Reading List: Remembering 'Mr. Cub' Ernie Banks

The death of Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks has triggered an outpouring of respect from those who played, watched or grew up with the man they called "Mr. Cub."

Banks, a 14-time All-Star and two-time MVP, is considered one of the greatest infielders in major league history. He is one of 26 players to hit 500 home runs and was the first African-American player in Cubs history.

But those who covered Banks say his reputation off the field far exceeded his All-Star contributions on it. Below are three must-read pieces on the Hall of Famer.

To hear ESPN's Tim Kurkjian tell it: "It was impossible not to feel good around Ernie Banks." 

Banks's infectious personality made him a treat to cover, writes Kurkjian. It helped that the man who coined the phrase "Let's play two!" was as good with words as he was with a glove:

"He had all these sayings, and they all rhymed," (teammate Billy) Williams said. "Every year, he had a new one at the start of the season. You know, 'It's going to be heavenly in '70.' He used to ask me, 'Do you have change for three cents?' It took me about five years to figure that one out. He used to say, 'It will be cold. It will be hot. It will be weather, whether or not.' It took me about five years to figure that one out, also. He used to walk by you with his hand out, then you'd go to shake his hand, and he'd pretend like he was blind and just walk past you. If you were on the team and you weren't married, he was always trying to get you married. He'd ask, 'Why aren't you married?' He was my roommate for six months, but we also traveled to the ballpark together almost every day. He could talk about anything. He read a little, but he was always abreast of what was going on in the world. He was a great conversationalist, even about things other than baseball."

Kurkjian's colleague Michael Wilbon covered Banks' death from a hometown perspective. The longtime columnist says no athlete has represented his city or team more joyously or admirably than Banks.

He lived in the right place and at the right time, when even icons said good morning when they walked into an elevator, or kissed a lady's hand upon introduction. His manner was straight Middle America. If you had something bad to say about Ernie Banks, they were fighting words, because he was a prince among men and a damn good ballplayer to boot. By the time my little buddies and I were 6, 7 years old, we could hold the bat high like Banks, wiggle our fingers pinkie to index, just like Banks, run to first base with that lanky gait, just like Banks. ... He was the Cubs' first black player, which brought with it more stress than we ever knew, because all Banks did publicly - no matter what he faced privately in the nation's most segregated city - was smile and shake hands and kiss cheeks and say, "Let's play two!" and hit home runs and make people happy.

Over at Sports Illustrated, Rich Cohen shared his one-on-one conversation with Banks from last summer. In it Banks recalls the time he met Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers trailblazer who paved the way for Negro League talent.

"He came over and said, 'Congratulations! Now keep your mouth shut when you play; just be quiet.' And that's what I did. That’s what Willie did. That's what Hank did. We kept our mouth shut and just played. His greatest interest was to see us rise in the business of baseball. He didn't tell us, but we knew he wanted that. And he checked up on us - him and his wife, Rachel."