Ernie Banks nicknamed  ‘Mr. Cub’ & and “Mr. Sunshine” dies at 83

Ernie Banks nicknamed  ‘Mr. Cub’ & and “Mr. Sunshine died of a heart attack at a Chicago hospital on January 23, 2015, seven days before his 84th birthday.

Tributes for Banks were widespread throughout Chicago & Dallas. Banks born in Dallas on January 31, 1931 was an professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB) and played his entire MLB career with the Chicago Cubs. He was a National League All-Star for 11 seasons, playing in 14 All-Star Games. Banks entered Baseball sports through Negro league baseball in 1950, played for the Kansas City Monarchs. He also served in the US military for two years and before returning  to the Monarchs before beginning his major league career in September 1953.

Banks actively took part in the Chicago community during and after his tenure with the Cubs. He also founded a charitable organization, became the first black Ford Motor Company dealer in the United States.

He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contribution to sports in 2013.

 President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, called Banks “an incredible ambassador for baseball, and for the city of Chicago.”

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement: “Ernie Banks was more than a baseball player. He was one of Chicago’s greatest ambassadors. He loved this city as much as he loved — and lived for — the game of baseball.”