“I like my players to be married and in debt. That's the way you motivate them.”
The New York Times (April 11, 1976).
Ernest Banks, communément appelé Ernie Banks , est un joueur américain de baseball qui évolue chez les Cubs de Chicago en Ligue nationale de 1953 à 1971.
Joueur d'arrêt-court jusqu'en 1961 puis joueur de premier but à partir de 1962, Banks est élu joueur par excellence de la Ligue nationale en 1958 et 1959. Il frappe 512 coups de circuit en carrière, ce qui le place en 2015 au 22e rang de l'histoire et détient de 1958 à 2001 le record de circuit en une saison par un joueur d'arrêt-court. Surnommé Mr. Cub, il mène la franchise des Cubs de Chicago pour, entre autres, les matchs joués, les circuits et les coups sûrs de plus d'un but. Son numéro 14 est le premier retiré par les Cubs.
Il est intronisé au Temple de la renommée du baseball en 1977 et élu dans l'équipe du siècle en 1999.
Wikipedia
“I like my players to be married and in debt. That's the way you motivate them.”
The New York Times (April 11, 1976).
“Did you hear that? I didn't hear anything. Put that question another way.”
Sports Illustrated (August 23, 1982).
“It's a great day for a ball game; let's play two!”
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum :: Born to Play Ball – Shortstops, George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, 2008-12-09 http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/exhibits/2008-born_to_play_ball/shortstops.php,
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum :: Born to Play Ball – Shortstops, George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, 2008-12-09 http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/exhibits/2008-born_to_play_ball/shortstops.php,
“Baseball reveals character; golf exposes it”
http://www.sportsfeelgoodstories.com/sport-quotes/sports-quotes/golf-quotes/10/21/2011.
Responding to the question, "Who was the toughest pitcher you faced during your career, and why was he a special problem for you?"; as quoted in "Hall of Famers Name Their Toughest Diamond Foes" by William Guilfoile, in The 1991 National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Yearbook; reprinted in Baseball Digest (August 1992), p. 28
“The only way to prove that you're a good sport is to lose.”
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum :: Born to Play Ball – Shortstops, George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, 2008-12-09 http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/exhibits/2008-born_to_play_ball/shortstops.php,
also in Bill Adler, Baseball Wit (New York: Crown, 1986).