page_title: Ernie Banks
section_title: Later years
hierarchical_section_title: Ernie Banks / Later years
caption_attribution_description: Chicago Gay Pride Parade 2010
context_page_description: Ernest Banks, nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine", was an American professional baseball player who starred in Major League Baseball as a shortstop and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs between 1953 and 1971. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977, and was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.
  Banks is regarded by some as one of the greatest players of all time. He began playing professional baseball in 1950 with the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro leagues. He served in the U.S. military for two years, played for the Monarchs again, and began his major league career in September 1953. The following year, Banks was the National League Rookie of the Year runner-up. Beginning in 1955, Banks was a National League All-Star for 11 seasons, playing in 13 of the 15 All-Star Games held during those years. Banks was the Cubs' main attraction in the late 1950s, the National League Most Valuable Player in 1958 and 1959, and the Cubs' first Gold Glove winner in 1960.
  In 1962, Banks became a regular first baseman for the Cubs. Between 1967 and 1971, he was a player-coach.
context_section_description: Banks was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977, his first year of eligibility. He received votes on 321 of the 383 ballots. Though several players were selected through the Veterans Committee and the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues that year, Banks was the only player elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He was inducted on August 8 of that year. During his induction speech, Banks said, "We've got the setting – sunshine, fresh air, the team behind us. So let's play two!"
  The Cubs retired Banks' uniform number 14 in 1982. He was the first player to have his number retired by the team. At the time of the ceremony, Banks was employed as the Cubs' corporate sales representative. The team did not retire any more numbers for another five years, when Billy Williams received the honor. Through the 2014 season, only six former Cubs, along with Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson, have had their numbers retired by the organization.
  Banks served as a team ambassador after his retirement, though author Phil Rogers says the team had never placed Banks in a position of authority or significant influence. In 1983, shortly after Wrigley sold the team to the Tribune Company, Banks and the Cubs briefly severed ties. Rogers wrote that after the sale,  Banks was viewed as "something of a crazy uncle who hung around the house for no apparent reason", and that team officials anonymously told the press that Banks had been fired because he was unreliable. Soon Banks and the Cubs reconciled and he resumed making appearances on behalf of the team.
  In 1984, when the Cubs won the NL East division, the club named Banks an honorary team member. At the 1990 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the first one held at Wrigley Field since Banks' playing days, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch to starting catcher Mike Scioscia. Banks was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999. In the same year, the Society for American Baseball Research listed him 27th on a list of the 100 greatest baseball players. In 2003, he guest starred on an episode of Yes, Dear.
  In June 2006, Crain's Chicago Business said Banks was part of a group looking into buying the Chicago Cubs in case the Tribune Company decided to sell the club. Banks established a charity, the Live Above & Beyond Foundation, which assists youth and the elderly with issues including self-esteem and  healthcare. In 2008, Banks released a charity wine called Ernie Banks 512 Chardonnay, the proceeds of which were donated to his foundation.
  Banks was an ordained minister; he presided at the wedding of MLB pitcher Sean Marshall. On March 31, 2008, a statue of Banks ("Mr. Cub") was unveiled in front of Wrigley Field. That year, Eddie Vedder released a song called "All The Way", which Banks had asked Vedder to write about the Cubs as a birthday gift.
  In 2009, Banks was named a Library of Congress Living Legend, a designation that recognizes those "who have made significant contributions to America's diverse cultural, scientific and social heritage". In 2013, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom with 15 other people, including Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. During the ceremony, he presented President Obama with a bat that had belonged to Jackie Robinson. Banks remained close to the Cubs team and made frequent appearances at their spring training grounds, HoHoKam Stadium in Arizona. Author Harry Strong wrote in 2013 that "the Chicago Cubs do not have a mascot, but they hardly need one when the face of the franchise is still so visible".
  He was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 1970, in the area of Sports.
caption: Banks and Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts on the float representing the Cubs organization at the 2010 Chicago Pride Parade
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