Let's Play Two: The Life and Times of Ernie Banks

by Doug Wilson

When Ernie Banks passed away in 2015, he was regarded as one of the most beloved men in baseball history. Making his start as a shortstop with the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues as a teenager, Banks went on to become the first African American to play for the Chicago Cubs. Known affectionately as “Mr. Cub,” he brought exceptional talent and boundless optimism to the game of baseball, earning him a Presidential Medal of Freedom and a place in the Hall of Fame.

In Let’s Play The Life and Times of Ernie Banks, Doug Wilson explores the life of one of baseball’s most immortal figures, from his humble beginnings as a young boy living in the segregated South to his last few years and the public battles over his remains and will. Drawing on interviews of those close to Banks from all stages of his life, Wilson presents a portrait of the baseball player not just as an athlete, but also as a complex man with ambitious goals and hidden pains.

Ernie Banks’s enthusiasm and skill transcended issues of race and helped him to become one of the most highly-regarded men in baseball. Offering details that have never before been printed, this book discusses Banks’s athletic prowess as well as the legacy he left behind. Let’s Play Two is the essential Ernie Banks biography for sports fans and historians alike.

Genres: Baseball, Biography, Sports, Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

Published February 15, 2019

Reviews

[Brina · Rating 4 out of 5]

When my grandmother suffered senile dementia during her later years one of the few people she remembered with little prompting was the one and only Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks. Growing up on Chicago’s north side, my grandmother was a Cubs’ fan, helped in part by ladies day on Wednesday that gave women free admission to games on that day. By the time my father and his siblings were growing up, my grandmother was ready to go to games at Wrigley Field on Wednesday afternoons before her children were. It was during the 1950s and the Cubs were woeful, but in those years, Ernie Banks was one of the best in baseball, even though the rest of the team was atrocious. Even if the Cubs were down 8-0 in the late innings, my grandmother would insist on staying for the entire game just in case Mr. Cub hit a home run to make the score 8-1. As such, he was easily her favorite player with his sunny personality and it is little wonder to me that she would still remember his name when she needed hints to remember how old I was at a given time.

By the time I became an avid third generation Cubs fan, Ernie Banks was etched on my brain, even before I made my first pilgrimage to the ball park. Hearing stories from my father growing up, I know most of Ernie’s Cubs’ career by heart, especially the most telling statistics: 512 career home runs, back to back Most Valuable Player awards for a last place team, and zero appearances in the post season. When my baseball book club friend Doug Wilson announced that he was writing a new biography on Mr. Cub, I was excited even if I thought I knew all of the statistics. I have read his biography of Brooks Robinson and know that Mr. Wilson does a fine job making distinctions between the ball player and the person. When he asked me to be an early reader of this new biography knowing that I think Ernie Banks is one of the best baseball players ever, I was on board. Because with a jubilant personality despite all of the hardships to befall him in life, who would not want to spend a gloomy winter day reading about Ernie Banks?

Before becoming the most beloved Cubs player in team history prior to the current members of the championship winning team, Ernest T. Banks grew up in segregated Dallas, Texas, the eldest of fourteen children born to Eddie and Edna Banks. Banks rarely spoke of his time in Dallas as he grew up in the throes of Jim Crow, but his acquaintances and friends revered him as much Cubs fans did. Ernie’s father Eddie was not around much as he was constantly working in order to feed and clothe his growing family. One thing he did, however, is to teach his eldest son the basics of playing baseball, especially the caveat to always swing from the wrists. Eddie realized that his son surpassed him in ability and gained him a place on various bush league teams. After a stint in the army during World War II, Ernie returned to Texas and soon after joined the famed Kansas City Monarchs. It was there that he was schooled in the game by legendary coaches as Buck O’Neill and caught the eye of Cubs scouts on one of the team’s trips to Chicago.

Ernie Banks was not on the Cubs’ or any other team’s radar, even though baseball had been desegregated a few years prior. In the early 1950s, Chicago remained segregated de facto with African Americans primarily living on the city’s south side. Team owner Philip K Wrigley feared that a black presence on his team would anger white fans and keep them away from the ballpark. Yet, by 1952 there was pressure to integrate as the Cubs were one of the last teams to do so. The Cubs had their eye on shortstop Gene Baker but needed a second African American player to room with him on the road. Enter Banks. Adding to the myth, Baker injured himself in 1954, opening a path for Banks to become the team’s every day shortstop. It was a job he would patrol on an everyday basis until he moved to first base later in his career. Banks played with such exuberance and joy that he far outlasted Baker and numerous other players in Chicago. By the time all was said and done, he would indeed swing from the wrists on his way to a hall of fame career.

In addition to Ernie’s playing days, Mr Wilson attempts to pick apart the myth that was Mr Cub. Always full of sunshine telling people “Let’s play two” and coining phrases like “The Cubs will shine in ‘69,” Banks exuded positive energy. He took the time to speak at countless Boy Scout banquets and off season affairs and leant money to pretty much every distant cousin or acquaintance who asked him for a few dollars. Early in his career he nearly moved to a north side neighborhood to be closer to the ballpark, only to find himself bombarded both by youthful fans and adult prejudices. Banks ended up living in a south side neighborhood for the duration of his career and even ran as an independent for alderman once. Even though Mr. Cub struck out on his quest for political office, his disposition remained the same optimistic one.

Wilson interviewed countless Cubs teammates, relatives, and friends in order to deconstruct the myth of Mr. Cub. He revisited the infamous 1969 team, one which most Cubs fans would rather forget, and picked apart why the team inevitably fell short at the end. Banks foresaw the team’s demise early in the season because manager Leo Durocher refused to play his bench or use extra starting pitchers in a hotter than usual Chicago summer. With a veteran team and no night games, the 1969 Cubs inevitably wilted, yet Banks kept his positive demeanor and outlasted the fractious Durocher in Chicago. He eventually finished with 512 home runs, zero trips to the post season, and a statue immortalizing his playing career outside of Wrigley Field.

Prior to his death in 2015, Ernie Banks won the Presidential Medal Of Freedom, the highest honor a civilian can earn in the United States. This is a tribute to his perseverance in segregated Dallas, Kansas City, and 1950s Chicago. After retiring from the Cubs, the Wrigley family kept Mr Cub out of the organization and he fell short at the other endeavors that he attempted in life; Ernie Banks belonged with a baseball team. Earning a place in Cooperstown, it was known to most besides the Wrigley family that Ernie Banks is a baseball immortal. I believe that Mr. Cub shining down his positive rays of energy helped lead the Cubs to their 2016 championship. Sadly, he did not get to witness it in person, but I am sure he was smiling down, along with my grandmother and countless other players and fans who did not live to see the victory at last. Mr. Cub is still beloved in Chicago. Thank you to Doug Wilson for preserving more Ernie Banks memories for generations to come.

4 + stars

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ernie Banks was a Hall of Fame player for the Chicago Cubs know primarily for three things: his happy demeanor, his joy for the game of baseball, and oh, by the way, he was a pretty good hitter as well. Banks’ story is told in this excellent, complete biography by author Doug Wilson.

Every aspect of the life of “Mr. Cub” is covered, from Banks’ childhood in Dallas to his life after baseball which included health and financial problems up to his death in 2015. Even then, one of the most enduring personality traits of Banks, his genuine desire to make others happy, still can be evident despite the less-than-happy late stages of his life. Wilson illustrates the difficult childhood of Ernie and the other Banks children as they grew up in segregated North Dallas.

As for the baseball aspect of Banks’ life, that is completely explored and brought to the reader in excellent detail as well. Banks was the first player to go from the Negro Leagues, where he was playing well for the Kansas City Monarchs, directly to the major leagues. Signed by the Cubs, Banks immediately made his presence felt on field, winning the job as the everyday shortstop for the Cubs.. It was common practice to have black players roomed together at the time and Banks was roomed with another shortstop, Gene Baker, when they were called up to the Cubs. Banks beat out his roommate for the shortstop position, forcing Baker to learn how to play second base.

From there, Banks took off, winning back to back MVP awards and becoming one of only eight men at the time to hit 500 home runs. The Cubs’ penchant for losing is also on display in the book with a chapter on their failed experiment with a “college of coaches” running the team instead of a manager. Their 1969 collapse after leading the National League East division is also well documented – enough that a reader will either remember the events well or will feel like he or she was there.

One other aspect of this time frame in baseball and society that is covered well is the racism and prejudice that Banks and other players of color faced at that time, especially in Florida during spring training. Not only will the reader learn about the mistreatment of black players by many (including white teammates) but he or she will come away with a deeper appreciation of Banks’ disposition through all the racism. But, as Wilson also notes in the book, some of Banks’ measured comments about civil rights were taken to mean that he wasn’t a good role model to use his status as one of the best baseball players to speak out. This issue is written with a good amount of sensitivity and insight and are stories that should be told.

Any reader who is a Cubs fan, interested in baseball history or wants to learn more about “Mr. Cub” needs to add this to his or her library. It is a thoroughly enjoyable, easy read that should bring a smile to the reader as big as Ernie’s.

I wish to thank Rowman and Littlefield for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...

[Harold Kasselman · Rating 5 out of 5]

If your work colleague showed up every day with a happy greeting, saying what a beautiful day it was to work, regardless of the weather or work conditions, what would you think of that colleague? Is it an act or is it genuine? Doug Wilson's biography of Ernie Banks will provide you with the facts, the interviews, and the life of Banks so that the reader can make its own judgment.I was fortunate enough to have seen Ernie Banks play in person and on television for many years, and to have seen interviews with him as he grew older. So, when I saw that Doug Wilson, a prolific writer of baseball biographies, had written one on Mr. Cub, I was anxious to read it. This is not a mere rehash of games played and statistics. Sure, Banks and Honus Wagner were the best shortstops in history until the 80's. Most of us know of his powerful wrists and the damage he could do with them despite having absurdly "narrow shoulders" for a power hitter. He was the first man to go from the Negro leagues to a major league team, and to be enshrined into the Hall of Fame without having had any minor league experience.
But what makes this book so fascinating and compelling is the mystery of the man behind the image that Banks created for so many years. As Wilson says, "Ernie Banks was a paradox: at once absurdly simple and impossibly complex." For decades the holy trinity of most beloved players has been Musial, Banks, and Brooks Robinson.Wilson explores Banks' dreadfully poor and humble upbringing in a segregated southern town and his eleven siblings. The guidance of his father and mother largely shaped the child who would become a man who was always "satisfied" with and grateful for his life. While other players took activist stands about JIm Crowism, Banks accepted the way things were-sometimes to the consternation of people like Hank Aaron. He avoided controversy and throughout his career he avoided answering any question that could turn controversial by adroitly turning the question around to suit his needs. He was intensely loyal to his owner and to his team.
Wilson had access to many of Ernie's teammates, Chicago writers, and others so we get a comprehensive examination of the man behind the image. Wilson raises all of the important issues.Was Banks the real deal or was it an image he created? He was nothing but sunshine and smiles on the outside, but was he a prisoner of the image he cultivated? As Wilson readily admits, no one can say definitively, but he offers evidence from the words of teammates or even opponents like John Roseboro to decide whether the happy smiles and optimistic expressions were merely annoying shtick or genuine heartfelt emotion. Just what motivated this man to bring optimism to the game every day year after year notwithstanding he never played a postseason game? Was it true joy or was it shtick to perpetuate an image? If the latter, Wilson shows that Banks didn't exploit that financially in his after baseball years. Quite the contrary, as you will read, Banks' last years were plagued with financial woes. The last couple of chapters will sadden you because Banks wasn't perfect. He was a paradox. At ease and content to be alone, but longing to make everyone he met happy. He was, as he aspired to be, a peacemaker. Case in point- the Leo Durocher reign and the controversy over Leo's treatment of Banks. Was Durocher's treatment motivated by jealousy of Mr. Cub himself, a degrading of Banks' skills, a managerial decision to rebuild or what? And through it all, despite the hurt, Banks still pleaded with Durocher not to quit the team that Durocher realized he had lost. I choose to remember Ernie Banks as a great player, a wonderful man, a man of complexity, and someone worthy of The Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is a wonderful exploration of his life- a satisfied life.

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful biography of a wonderful person, how Ernie Banks became to be known as Mr. Cub and his history through the lean years with his ballclub in his adopted city that loved his upbeat attitude, his acceptance of the Cubs' status, even at the beginning when he was signed and discovered the lackluster proficiency and spirit as compared to that of the Monarchs.

[Tom Gase · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good book on Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks. I thought the writer, Doug Wilson, does a great job of presenting to the reader if Ernie Banks was everything he said he was or if he was hiding behind an image as a happy-go-lucky guy. The research is great and the writing makes you flip through the pages quickly and not want to put the book down. My only thing keeping this from being a five-star book is I wish it had been a little longer as it was just 200 pages. That being said, not sure Doug Wilson misses anything in his research. Might wait a day or two and give it a five-star rating once I think about it more. Wilson is a great baseball writer, having written stellar books on the Bird (Mark Frydrich), Carlton Fisk and Brooks Robinson. I look forward to reading more in the future by this author. Good stuff and a must for Cubs fans.

[Dick Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lets play two is too short, sort of like a double header with two five inning games. While I enjoyed the book, there was not a lot of detail on the big games of Banks's career. There is another new biography out on Ernie Banks, with the same title, and the other biography is twice as long, so I say, Lets Read Two and go for the other bio as well.

[Ken Heard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice bio of Cubs' star Ernie Banks, but I felt it could have been a lot longer. Doug Wilson glosses over Banks' military life to the point of only a few graphs. His time in the Negro Leagues was featured only in a short chapter. I was kind of hoping for a huge tome like the big biographies of Willie Mays or Yogi Berra or Henry Aaron or Ted Williams. I'd like to have read more of his experiences in those stages of his life. Instead, this was a shorter, quick read.

There were some good insights, however, and once Wilson got into the mid-career of Banks, the story-telling was great. The playoff-nearing years were well done. The ending, where he discusses if Banks' optimism and happy personality was more of an act or the real deal, was excellent.

Overall, this was a good read for any baseball fan, but it could have been much longer and still been enjoyable.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many digressions for my taste. Content about Banks is good. But there are large chunks that go into the make up of the Cubs, Phil Wrigley, Leo Durocher and the collapse in 1969 to the New York Mets. Although the author does try to connect Banks’ experience to these people and events, I don’t feel it was properly explored to the depth worthy of a biography. More than a few times I checked the title of the book assuming it was about the Cubs and not Banks. I also think there could have been more details about his relationships including his parents, siblings and the wives that were sort of cut out from the book. He was a complicated character, clearly, but there’s no attempt to even theorize why.

[Stephen Bragg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor Ernie played his heart out for the perennial disappointments of the Chicago Cubs. Mr. Cub never got to the postseason as a player but he was allowed to dress and sit on the bench when the Cubs made the playoffs in '84. His years after baseball were sad and that was tough to read. RIP Ernie.

[Chris Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like Wilson’s other works, this book on Banks does the subject matter justice. A quick read and very worthwhile.

[Jim Cumming · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well written and researched biography of Mr Cub. There was definitely more to the outwardly cheery Ernie Banks, and the author did well to capture him!

[Jack Knorps · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first of two biographies I read about Ernie Banks. I read them because I got my mom the bigger one for her birthday, and in the course of it, found there were two Ernie Banks biographies, both titled LET'S PLAY TWO, that were released within weeks of one another, and I found that too cute to ignore.

This one is the "lower budget" of the two, and it is perfectly fine, but there is little in it that is not also in the bigger one. This isn't a super short book, but it's about 200 pages shorter than the bigger one.

So yes, if you're pressed for time and want to learn about Banks (certainly a figure worth considering, sort of mysterious, sort of genius in his simplicity, legendary, sort of sad, ultimately beguiling) you could do far worse; but the bigger budget book is (unfortunately because I prefer to believe small presses put out superior "under the radar" stuff) worth the small investment of extra time, because it delves more into the people around Banks (such as Leo Durocher, a true iconoclast and foil to Banks that constantly manufactures amusement and disbelief here). There are maybe a few sentences that I would have changed, and the book is "workmanlike" in its presentation, but it's perfectly readable and informative.

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[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent biography of an excellent and great ballplayer!