Sunday night the Chicago Cubs will host Opening Night vs. the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs will begin 2015 by honoring Hall of Famer and “Mr. Cub” Ernie Banks, who passed away at the age of 83 in January.
Ernie Banks will be honored with a pregame ceremony Sunday night and his sons, Joey and Jerry, will throw the game’s ceremonial first pitches and lead the 7th inning stretch.
The Cubs will wear a commemorative #14 patch on both their jerseys this season, and the bases used on Opening Night will be adorned with Ernie Banks tribute base jewels. The game-used bases and jerseys will be available for purchase through Cubs Authentics with proceeds going to Cubs Charities.
Each fan who attends Opening Night will receive a commemorative #14 pin. There will also be many other tributes paying homage to Ernie Banks throughout the night. The game will be nationally broadcast on ESPN.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. You can read Banks’ feature stories and op-eds in the Chicago Tribune RedEye newspaper and hear his regular guest spots on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)