df_m_sports_2_para: 1

This data as json

rowid	first_name	last_name	gender	career_sec	personal_sec	info	seed_first_name	seed_last_name	occupation
1	Jeffrey	Randall	m	Banks signed with the Chicago Cubs in late 1953, making his major league debut on September 17 at age 22 and playing in 10 games at Wrigley Field. He was the Cubs' first black player; he became one of several former Negro league players who joined MLB teams without playing in the minor leagues. Larry Moffi and Jonathan Kronstadt wrote that he "just was not the crusading type. He was so grateful to be playing baseball for a living, he did not have time to change the world, and if that meant some people called him an Uncle Tom, well, so be it." During his first game for the Cubs, Banks received a visit from Jackie Robinson that influenced his quiet presence in baseball. Robinson told Banks, "Ernie, I'm glad to see you're up here so now just listen and learn ... For years, I didn't talk and learned a lot about people". Later, when Banks felt like becoming more vocal, he discussed the issue with teammate Billy Williams, who advised him to remain quiet. Williams drew the analogy of fish that are caught once they open their mouths. Banks said, "I kept my mouth shut but tried to make a difference. My whole life, I've just wanted to make people better". In 1954, Banks' double play partner during his official rookie season was Gene Baker, the Cubs' second black player. Banks and Baker roomed together on road trips and became the first all-black double-play combination in major league history. When Steve Bilko played first base, Cubs announcer Bert Wilson referred to the Banks-Baker-Bilko double play combination as "Bingo to Bango to Bilko". Banks hit 19 home runs and finished second to Wally Moon in Rookie of the Year voting. Banks participated in a trend toward lighter baseball bats after he accidentally picked up a teammate's bat and liked that it was easy to generate bat speed. In 1955, Banks hit 44 home runs, had 117 RBI and batted .295. He played and was the starting NL shortstop in his first of 13 All-Star Games that season. His home run total was a single-season record among shortstops. He also set a 30-year record of five single-season grand slam home runs. Banks finished third in 1955 in the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting, behind Roy Campanella and Duke Snider. The Cubs finished with a 72–81 win-loss record, winning 29 of 77 road games. In 1956, Banks missed 18 games due to a hand infection, breaking his run of 424 consecutive games played. He finished the season with 28 home runs, 85 RBIs, and a .297 batting average. He made the All-Star selection as a reserve player but did not play in the game. In 1957, Banks finished the season with 43 home runs, 102 RBI, and a .285 batting average. In 1958 and 1959, Banks became the first NL player to be awarded back-to-back MVP Awards, leading the league in RBI in both those seasons (with 129 and 143, respectively) . Banks hit a major-league-leading 47 home runs in 1958, while batting .313, third best in the NL. The following year, he hit .304 with 45 home runs. In 1959, the Cubs came the closest to a winning season since Banks' arrival, finishing with a 74–80 record. Banks had a small role in an unusual play on June 30, 1959, when the St. Louis Cardinals played the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Stan Musial was at the plate facing Bob Anderson with a count of 3–1. Anderson's next pitch was errant, the ball evaded catcher Sammy Taylor and rolled all the way to the backstop. Umpire Vic Delmore called "ball four", but Anderson and Taylor contended that Musial foul tipped the ball. Because the ball was still in play and Delmore was embroiled in an argument with Anderson and Taylor, Musial tried to run for second base. Seeing that Musial was running to second, third baseman Alvin Dark ran to the backstop to retrieve the ball. The ball wound up in the hands of field announcer Pat Pieper, but Dark ended up getting it back anyway. Absentmindedly, however, Delmore pulled out a new baseball and gave it to Taylor. When Anderson noticed that Musial was trying for second, he took the new ball from Sammy Taylor and threw it towards Tony Taylor covering second base, and the ball went over Taylor's head into the outfield. At the same time that Anderson threw the new ball towards second baseman Taylor, Dark threw the original ball to shortstop Ernie Banks. Musial did not see the throw and he was declared out when the tag was made. In 1960, Banks hit a major league and NL-leading 41 HR, had 117 RBI, and led the NL in games played for the sixth time in seven years. He was also the first Cubs player to receive an annual NL Gold Glove award (for shortstop). On the eve of the 1960 World Series, Joe Reichler, a writer for the Associated Press, reported that the Milwaukee Braves were prepared to pay cash and trade pitchers Joey Jay, Carlton Willey and Don Nottebart, outfielder Billy Bruton, shortstop Johnny Logan and first baseman Frank Torre in exchange for Banks from the Cubs. In 1961, Banks experienced problems with a knee injury he had acquired while in the army. After 717 consecutive games, he removed himself from the Cubs lineup for at least four games, ending his pursuit of the record for playing in the most consecutive NL games of 895 games set by Stan Musial. In May, the Cubs announced that Jerry Kindall would replace Banks at shortstop and that Banks would move to left field. Banks later said, "Only a duck out of water could have shared my loneliness in left field". Banks credited center fielder Richie Ashburn with helping him learn to play left field; in 23 games Banks committed only one error. In June, he was moved to first base, learning that position from former first baseman and Cubs coach Charlie Grimm. He was not selected to be an All-Star for the first of two All-Star games that season since 1959, when MLB started having two All-Star Games per season through 1962, but was selected as a reserve player. Banks was a pinch hitter in the second All-Star game. The Cubs began playing under the College of Coaches in 1961, a system in which decisions were made by a group of 12 coaches rather than by one manager. By the 1962 season, Banks hoped to return to shortstop but the College of Coaches had determined that he would remain at first base indefinitely. In May 1962, Banks was hit in the head by a fastball from former Cubs pitcher Moe Drabowsky and was taken off the field unconscious. He sustained a concussion, spent two nights in a hospital, sat out a Monday game, and hit three home runs and a double on Tuesday. In May 1963, Banks set a single-game record of 22 putouts by a first baseman. However, he caught mumps that year and finished the season with 18 home runs, 64 RBI, and a .227 batting average. Despite Banks' struggles that season, the Cubs had their first winning record since the 1940s. Banks, following his doctor's orders, avoided his usual off-season participation in handball and basketball, and began the 1964 season weighing seven pounds (3.2 kg) more than the previous year. In February, Cubs second baseman Ken Hubbs was killed in an airplane crash. Banks finished the season with 23 home runs, 95 RBI, and a .264 batting average. The Cubs finished in eighth place in 1964, losing over $315,000. In 1965, Banks hit 28 home runs, had 107 RBI, a .265 batting average, and played and started at first base in the All-Star Game. On September 2, he hit his 400th home run. The Cubs finished the season with a baseball operations deficit of $1.2 million, though this was largely offset by television and radio revenue, and the rental of Wrigley Field to the Chicago Bears football team. The Cubs hired Leo Durocher as manager in 1966, hoping he could inspire renewed interest in the team's fan base. Banks hit only 15 home runs; Cubs finished the 1966 season in last place with a 59–103 win-loss record, the worst season of Durocher's career. From the time Durocher arrived in Chicago, he was frustrated at his inability to trade or bench the aging Banks. In Durocher's autobiography, he says: Banks said of Durocher, "I wish there had been someone around like him early in my career ... He's made me go for that little extra needed to win". Durocher served as Cubs manager until mid-1972, the season after Banks retired. In his memoir Mr. Cub, published around the time that Banks retired, Banks said too much had been made of the racial implications in his relationship with Durocher: The Cubs appointed Banks a player-coach for the 1967 season. Banks competed with John Boccabella for a starting position at first base. Shortly after, Durocher named Banks the outright starter at first base. Banks hit 23 home runs and drove in 95 runs, and went to the All-Star Game that year. After the 1967 season, an article in Ebony said Banks was not thought to have made more than $65,000 (equal to $498,398 today) in any season. He had received a pay increase from $33,000 to $50,000 between his MVP seasons in 1958 and 1959, but Ebony said several MLB players were making $100,000 at the time. Banks won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 1968, an honor recognizing playing ability and personal character. The 37-year-old Banks hit 32 home runs, had 83 RBI, and finished that season with a .246 batting average. In 1969, he came the closest to helping the Cubs win the NL pennant; the Cubs fell from first place after holding an 8 1⁄2-game lead in August. Banks made his 11th and final All-Star season appearance as a pinch hitter; it was his 14th All-Star Game appearance overall. Banks hit his 500th home run on May 12, 1970, at Chicago's Wrigley Field. On December 1, 1971, Banks retired as a player but continued to coach for the Cubs until 1973. He was an instructor in the minor leagues for the next three seasons and also worked in the Cubs' front office. Banks finished his career with 512 home runs; his 277 home runs as a shortstop were a career record at the time of his retirement. (Cal Ripken, Jr now holds the record for most home runs as a shortstop with 345.) Banks holds Cubs records for games played (2,528), at-bats (9,421), extra-base hits (1,009) and total bases (4,706). Banks also excelled as an infielder; he won an NL Gold Glove Award for shortstop in 1960. He led the NL in putouts five times and was the NL leader in fielding percentage as shortstop three times, and once as first baseman. Banks holds the major league record for most games played without a postseason appearance (2,528). In his memoir, citing his fondness for the Cubs and owner Philip K. Wrigley, Banks said he did not regret signing with the Cubs rather than one of the more successful baseball franchises. Banks' popularity and positive attitude led to the nicknames "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine". Banks was known for his catchphrase, "It's a beautiful day for a ballgame ... Let's play two!", expressing his wish to play a doubleheader every day out of his love of baseball.	In 1953, after returning from military service in Germany, Banks married his first wife Mollye Ector. He proposed to her in a letter from Germany. Although he filed for divorce two years later, the couple briefly reconciled in early 1959. By that summer, they agreed on a divorce settlement that would pay $65,000 to Ector in lieu of alimony. Shortly thereafter, Banks eloped with Eloyce Johnson. The couple had twin sons within a year and a daughter four years after that. Ector filed suit against Banks in 1963 for failure to make payments on a life insurance policy agreed upon in their divorce settlement. Banks was a lifelong Republican – and he also once stated that "I'm not goin' anywhere I'm not wanted" – prompting critics to claim that he was "soft" on Jim Crow; he ran for alderman in Chicago in 1963. He ran in the 8th Ward against Democratic incumbent James A. Condon. In the Feb. 26 primary, Banks finished a distant third, garnering just 12% of the vote (Condon won re-election with 55%; Gerald Gibbons drew 25%). He later said, "People knew me only as a baseball player. They didn't think I qualified as a government official and no matter what I did I couldn't change my image ... What I learned, was that it was going to be hard for me to disengage myself from my baseball life and I would have to compensate for it after my playing days were over." Banks endorsed George W. Bush for president in 2004. In 1966, Banks worked for Seaway National Bank in the off-season and enrolled in a banking correspondence course. He bought into several business ventures, including a gas station, during his playing career. Though he had been paid modestly in comparison to other baseball stars, Banks had taken the advice of Wrigley and invested much of his earnings. He later spent time working for an insurance company and for New World Van Lines. Banks began building assets that would be worth an estimated $4 million by the time he was 55 years old. Banks and Bob Nelson became the first black owners of a U.S. Ford Motor Company dealership in 1967, Ernie Banks Ford on Chicago's south side. Nelson had been the first non-white commissioned officer in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II; he operated an import car dealership before the venture with Banks. Banks was appointed to the board of directors of the Chicago Transit Authority in 1969. On a trip to Europe, Banks visited the Pope, who presented him with a medal that became a proud possession. Banks was divorced from Eloyce in 1981. She received several valuable items from his playing career as part of their divorce settlement, including his 500th home run ball. She sold the items not long after the divorce. He remarried in 1984. In 1993, his third wife Marjorie was part of a group that met with MLB executives to discuss race relations in baseball after allegations of racial slurs surfaced against Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott. Banks married Liz Ellzey in 1997 and Hank Aaron served as his best man. In late 2008, Banks and Ellzey adopted an infant daughter. Banks's nephew, Bob Johnson, was a major league catcher and first baseman for the Texas Rangers between 1981 and 1983. His great nephew, Acie Law, is a professional basketball player who attended Texas A&M University before playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA).	Randall signed with the Chicago Cubs in late 1953, making his major league debut on September 17 at age 22 and playing in 10 games at Wrigley Field. He was the Cubs' first black player; he became one of several former Negro league players who joined MLB teams without playing in the minor leagues. Larry Moffi and Jonathan Kronstadt wrote that he "just was not the crusading type. He was so grateful to be playing baseball for a living, he did not have time to change the world, and if that meant some people called him an Uncle Tom, well, so be it." During his first game for the Cubs, Randall received a visit from Jackie Robinson that influenced his quiet presence in baseball. Robinson told Randall, "Jeffrey, I'm glad to see you're up here so now just listen and learn ... For years, I didn't talk and learned a lot about people". Later, when Randall felt like becoming more vocal, he discussed the issue with teammate Billy Williams, who advised him to remain quiet. Williams drew the analogy of fish that are caught once they open their mouths. Randall said, "I kept my mouth shut but tried to make a difference. My whole life, I've just wanted to make people better". In 1954, Randall' double play partner during his official rookie season was Gene Baker, the Cubs' second black player. Randall and Baker roomed together on road trips and became the first all-black double-play combination in major league history. When Steve Bilko played first base, Cubs announcer Bert Wilson referred to the Randall-Baker-Bilko double play combination as "Bingo to Bango to Bilko". Randall hit 19 home runs and finished second to Wally Moon in Rookie of the Year voting. Randall participated in a trend toward lighter baseball bats after he accidentally picked up a teammate's bat and liked that it was easy to generate bat speed. In 1955, Randall hit 44 home runs, had 117 RBI and batted .295. He played and was the starting NL shortstop in his first of 13 All-Star Games that season. His home run total was a single-season record among shortstops. He also set a 30-year record of five single-season grand slam home runs. Randall finished third in 1955 in the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting, behind Roy Campanella and Duke Snider. The Cubs finished with a 72–81 win-loss record, winning 29 of 77 road games. In 1956, Randall missed 18 games due to a hand infection, breaking his run of 424 consecutive games played. He finished the season with 28 home runs, 85 RBIs, and a .297 batting average. He made the All-Star selection as a reserve player but did not play in the game. In 1957, Randall finished the season with 43 home runs, 102 RBI, and a .285 batting average. In 1958 and 1959, Randall became the first NL player to be awarded back-to-back MVP Awards, leading the league in RBI in both those seasons (with 129 and 143, respectively) . Randall hit a major-league-leading 47 home runs in 1958, while batting .313, third best in the NL. The following year, he hit .304 with 45 home runs. In 1959, the Cubs came the closest to a winning season since Randall' arrival, finishing with a 74–80 record. Randall had a small role in an unusual play on June 30, 1959, when the St. Louis Cardinals played the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Stan Musial was at the plate facing Bob Anderson with a count of 3–1. Anderson's next pitch was errant, the ball evaded catcher Sammy Taylor and rolled all the way to the backstop. Umpire Vic Delmore called "ball four", but Anderson and Taylor contended that Musial foul tipped the ball. Because the ball was still in play and Delmore was embroiled in an argument with Anderson and Taylor, Musial tried to run for second base. Seeing that Musial was running to second, third baseman Alvin Dark ran to the backstop to retrieve the ball. The ball wound up in the hands of field announcer Pat Pieper, but Dark ended up getting it back anyway. Absentmindedly, however, Delmore pulled out a new baseball and gave it to Taylor. When Anderson noticed that Musial was trying for second, he took the new ball from Sammy Taylor and threw it towards Tony Taylor covering second base, and the ball went over Taylor's head into the outfield. At the same time that Anderson threw the new ball towards second baseman Taylor, Dark threw the original ball to shortstop Jeffrey Randall. Musial did not see the throw and he was declared out when the tag was made. In 1960, Randall hit a major league and NL-leading 41 HR, had 117 RBI, and led the NL in games played for the sixth time in seven years. He was also the first Cubs player to receive an annual NL Gold Glove award (for shortstop). On the eve of the 1960 World Series, Joe Reichler, a writer for the Associated Press, reported that the Milwaukee Braves were prepared to pay cash and trade pitchers Joey Jay, Carlton Willey and Don Nottebart, outfielder Billy Bruton, shortstop Johnny Logan and first baseman Frank Torre in exchange for Randall from the Cubs. In 1961, Randall experienced problems with a knee injury he had acquired while in the army. After 717 consecutive games, he removed himself from the Cubs lineup for at least four games, ending his pursuit of the record for playing in the most consecutive NL games of 895 games set by Stan Musial. In May, the Cubs announced that Jerry Kindall would replace Randall at shortstop and that Randall would move to left field. Randall later said, "Only a duck out of water could have shared my loneliness in left field". Randall credited center fielder Richie Ashburn with helping him learn to play left field; in 23 games Randall committed only one error. In June, he was moved to first base, learning that position from former first baseman and Cubs coach Charlie Grimm. He was not selected to be an All-Star for the first of two All-Star games that season since 1959, when MLB started having two All-Star Games per season through 1962, but was selected as a reserve player. Randall was a pinch hitter in the second All-Star game. The Cubs began playing under the College of Coaches in 1961, a system in which decisions were made by a group of 12 coaches rather than by one manager. By the 1962 season, Randall hoped to return to shortstop but the College of Coaches had determined that he would remain at first base indefinitely. In May 1962, Randall was hit in the head by a fastball from former Cubs pitcher Moe Drabowsky and was taken off the field unconscious. He sustained a concussion, spent two nights in a hospital, sat out a Monday game, and hit three home runs and a double on Tuesday. In May 1963, Randall set a single-game record of 22 putouts by a first baseman. However, he caught mumps that year and finished the season with 18 home runs, 64 RBI, and a .227 batting average. Despite Randall' struggles that season, the Cubs had their first winning record since the 1940s. Randall, following his doctor's orders, avoided his usual off-season participation in handball and basketball, and began the 1964 season weighing seven pounds (3.2 kg) more than the previous year. In February, Cubs second baseman Ken Hubbs was killed in an airplane crash. Randall finished the season with 23 home runs, 95 RBI, and a .264 batting average. The Cubs finished in eighth place in 1964, losing over $315,000. In 1965, Randall hit 28 home runs, had 107 RBI, a .265 batting average, and played and started at first base in the All-Star Game. On September 2, he hit his 400th home run. The Cubs finished the season with a baseball operations deficit of $1.2 million, though this was largely offset by television and radio revenue, and the rental of Wrigley Field to the Chicago Bears football team. The Cubs hired Leo Durocher as manager in 1966, hoping he could inspire renewed interest in the team's fan base. Randall hit only 15 home runs; Cubs finished the 1966 season in last place with a 59–103 win-loss record, the worst season of Durocher's career. From the time Durocher arrived in Chicago, he was frustrated at his inability to trade or bench the aging Randall. In Durocher's autobiography, he says: Randall said of Durocher, "I wish there had been someone around like him early in my career ... He's made me go for that little extra needed to win". Durocher served as Cubs manager until mid-1972, the season after Randall retired. In his memoir Mr. Cub, published around the time that Randall retired, Randall said too much had been made of the racial implications in his relationship with Durocher: The Cubs appointed Randall a player-coach for the 1967 season. Randall competed with John Boccabella for a starting position at first base. Shortly after, Durocher named Randall the outright starter at first base. Randall hit 23 home runs and drove in 95 runs, and went to the All-Star Game that year. After the 1967 season, an article in Ebony said Randall was not thought to have made more than $65,000 (equal to $498,398 today) in any season. He had received a pay increase from $33,000 to $50,000 between his MVP seasons in 1958 and 1959, but Ebony said several MLB players were making $100,000 at the time. Randall won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 1968, an honor recognizing playing ability and personal character. The 37-year-old Randall hit 32 home runs, had 83 RBI, and finished that season with a .246 batting average. In 1969, he came the closest to helping the Cubs win the NL pennant; the Cubs fell from first place after holding an 8 1⁄2-game lead in August. Randall made his 11th and final All-Star season appearance as a pinch hitter; it was his 14th All-Star Game appearance overall. Randall hit his 500th home run on May 12, 1970, at Chicago's Wrigley Field. On December 1, 1971, Randall retired as a player but continued to coach for the Cubs until 1973. He was an instructor in the minor leagues for the next three seasons and also worked in the Cubs' front office. Randall finished his career with 512 home runs; his 277 home runs as a shortstop were a career record at the time of his retirement. (Cal Ripken, Jr now holds the record for most home runs as a shortstop with 345.) Randall holds Cubs records for games played (2,528), at-bats (9,421), extra-base hits (1,009) and total bases (4,706). Randall also excelled as an infielder; he won an NL Gold Glove Award for shortstop in 1960. He led the NL in putouts five times and was the NL leader in fielding percentage as shortstop three times, and once as first baseman. Randall holds the major league record for most games played without a postseason appearance (2,528). In his memoir, citing his fondness for the Cubs and owner Philip K. Wrigley, Randall said he did not regret signing with the Cubs rather than one of the more successful baseball franchises. Randall' popularity and positive attitude led to the nicknames "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine". Randall was known for his catchphrase, "It's a beautiful day for a ballgame ... Let's play two!", expressing his wish to play a doubleheader every day out of his love of baseball.In 1953, after returning from military service in Germany, Randall married his first wife Mollye Ector. He proposed to her in a letter from Germany. Although he filed for divorce two years later, the couple briefly reconciled in early 1959. By that summer, they agreed on a divorce settlement that would pay $65,000 to Ector in lieu of alimony. Shortly thereafter, Randall eloped with Eloyce Johnson. The couple had twin sons within a year and a daughter four years after that. Ector filed suit against Randall in 1963 for failure to make payments on a life insurance policy agreed upon in their divorce settlement. Randall was a lifelong Republican – and he also once stated that "I'm not goin' anywhere I'm not wanted" – prompting critics to claim that he was "soft" on Jim Crow; he ran for alderman in Chicago in 1963. He ran in the 8th Ward against Democratic incumbent James A. Condon. In the Feb. 26 primary, Randall finished a distant third, garnering just 12% of the vote (Condon won re-election with 55%; Gerald Gibbons drew 25%). He later said, "People knew me only as a baseball player. They didn't think I qualified as a government official and no matter what I did I couldn't change my image ... What I learned, was that it was going to be hard for me to disengage myself from my baseball life and I would have to compensate for it after my playing days were over." Randall endorsed George W. Bush for president in 2004. In 1966, Randall worked for Seaway National Bank in the off-season and enrolled in a banking correspondence course. He bought into several business ventures, including a gas station, during his playing career. Though he had been paid modestly in comparison to other baseball stars, Randall had taken the advice of Wrigley and invested much of his earnings. He later spent time working for an insurance company and for New World Van Lines. Randall began building assets that would be worth an estimated $4 million by the time he was 55 years old. Randall and Bob Nelson became the first black owners of a U.S. Ford Motor Company dealership in 1967, Jeffrey Randall Ford on Chicago's south side. Nelson had been the first non-white commissioned officer in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II; he operated an import car dealership before the venture with Randall. Randall was appointed to the board of directors of the Chicago Transit Authority in 1969. On a trip to Europe, Randall visited the Pope, who presented him with a medal that became a proud possession. Randall was divorced from Eloyce in 1981. She received several valuable items from his playing career as part of their divorce settlement, including his 500th home run ball. She sold the items not long after the divorce. He remarried in 1984. In 1993, his third wife Marjorie was part of a group that met with MLB executives to discuss race relations in baseball after allegations of racial slurs surfaced against Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott. Randall married Liz Ellzey in 1997 and Hank Aaron served as his best man. In late 2008, Randall and Ellzey adopted an infant daughter. Randall's nephew, Bob Johnson, was a major league catcher and first baseman for the Texas Rangers between 1981 and 1983. His great nephew, Acie Law, is a professional basketball player who attended Texas A&M University before playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA).	Ernie	Banks	sports