Chicago Pays Tribute to Ernie Banks This Week

How did a South Sider decide to name his twins Clark and Addison? He listened to Ernie Banks.

Ron Stampley, who lives in Pullman, has a special story tell about Mr. Cub, who died Friday at the age of 83. He shared that story of how Ernie Banks helped name his twin boys with Mark Konkol at DNAinfo Chicago.

“Ernie was just like an old uncle, somebody nice and friendly and humble,” Stampley said of the first time they met. “Whenever I saw him after that it never felt like he was famous. It was just like, ‘That’s Ernie, a really nice older dude.’”

» READ: Mark Konkol on Ernie Banks, Clark and Addison on DNAinfo Chicago

This week is all about memories of Mr. Cub.

On the floor of the U.S. Senate, Dick Durbin paid tribute to the late, great Ernie Banks, delivering a speech Monday filled with memories of the Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer. Durbin recounted some of the high points of Ernie Banks’ life, his love for the game, and his love for people.

Once, Banks made Senate leader Harry Reid get down into a catcher’s position after hearing the Nevada senator once played ball. “Somehow or another, Harry Reid got down in that catcher’s position right in my office to prove it to Ernie Banks,” Durbin said.

It was Durbin who recommended Banks for the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“Chicago lost one of its greatest,” Durbin said. “He was a Hall of Famer in every sense of the word.”

These are just two of the memories shared about the 14-time all-star who was inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977, a big leaguer who was not only a great baseball player, but a man who loved his fans.

On Wednesday, a public memorial for Ernie Banks will be staged on Daley Plaza. His statue will be there Wednesday morning through Saturday so fans can pay tribute to the Chicago legend. Banks’ family attorney has created a Facebook page, Ernie Banks Remembered, for fans to remember him, too.