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Ernie Banks, 1931–2015
The Cubs were a part of my growing up, though not as much as my brothers'. I didn't really pay attention to league standings until 1969 (when they broke my heart), because they never did very well, but they were still my team. My mother and I went for free on ladies' days, and my brothers and friends would go in a bunch. We went early, because 10,000 unreserved grandstand seats went on sale the day of every game, and we wanted to make sure we got good ones.
And Ernie Banks, Mr. Cub, was always there, along with names like Ron Santo, Fergie Jenkins, and Billy Williams.
Sometime during the mid-to-late 1970s (IIRC; I'm pretty sure I was in college at the time), at the end of an absolutely terrible year, my mother and I went to a game. It was the day the Cubs had their first Fan Appreciation Day. There were drawings for prizes throughout the game, and there were five big-ticket items after the game. The best one was a car, and my mother said that I could have the car if we won. (I'm quite sure she meant it, but I'm also quite sure that she totally didn't believe there was any chance, so it was an easy promise.) There was also a catamaran boat. I don't remember what the other three items were.
But I remember that when it came time for the boat, OUR NUMBER WAS DRAWN! My mother and I were both of the "we never win anything" school, so the fact that we'd won was as exciting as what it was that we won. Also exciting was the fact that we got to GO ONTO THE FIELD and meet some of the Cubs who were sticking around to do the obligatory publicity thing. And one of them was Ernie Banks (retired a few years before) and I got to shake his hand. If I had been less bedazzled, I would have asked for an autograph for my brother Rick, who was even more of a Cubs fan than I was. But I'll always remember how he smiled at me, and had a nice firm handshake.
Our family sailed as a hobby, so the catamaran wasn't the mathom it might have been for other families. On the other hand, it was too large to put on top of the car (as we'd done with previous smaller sailboats), so it ended up costing an extra $300 or so for the trailer needed to carry it. Eventually my parents sold it once we graduated and moved out, but we got a fair amount of use out of it before then.
But it's mostly the golden day at Wrigley Field and meeting Ernie Banks that sticks in my memory.
(part of this was originally posted as a comment in![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kaffyr's LJ)
And just because, Steve Goodman on the Cubs:
And Ernie Banks, Mr. Cub, was always there, along with names like Ron Santo, Fergie Jenkins, and Billy Williams.
Sometime during the mid-to-late 1970s (IIRC; I'm pretty sure I was in college at the time), at the end of an absolutely terrible year, my mother and I went to a game. It was the day the Cubs had their first Fan Appreciation Day. There were drawings for prizes throughout the game, and there were five big-ticket items after the game. The best one was a car, and my mother said that I could have the car if we won. (I'm quite sure she meant it, but I'm also quite sure that she totally didn't believe there was any chance, so it was an easy promise.) There was also a catamaran boat. I don't remember what the other three items were.
But I remember that when it came time for the boat, OUR NUMBER WAS DRAWN! My mother and I were both of the "we never win anything" school, so the fact that we'd won was as exciting as what it was that we won. Also exciting was the fact that we got to GO ONTO THE FIELD and meet some of the Cubs who were sticking around to do the obligatory publicity thing. And one of them was Ernie Banks (retired a few years before) and I got to shake his hand. If I had been less bedazzled, I would have asked for an autograph for my brother Rick, who was even more of a Cubs fan than I was. But I'll always remember how he smiled at me, and had a nice firm handshake.
Our family sailed as a hobby, so the catamaran wasn't the mathom it might have been for other families. On the other hand, it was too large to put on top of the car (as we'd done with previous smaller sailboats), so it ended up costing an extra $300 or so for the trailer needed to carry it. Eventually my parents sold it once we graduated and moved out, but we got a fair amount of use out of it before then.
But it's mostly the golden day at Wrigley Field and meeting Ernie Banks that sticks in my memory.
(part of this was originally posted as a comment in
kaffyr's LJ) And just because, Steve Goodman on the Cubs: