Mr. Cub

My father's favorite player growing up was Ernie Banks.  He would never hesitate to tell you that he was a fantastic player, a gentleman, and a great ambassador for the Cubs and baseball in general.  How he could maintain a positive attitude despite playing for the lovable losers and never even coming close to sniffing a world series championship, I will never know.  Many younger fans don't understand the hardships that he had to come up through, playing with the KC Monarchs and serving in the military.

Mr. Cub was also the favorite player of my uncle.  I never saw him so animated as when he talked about the Cubs, and particularly about Ernie Banks.

I had a chance to pick up this gorgeous card at TriStar Houston in the spring of 2018.  I love the rounded corners and well loved edges.  But the presentation was perfect.  The center was dead on with the weird 1954 borders, and the smile just does it for me.  It didn't break the bank, but it was a very meaningful purchase that will never leave my collection.