The world is a sadder place today with the passing of Ernie Banks on Friday. I was one of those kids lucky enough to be able to be able to spend many a sunny summer afternoon in the confines of Wrigley Field during the 1960s. And when he would take the field, with the lanky grace of a man who loved his job, we knew that first base was covered. When he would see us kids, he was never too busy, he was never too arrogant to stop, shake some hands, sign an autograph, or rumple the hair of a little girl who had just lost her first tooth. And when that little girl was 12, and had a broken leg with a cast up to her thigh, Ernie Banks got word through an Andy Frain usher that she wanted his autograph. He made sure the entire 1969 Cubs team signed that cast.
So I will cry a little today, remembering that little girl who is now a grandmother, and will always be grateful that I got to see Mr. Cub do what he loved most. It’s a beautiful day for a ball game. Let’s play two.
Terri Dorr
VANCOUVER
