"Mr. Cub" Number 14 fully embroidered patch. This patch was made to remember the remarkable baseball career of Ernie Banks, the legendary Chicago Cubs First Baseman, who recently passed away. Banks is regarded by some as one of the greatest players of all time. He began his professional baseball career in 1950, playing for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro leagues. He served in the U.S. military for two years and returned to the Monarchs before beginning his MLB career in September 1953. The following year, Banks was the National League Rookie of the Year runner-up. Beginning in 1955, Banks was a National League (NL) All-Star for 11 seasons,[4] playing in 13 of the 15 All-Star Games held during those seasons.[a] Banks was the Cubs' main attraction in the late 1950s, the National League Most Valuable Player in 1958 and 1959, and the Cubs' first Gold Glove winner in 1960. In 1962, Banks became a regular first baseman for the Cubs. In the mid-1960s, Cubs manager Leo Durocher became frustrated with Banks. Durocher said he was unable to remove Banks from the lineup due to the star's popularity among Cubs fans. Between 1967 and 1971, he was a player-coach. In 1969, through a Chicago Sun-Times fan poll, Cubs fans voted him the greatest Cub ever. In 1970, Banks hit his 500th career home run at Wrigley Field. He retired from playing in 1971, was a coach for the Cubs in 1972, and in 1982 was the team's first player to have his uniform number retired.
