With the passing of Ernie Banks, baseball has lost a legend. More importantly, the world has lost a man that lived with joy and passion. You'll be hard-pressed to find stories that put him in a bad light. Rather, there are countless tales that do the opposite.
He strung together an amazing career on and off the field. All 19 of his MLB seasons were spent with the Chicago Cubs during a time when Banks was about all that was worth cheering for. Despite this, he kept a positive public image for his team and baseball as a whole.
Even if you never saw Ernie Banks play or listened to him speak, he's someone you can tell that he loved what he was doing just by looking at pictures. This holds true to many of his baseball cards over the years. Sure there are some that show a stern-faced Banks, but most show the Hall of Famer with a special twinkle in his eye that's totally infectious.
In honor of Mr. Cub and his love for the game he played, here are 14 Ernie Banks cards that are tough not to smile back at.
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