Cubs three Hall of Famers from 1969

Back in the early days of my collecting I picked up these three cards. Back in the day when I collected cards of the stars I cheered for, back in the day when baseball was played for the shear enjoyment of the game.

Jenkins, Williams and Banks: three names in Chicago Cub history that is synonymous with the potential the Cubs had throughout the sixites. Three players, who are among the greatest players of all time to never, play in a World Series game.

Six years separate each in their major league experience as the 1969 season began. After playing together in 1967 and 1968 the hopes to make it all come together in 1969 were as strong as ever.

Jenkins, coming into his fifth year as a big leaguer, back from two consecutive 20 win seasons (he would end up with six consecutive 20 win seasons pitching in Wrigley field with the Cubs).

Williams the consistent powerful offensive production coming back from his 1968 numbers 30 HR, 98 RBI and a .288 batting average and then there was Banks.

Banks, entering his seventeenth year as a Cub coming off of hitting 32 round trippers in 1968, the most he had had in six previous seasons.

The front of the 1969 cards of these three; the intensity of Jenkins eyes, the power in Williams’ swing and the playful smile on Banks make for the high hopes entering 1969 even more thrilling. The full card photo and white frame with a thin black outline make for a real clean looking card. The orange circle with the players name and position is a nice touch.

Banks’ card has this orange circle right over his shoulder, looking like the sun, setting in the background at Wrigley and for his career.

The backs are no less interesting. Jenkins’ has a drawing of a skinny umpire saying “he wears me out” in recognizing Jenkins’ 260 club record strikeouts in 1968 (he would go on to break his own record in 1969 and then again in 1970) and Williams’ card showcases his Rookie of the Year trophy earned in 1961.


And then there is Bank’s card – no drawing just sixteen years of statistics, all with Chicago N.L. as his team.

Banks, Jenkins and Williams: the heart of the Cubs past, present and future (from 1969 of course); three great players who never played in a World Series; three Chicago Cub Hall of Famers.

Ernie Banks - 1971 - "Let's play two"

“Mr. Cub” as he is called. Nineteen years in a major league uniform, all with the Chicago Cubs. Career home runs 512, first uniform (#14) by the Chicago Cubs to be retired, back to back National League MVP’s (1958, and 1959) and 11 time all star. Countless number of records held by a Cubbie including games played (2528), at bats (9421) and total bases (4706). Banks was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977 in his first year of eligibility. Banks, one of the greatest baseball players of all time, he is “Mr. Cub”.

The 1971 Topps (#525) is one of my favorite Banks cards for many reasons. The black border card and signature make for a nice framed shot of Ernest Banks. His last official Topps card he looks as anxious to swing the bat as ever. His mouth is open as if talking to us and sharing what he is most famous for saying: “It’s a beautiful day for a ballgame . . . Let’s play two”. He loved the game so much, loved Wrigley Field and just wanted to play baseball every day.

The back of this card has another photo of Banks smiling – the players today should love the game as much as Banks did (sorry about that editorial concerning today’s players). The eleven stats include total bases and stolen bases and this card shares Banks career totals of 509 homeruns (he played briefly in 1971 playing in only 39 games and hitting 3 HR’s).

The year was 1969, opening day and Banks was beginning his seventeenth year as a Chicago Cub. The Cubs had high hopes for this year as did Banks. His first two at bats were homeruns and this season was to be special . . . . the highs and lows to come made 1969 a year most will never forget.

Banks hit his 500th home run on May 12, 1970 – just four days before my 10th birthday. Four summers later began my summer work at the Glencoe Golf Course and I remember shaking his hand, cleaning his golf clubs and watching him . . . always smiling, always happy, always “Mr. Cub”.