In May, 1985 Bob Sirott attends Chicago Cubs Randy Hundley’s Dream Camp in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Tag Archives: Ernie Banks
Ernie Banks had just $16K when he died, caretaker
(CHICAGO) Ernie Banks had assets of just $16,000 when he died last month, according to a lawyer for the caregiver at the center of the bitter dispute over the Cubs’ legend’s will, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
But Banks’ widow “just wants to know what happened” to “Mr. Cub’s” wealth, her lawyer said.
During a brief but heated court appearance Tuesday morning, Cook County Probate Court Judge James G. Riley tried to cool tempers by ordering Banks’ live-in caretaker and agent, Regina Rice, to provide more detailed documentation about Banks’ assets within 30 days.
The ugly fight over the beloved Cubs icon’s estate was triggered when, just three months before he died, the ailing Banks signed a will that left all of his assets to Rice — a will his family learned of only after he died.
Rice says she was Banks’ trusted confidante and that he wanted her to have everything. But Banks’ estranged wife Liz Banks and his sons say they are “suspicious” of Rice and her motives.
In court Tuesday, Liz Banks’ attorney Tom Jefson said that he was concerned that Rice’s attorney, Linda Chatman estimated Banks’ estate was worth just $16,000.
“There’s no allegation of fraud or embezzlement,” Jefson said, “We’d just like to know what happened.”
Chatman said that the $16,000 figure was just a preliminary estimate, but that the real value in Banks’ estate was in the rights to his likeness.
Rice, who wore her trademark large framed glasses in court, and carried a Louis Vuitton handbag, declined to comment after the hearing.
She earlier this month angered Banks’ family by posting on Facebook a photograph of a bottle of champagne she enjoyed at a spa just eight days after Banks was buried.
–Sun-Times
© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC
Ernie Banks statue to be relocated to Daley Plaza this week
(CHICAGO) The statue of Ernie Banks — smiling, bat cocked, ready to swing — which normally graces a corner outside Wrigley Field will be placed in Daley Plaza for four days this week to honor the legendary Cub who died Friday at the age of 83.
The statue will be relocated to Daley Plaza Wednesday and will be removed Saturday, allowing fans the chance to honor and remember the man known as “Mr. Cub,” the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.
The statue normally sits outside the Friendly Confines at Clark and Addison but is being restored while the ballpark is under construction.
In 2008, Banks became the first player in Cubs history to be honored with a statue at Wrigley Field.
“Ernie Banks’ legacy extends far beyond his Hall of Fame stats. He was beloved by generations of people for the way he played on the field and – more importantly – for the kind and warm person he was off the field,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement Sunday.
“We are bringing Ernie’s statue to Daley Plaza to honor not just one of the best ballplayers of all time, but a great man who made our city proud from the day we first met him in 1953.”
Banks was a lifelong Cub who played for 19 seasons, was a 14-time All-Star, holds numerous records and was inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1977.
“Ernie Banks was a great player and an even better person,” Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement released by Emanuel’s office. “He was a kind, gentle man who loved his fans as much as they loved him. We couldn’t think of a better way to honor Ernie than to allow those fans a way to pay their final respects to this great man.”
–Sun-Times
© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC
Cubs legend Ernie Banks dead at 83
photo from CNN.com
(CHICAGO) From the moment he stepped on the field for the first time in 1953 right up through last season when he would drop by the ballpark with that big smile and little-kid enthusiasm, Ernie Banks enjoyed a love affair with Wrigley Field and its fans unlike any other in baseball.
Banks died Friday in Chicago, according to Mark Bogen, who represents the Banks family. Banks’ wife, Liz, will hold a news conference at noon Sunday, the Sun-Times is reporting.
He was Mr. Cub and no other player in franchise history — or in the club’s future — will ever be adored in the same way. “There’s sunshine, fresh air, and the team’s behind us,” Banks said during his Hall of Fame induction speed in 1977. “Let’s play two!” It was Banks’ famous rallying call and it made you want to come out to Wrigley Field no matter how much the Cubs were struggling.
In a fan poll staged by the Chicago Sun-Times during that glorious and frustrating 1969 season, Banks was voted the “Greatest Cub Ever” and there has never been one argument about it since.
He would have been 84 on Saturday. The baseball world lost one of its biggest boosters. “I just remember Ernie was never in a bad mood,” former Cubs manager Dusty Baker said in 2013.
In November of that year, President Obama presented Banks with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest honor for a civilian. Banks was beaming more than usual during a ceremony that August at Wrigley Field honoring him.
“Is this a great country or what?” Banks said before a pregame ceremony at Wrigley to celebrate his latest honor. “[The award] just means life is just wonderful, [that] when you do things and try to help people and share things, it really comes back to you. … It’s almost like the Nobel Peace Prize to me.”
Banks, a former star in the Negro Leagues, came to the Cubs after being signed by former scout Buck O’Neil. Banks became the first black player in Cubs history and made a quick impression, hitting .314 with a double, triple, two home runs and 6 RBI in 10 games during a brief stint in 1953.
The next season, the baseball world took notice. Banks started all 154 games at shortstop in 1954 and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting.
–Sun-Times
© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC
