The Chicago Cubs and the City of Chicago have announced that the Ernie Banks statue, recently relocated for restoration work and to accommodate the Wrigley Field renovation, will be placed downtown in Daley Plaza from Wednesday through Saturday. There, fans and well-wishers will have a spot to come in memory of Banks, who passed away on Friday.
Mayor Emanuel and Tom Ricketts spoke of the plan in a statement:
“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,” said Mayor Emanuel. “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.”
“Ernie Banks was a great player and an even better person,” said Tom Ricketts, Chairman of the Cubs. “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.”
Daley Plaza is located at 50 West Washington Street, downtown.
The Ernie Banks statue will be on display downtown at Daley Plaza Weds through Saturday to honor Mr. Cub. pic.twitter.com/IwggJqAsac
— Brett Taylor (@BleacherNation) January 25, 2015
If you would like to enjoy another Ernie tribute, I’d highly recommend this video from MLB Network. It reminds you just how good, how joyful, and how important Banks was:
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