100 Things Cubs Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die Read Online Free Page B

to ensure his safety.
    In its game story the following day, the Chicago Tribune wrote, “After the skipper finally had struggled to the plate things got worse. The ushers, who had fanned out to form that protective barrier around the infield, forgot their constantly rehearsed maneuver and rushed to save Hartnett’s life.
    “They tugged and they shoved and finally they started swinging their fists before the players could carry their boss into the safety afforded by the tunnel behind the Cubs dugout. There was new hysteria after Gabby reached the catwalk which leads to the club house. But by this time the gendarmes were organized. Gabby got to the bath house without being stripped by souvenir maniacs.”
    The game had put the Cubs a mere half game in front of the Pirates, but their backs had been broken and for all intents and purposes the pennant had been decided. The Cubs pounded out a 10–1 win the following day to complete a series sweep and two days later clinched it with a 10–3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
    Hartnett and his teammates were still celebrating in the clubhouse when a knock on the door came. A letter carrier had scooped up the ball Hartnett had deposited into the left-field bleachers and came to deliver it to his hero.
    That baseball and the bat used to hit the “Homer in the Gloamin’” now rest in the Chicago History Museum.

7. Mr. Cub
    Ernie Banks is as positive and joyful a man as has ever graced the Friendly Confines, a nickname fittingly given to Wrigley Field by Banks himself. His signature baseball-affirming mantra “Let’s Play Two” succinctly captures a childlike spirit, which Banks has never strayed from since first joining the Cubs nearly 60 years ago.
    A graceful shortstop until his knees betrayed him, Banks’ powerful bat whipped around faster than you can say 512 home runs. Nobody ever played in more games or wore the uniform with more pride.
    Deservedly, Banks is and forever will be Mr. Cub.
    Yet the one thing that’s missing from Banks’ Hall of Fame career— a postseason appearance—can’t be overlooked when set against the public perception that the Cubs were a bunch of lovable losers, a devastating description that still haunts the franchise.
    Banks played in 2,528 games for the Cubs, the vast majority of them losses, and not once was he ejected. While steam could almost be seen coming from Ron Santo’s ears after a loss, Banks never stopped smiling.

    Hall of Famer Ernie Banks poses in front of his newly unveiled statue in front of Wrigley Field during ceremonies on Monday, March 31, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

    In a profile of Banks in the October 1967 issue of Ebony , writer David Llorens relayed how after the Cubs had lost seven in a row a “star player stormed into the clubhouse the morning after and went into a tirade.”
    “Don’t let the past influence the present,” Banks cheerfully told him.
    “What the hell’s wrong with you?” the player responded. “You like losing?”
    Banks just walked away, muttered something about it being a nice day out—even though it was raining—and said it was time to go “beat the Pirates.”
    Ernest Banks was born January 31, 1931, and raised in racially charged Dallas when segregation was a way of life. He spent his youth playing every sport except the one that would be his calling. A scout spotted him playing softball and Banks was persuaded to try his hand at baseball, eventually joining the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League.
    When Banks joined the Cubs as a wiry 22-year-old in 1953 to become the team’s first African American player—six years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier—the team hadn’t finished above .500 for six seasons. The run mercifully ended in 1963 with an 82–80 record.
    Through those lean years—in Banks’ first nine full major league seasons the Cubs finished below .500 each year and went an astonishing 587–806—he became the face of the franchise while