Quotes from Ernie Banks

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.

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

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.

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

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.

No, I think the pitching today has more depth.

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

The Cubs are due in sixty-two.

My long-range mission is to be the first athlete to win the Nobel Prize.

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

That's a real void in my life. I see a lot of people who struggled and went to jail and the dogs were after them. I'd look them in the eyes and say, 'God almighty, I wish I'd have been there.'

The Cubs are gonna shine in sixty-nine.

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

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.

We lived near a supermarket, and whatever they threw away, we would get it, and my mother would make soup. Or she would get a big can of lard, a big can of meal, a big can of flour, a big can of beans, and fix the same meal for months.

The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money.

Spring training means flowers, people coming outdoors, sunshine, optimism and baseball. Spring training is a time to think about being young again.

I don't try to hit home runs. I just try to meet the ball and get base hits.

You must try to generate happiness within yourself. If you are not happy in one place, chances are you won\'t be happy anyplace.

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

The Cubs are gonna shine in sixty-nine.

I was thinking (when he hit his 500th home run) about my mother and dad, about all the people in the Chicago Cubs organization that helped me and about the wonderful Chicago fans who have come out all these years to cheer me on. Theyve been a great inspiration to me.

Baseball reveals character; golf exposes it.

The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money.