Teammates remember Banks

Jenkins: ‘Baseball’s lost a great icon’

CHICAGO — As he approached the casket to pay his respects to Ernie Banks, a steady flow of memories came rushing back to Billy Williams.

There were so many from their Hall of Fame careers with the Chicago Cubs and their decades of friendship. And there was plenty of reminiscing during Friday’s visitation.

“People not only here in Chicago but people around the world recognize the type of individual he was,” Williams said. “It’s beginning to sink in now — I’ve lost a great friend; you’ve lost a great friend.”

Banks hit 512 home runs and won two NL MVP awards. But he’s remembered as much for his boundless enthusiasm — despite playing on mostly losing teams — and his desire to connect with everyone he met.

“Did a card show with Ernie Banks,” tweeted former Braves star Dale Murphy earlier in the week. “He drove the promoter crazy! Spent time/ talked with every person. After an hour had signed maybe 15.”

Fans have been placing flowers outside Wrigley Field and stopping in Daley Plaza to take photos of his statue, which normally stands outside the ballpark. The city and the Cubs took the unprecedented step of taking the statue out of storage — where it been kept while the ballpark is renovated — and putting it on public display away from its usual home.

On Friday, dignitaries and fans, some pausing to snap a picture, streamed past his casket draped with a giant “Banks 14” jersey and a large photo of him in a Cubs cap smiling right behind it.

A memorial service is scheduled today, on what would have been his 84th birthday. After that, he will take one final trip to Wrigley. The procession will go by the statue before heading north past the ballpark’s famed marquee at the corner of Clark and Addison.

Chairman Tom Ricketts said the Cubs will do “everything we can” to honor Banks and “dedicate the season to him.” .

“Baseball’s lost a great icon,” Hall of Fame teammate Fergie Jenkins said.

Jenkins talked about Banks’ love of day games, and carpooling with him and Williams from the South Side to Wrigley. He also mentioned the nickname he gave Banks.

Forget “Mr. Cub” or “Mr. Sunshine.” To Jenkins, Banks was “AM and FM.” “He was like a radio. You couldn’t turn him off,” Jenkins said.

Williams recalled babysitting Banks’ children and thanked them for “lending me your father that many years.”