Ernie Banks

“It's a kind of philosophy of my own life, to create the energy enough to keep on going.”

“I wanted to finish my career with one team, in one city, one mayor, one park, one owner. I did that. The Wrigleys owned the team. We played all of our home games at Wrigley Field during the daytime. So my career was very unique, and I am proud of it.”

“During my time, there might have been one pitcher or two that were top pitchers on a team. Teams that won maybe had three, but today they have a lot of depth. They have a lot of long relievers, short relievers, and the strategy is different.”

“The only way to prove that you're a good sport is to lose.”

“When I wake up in the morning, I feel like a billionaire without paying taxes.”

“Loyalty and friendship, which is to me the same, created all the wealth that I've ever thought I'd have.”

“People ask me a lot about the values I got from playing for the Cubs for so many years. The value I got out of it was patience. A lot of people these days are not very patient.”

“Everybody believed you had to have a big piece of lumber and then muscle the ball over the fence. But by the time I and Hank Aaron - another guy who did it with his wrists - were through, there were a lot of guys ordering light bats and playing handball.”

“I thought talking to human beings was just something that could make things complicated and unpleasant. So I didn't talk much. I just watched people.”

“Awards mean a lot, but they don't say it all. The people in baseball mean more to me than statistics.”

“I own stock, and I also insure my car with Geico.”

“It was about 105 degrees in Chicago. And that's a time when everybody gets tired. I came into the clubhouse, and everybody was sitting around, and I said, 'Beautiful day. Let's play two!' And everybody looked at me like I was crazy. There were a couple of writers around, and they wrote that, and it stayed with me.”

“When you do things to try to help people and share things, it really comes back to you. I try to do that.”

“I didn't understand anything about playing baseball. I started playing, and it was enjoyable. Most of my life, I played with older people on my team, in my league. I learned a lot about life. Every day in my life, I learned something new from somebody.”

“My theme is, 'The spirit of friendship is the balance of life.' Not money. Not the World Series. It's friendship. The relationships I have with people, that's enough to keep me happy.”

“I don't think it's up to black athletes to get involved in political or racial issues.”

“The Cubs are gonna shine in sixty-nine.”

“I meet a lot of people that grew up with my career and have retired, and I just want to talk to them. I like to get a feeling from them, a feeling of the old times.”

“Did you hear that? I didn't hear anything. Put that question another way.”

“I like my players to be married and in debt. That's the way you motivate them.”