Also known as Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks was one of the greatest cubs of all time. He played on the cubs from 1953 to 1971 and is now regarded as one of the best power hitters in the history of the game, let alone for the Cubs organization. He was an 11-time All-star and was the NL MVP two years in a row from 1958 to 1959. He hit over 40 home runs in five seasons and led the NL in homeruns in 1958 and 1960 and in RBIs in 1958-59. The reason why Ernie Banks' legacy is so important is because he stayed with the cubs for almost 20 seasons even though he never saw a playoff game; the cubs experienced a playoff drought between 1945 and 1984. Ernie Banks, a highly respected player of baseball, continued to play with the cubs due to his love of the game and the organization even though they weren't successful. "Mr. Cub" is a great example of someone who loved the Cubs throughout all their failure and continued to play for them, similarly to how Cubs fans stuck loyally to the beloved franchise. Banks finished his career with 512 home runs and 1,636 RBIs. In 1977, Banks was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Harry Caray was the announcer for the Chicago Cubs for the last 16 years of his career. He was very popular amongst Cubs fans because of his quirky mannerisms and specific ways of bringing the crowd alive. But the reason why is he still so beloved today is because of his famous quote: "As sure as God made green apples, someday the Chicago Cubs are going to be in the World Series, and maybe sooner than we think." This quote was so moving to cubs fans because it gave them hope for the future. When the Cubs finally won the world series in 2016, cubs fans went to Caray's grave and laid green apples on top of it. Attached below is a photo of the statue of Harry Caray outside of Wrigley field.
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