Hundreds say goodbye to 'Mr. Cub' at Ernie Banks visitation
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Family, friends and fans of Ernie Banks said goodbye to "Mr. Cub" at his visitation in Chicago's Near North Side on Friday.
The Chicago Cubs legend died of a heart attack last Friday. He was 83.
Since his death, there has been an outpouring of love for the Hall of Famer across the country. Banks is being remembered as the heart and soul of the team.
PHOTOS: Ernie 'Mr. Cub' Banks, 1931-2015
Banks' casket was carried into Fourth Presbyterian Church at 126 East Chestnut Street Friday morning and placed inside the sanctuary. The memorial is drawing out faithful fans who have fond memories of the baseball great.
Nancy Malek, wearing her Banks jersey like so many others at Friday's visitation, worked at Wrigley Field in 1970 as an usher.
"He put the friendly in friendly confines," Malek said. "He remembered me years later when I ran into him. He remembered my name. He was my favorite player. He was Mr. Cub."
They remember the baseball superstar, and waiting for his autograph.
"I hope he gets to me because there is 50 kids in this line to sign an autograph. But he just stayed and was incredibly enthusiastic and kind," Congressman Mike Quigley said.
They remember the first African American Cubs player.
"I know I used to watch him when I was younger and that gave me strength and that gave me a positive outlook on life," said Cheryl Martin, a Cubs fan.
Mostly, they remember the man, someone who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Hall of Fame friend Billy Williams quoted President Abraham Lincoln.
"It's not the years in a life, but it's life in those years," Williams said. "And when I read that, I thought about my good friend Ernie Banks, because in those years he spent on Earth, he made a lot of people happy."
"I've lost a friend and Chicago has lost one of its greatest," said Sen. Dick Durbin.
Banks played 19 years with the Cubs and hit 512 home runs.
"Those numbers really don't matter as much as the fact that he was a kind, generous man and he had time for everybody," said Tom Ricketts, Cubs owner and chairman. "He just meant so much to so many fans."
"I called him AM/FM. It was like a radio, you couldn't turn him off. He loved to talk baseball, on the plane," said Fergie Jenkins, former Cubs player and Banks teammate.
That's why today means so much to Cubs fans and Chicagoans.
"It's not coming to a visitation for a public figure; this is family. This is friends," said Rick Beato, a Cubs fan.
Part of a family mourning after losing one of the greats.
"It wasn't for the money, it was for the game, it was for the fans," Malek said. "He loved baseball and we all loved Ernie."
Fans have been paying tribute to the life-long Cub by taking pictures in front of his statue, which was moved from Wrigley Field to Daley Plaza on Wednesday. It will stay in the plaza through Saturday.
A memorial service will be held at Fourth Presbyterian Church on Saturday at 10 a.m.
The memorial will include readings and tributes from his family, Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts, Governor Bruce Rauner, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and several of Banks' former teammates who are in the Hall of Fame.
Following the service, the funeral procession will head south down Michigan Avenue to Randolph. It will then go south on Clark and east on Washington and pass by the Ernie Banks statue in Daley Plaza.
The procession will then take Lake Shore Drive to Belmont. At Clark Street, it will go north and makes its way to Addison and Clark and pass by the Wrigley Field marquee.
In lieu of flowers, the team is suggesting that fans make a donation in Banks' memory to Cubs Charities.
WATCH: Remembering Ernie Banks with Chicago Cubs historian Ed Hartig
