Chicago Cubs hall of fame Ernie Banks has passed away. Banks wife Liz Elzey, their adopted daughter and Banks’ three adult children survive him.
Mr. Cub was married three times previously before marrying his current wife in 2007. In 2008, at the age of 77, Ernie and Liz Banks adopted a baby girl born in California where the couple had a home. Banks proposed to his first wife in 1951 while serving for the United States in the Korean War. He married Mollye Ector in 1953. While the couple split in 1955, brief attempts at reconciliation failed and the couple parted ways.
In 1959, Banks met, and eloped with Eloyce Johnson, with whom he had twin sons and a daughter before the couple divorced in 1981. In 1993, Ernie Banks married Marjorie Banks, who he later divorced immediately prior to his current marriage to Liz Elzey Banks in 1997. Marjorie Banks played a pivotal role in the Marge Schott scandal, serving as part of a group who met with Major League Baseball executives in light of the racial slurs from the Cincinnati Reds owner.
The cause of Banks death is unknown, after passing away at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. A man who lived his whole life in Cubs pinstripes was never fortunate to see them win a World Series title. A young club on the brink of a run of success, Banks was at the forefront of veterans excited to see a title come to the Windy City.
Ernie Banks was 83 years old.