Ernie Banks Chicago Cubs Publications

Ernie Banks Chicago Cubs Autographed Black & White Photo With A Personally Obtained Autograph From The Player

Ernie Banks is an former Major League baseball player who played his entire career with the Chicago Cubs (1953-1971). Banks is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. His nickname is Mr. Cub. Banks signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League in 1950 and broke into the Major Leagues in 1953 with the Chicago Cubs as their first black player. He played for the Cubs his entire career, starting at shortstop and moving to first base in 1962. Banks won the National League Most Valuable Player Award twice, in 1958 and 1959 despite the fact that the Cubs were not pennant contenders during those seasons. Banks finished his career with 512 home runs, and his 277 homers as a shortstop were the most ever at the time of his retirement. Ernie Banks also currently holds the record for most extra base hits by a Cub with 1,009. Banks also holds the team's records for games played (2,528), at-bats (9,421) and total bases (4,706). On December 1, 1971, Banks retired as a player, and the Cubs signed him as a coach.