the outdoor plaza until Saturday.

Banks, who played his entire career with the Cubs from 1953-71, was the first player in franchise history to be honored with a statue at Wrigley Field in 2008.

The Cubs will announce in-season plans to honor Banks at a later date. The team is expected to wear a patch on their 2015 uniforms in Banks' memory.

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Cubs.com Banks, Wrigley formed relationship to remember By Phil Rogers

Ernie Banks wasn't just the all-time leader in love of the game. He was at the top of the charts in trust too.

At a time when the reserve clause allowed baseball owners to hold onto players almost like personal property, with salaries limited to levels that are now unthinkable, Banks landed in the lap of Cubs' owner Philip Knight Wrigley in September 1953. They formed a lasting relationship that benefited both men.

Wrigley, the heir to his father's chewing gum fortune, was a remarkably decent man, known for his generosity in business as well as for treating everyone he knew well. He was the kind of guy who would fix a flat on your car if it happened to break down in front of his mansion, and the color of your skin didn't matter to him. All he saw was a driver in distress and he was willing to help, if he could.

As an owner, Wrigley was not always especially competitive in terms of hiring managers and seeking championships. But he took care of Wrigley Field and his fans' experience, once even removing seats so that his customers had more room in their boxes.

Wrigley treated his players and their families well, even taking a then-unprecedented step by inviting wives to accompany players to a Spring Training held on Catalina Island, which he owned. He didn't go to his ballpark often, but players knew they could reach him by phone at his Wrigley Building office if they needed something.

Banks, who died Friday at age 83, never earned more than $85,000 a season while playing, but he never felt underpaid. Banks was rewarded by Wrigley with jumps in salary after his National League Most Valuable Player Award-winning seasons in 1958 and '59, and he watched Wrigley treat teammates like Billy Williams and Ron Santo well in subsequent seasons.

In its infancy, the players' union organized a Spring Training boycott in 1969, urging players not to sign contracts or report until a difference over the owners' contributions to the pension fund had been settled. This would become a divisive issue in many camps, but Banks and many of the top Cubs players reported on time as usual.

Banks, who was officially a player/coach, declared himself to be management, not labor, and said he had no choice except to show up. He was on the field for the first day of camp. Santo stayed away, but not for long. He told reporters he was going to report by March 1, and many of his teammates seemed poised to follow him into camp before a compromise settled the dispute.

"Mr. Wrigley has been good to me," Santo said. "I'm going to be good to him. ... I just refuse to fight him. I know all players aren't fortunate enough to play for an owner like Mr. Wrigley, but that's no reason for me to oppose him." The Chicago Tribune's George Langford called the Cubs' anti-union stance a tribute to Wrigley and "to the high- level men within the organization who have maintained an unusual rapport with the players over the years."

Heading into that season, there were only two Major Leaguers with multiyear contracts: Banks and Carl Yastrzemski, who had won the American League Crown for the Red Sox. But on March 6, 1969, general manager John Holland called Santo, Williams and Ferguson Jenkins off the field for a meeting, at which he gave them two-year contracts. Banks was given a new two-year deal.

"I didn't know anything about it until Mr. Holland came out on the field today during batting practice and told me,'' Banks said. "What a tremendous thing."

Santo was elated.

"I just wish all players could have a chance to play for this club," Santo said. "It's the greatest organization anywhere. This contract gives me added security and makes me want to play that much harder."

Throughout his ownership of the Cubs, Wrigley had frequently spent his own money to help out former players who had fallen onto hard times after their careers. One of the most prominent cases was Hack Wilson, who died in 1948 without money for a funeral.

Wrigley took a call from a public official telling him that the man who had driven in 191 runs in 1930 was in the city morgue, dead at age 48 without any known next of kin. He quickly made arrangements for funeral and burial, even building a graveside monument to honor the future Hall of Famer.

Commissioner Happy Chandler, hearing of Wrigley's generosity, offered to split the cost, but Wrigley declined. "I've never seen a half funeral," Wrigley said. "The Cubs will pay all expenses."

Wrigley provided financial support to many former players, including outfielder Lou Novikoff, who had been born to Russian immigrants. He was embarrassed when someone told a reporter that he had been sending Novikoff regular checks, as he didn't feel it was anyone's business.

But it saddened Wrigley to see the former Cubs face hardships. So one year, he came to Spring Training with one of his top financial advisors, and they held a clubhouse meeting with players. Wrigley offered to help manage his players' money, but with a caveat -- they would have to give up a chunk of their annual pay that would be invested and held until their 55th birthday.

Legend has it that only one player trusted Wrigley enough to let him set up a retirement fund. That was Banks. He allowed his owner to withhold 50 percent of every check over the second half of his career -- Banks said this was a relief, because he could honestly tell needy family members and friends that he didn't have any money -- and it proved he was as smart with his money as with his approach at the plate.

Shortly after January 31, 1986, a check arrived in the mail. It was for about $4.5 million.

There was only one thing Wrigley wouldn't give Banks: a chance to manage. Banks sought the job midway through the 1972 season, when Wrigley dismissed Leo Durocher and replaced him with Triple-A manager Whitey Lockman. "Ernie has such a beautiful reputation in baseball, it would be a shame to ruin it by making him a manager," Wrigley said. "I'm too fond of Ernie to make him manager of anything. Managing is a dirty job. It doesn't last long, and it certainly isn't anything I would wish on Ernie."

Banks, who did serve as a first-base coach under Lockman, wound up becoming the first African-American to manage a game when he took over after Lockman was ejected from a game on May 8, 1973, in San Diego. The Cubs won that game on a single by pinch-hitter Joe Pepitone, who was inserted into the game by Banks, but Wrigley again declined to seriously consider Banks for the manager's job after he dismissed Lockman during the '74 season.

"Why would Ernie want to be a manager?" Wrigley asked. "It's the next thing to becoming a kamikaze pilot." You'd only say that about someone you really cared about, and that was how it was with Banks and the only owner for whom he ever played.

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ESPNChicago.com Visitation, memorial set for Ernie Banks By Jesse Rogers

CHICAGO -- The public visitation and memorial service for Chicago Cubs great Ernie Banks will be held Friday and Saturday in Chicago, the team announced late Monday.

The visitation will go from noon until 8 p.m. Friday at Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E. Chestnut Street. The memorial service will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday at the church, according to a Cubs release. There will be limited public seating for the memorial Saturday.

Banks was 83 when he died of a heart attack Friday night. Known as Mr. Cub, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1977 after playing 19 seasons for the Cubs. He was league MVP in 1958 and 1959 and amassed 512 home runs in his career.

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CSNChicago.com Memorial services set for Cubs legend Ernie Banks By Patrick Mooney

Memorial services are set for Ernie Banks, the Hall of Fame player who connected with generations of Cubs fans and became a Chicago icon.

There will be a public visitation on Friday at Fourth Presbyterian Church (126 E. Chestnut St.) from noon to 8 p.m. The memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the same North Michigan Avenue church (with limited public seating).

Beginning Wednesday morning, the Banks statue normally seen outside Wrigley Field will be on display downtown at Daley Plaza. The Cubs and Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office coordinated plans to unveil the statue, which had been getting restored at an off-site facility during the stadium renovations.

“Ernie Banks was a great player and an even better person,” Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement. “He was a kind, gentle man who loved his fans as much as they loved him. We couldn’t think of a better way to honor Ernie than to allow those fans a way to pay their final respects to this great man.”

Family attorney Mark Bogen said Banks died last Friday after suffering a heart attack at the age of 83, and the tributes have poured in from all around the country.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Banks’ memory to Cubs Charities, 1060 W. Addison St., Chicago, IL 60613, or by going to www.cubs.com/give and clicking on “Donate Now.”

The Cubs have now lost two giants in Banks and Ron Santo. They were excellent players who wore their hearts on their sleeves, larger-than-life personalities engaged in the community.

Santo’s funeral procession drove around Wrigley Field in December 2010 after people packed into Holy Name Cathedral to remember No. 10. With a statue already built – and No. 14 being the first jersey retired in franchise history – the Cubs are planning other ways to honor Banks throughout the 2015 season.

“It’s tough to really comprehend,” Hall of Famer Billy Williams said. “Because you spend so many happy hours with those individuals. When you talk about Santo, we started out in -A baseball together and all those years in the minor leagues. (And) then when we get to the big leagues, we get a chance to play with Ernie Banks. To lose those two individuals, it’s just like losing your brother.”

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CSNChicago.com Girardi on Cubs World Series: 'There's going to be a lot of people dancing in heaven once it happens' By Tony Andracki

Ron Santo and Ernie Banks, maybe the two biggest Cubs fans of all time, will not be around if - or when - the Cubs win the World Series.

Wtih Banks' passing over the weekend, it's gotten many thinking about what it will be like when the Cubs win it all.

That prompted David Kaplan to ask Joe Girardi what he thinks it will be like when the Cubs reached the promised land on the Kap and Haugh Show:

"I think the impact will be as big as any city has ever seen," Girardi said. "... We all know it's going to happen. You can't predict exactly what year, because there's a lot of things that have to go right and you have to catch a break every once in a while.

"But the impact on the city is going to be humongous and there's going to be a lot of people dancing in heaven once it happens."

Kap also asked Bob Costas what he thought, and the legendary sportscaster pointed to the 2003 potential meeting of the Cubs and Boston Red Sox in the World Series.

Costas references how the TV ratings that year were larger for the Championship Series (Red Sox/Yankees and Cubs/Marlins) than the World Series ratings, though obviously neither the Red Sox or Cubs broke their drought that season.

"If and when the Cubs make it to the World Series - especially at Wrigley Field - that's not just a Chicago story," Costas said. "That's a national story."

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