From Ernie to today, lifetime of memories

When my son was about 7 years old, we used to go to many Cubs games because they were much more affordable. My son was very interested in getting autographs, so we made an extra effort to get as many as we could, as it was easier to do this at that time.

I am nearly 80 years old and went to my first Cubs game in 1953, the year that Ernie Banks started his great career with the Cubs.

One game in the fall in the mid 1970s, we saw Ernie sitting in the stands not far from us. I told my son to walk over and ask him for an autograph but don't tie up too much of his time. He walked over to Ernie, asked him to sign his score card, and Ernie was so nice that he spent about 5 minutes talking to my son, looking at his score card, and telling him how nice a job he did with the card and asking him about why he was a Cub fan. What a memory for both of us. We still talk about it to this day. Ernie was a very good person and he went way out of his way to make my son happy.

Also in 2016, we were fortunate to go to Game 5 of the World Series. My son, daughter and I all went to the game together, and I cannot begin to tell you what a thrill this was. I have never been so excited in my entire life. The excitement at Wrigley was greater than any I had previously experienced. After the game when I got home and was telling to my wife about it, I actually started to cry.

Fred Gruber

Streamwood