Nobody waited longer than Mr. Cub

As a boy, Peter Burchard cherished the Ernie Banks Day button he got at Wrigley Field. As an adult, Burchard, right, got several chances to meet one-on-one with Mr. Cub. Burchard gave Banks that button and a bunch of 1969 Cubs baseball cards. (Courtesy of Peter Burchard)

As one of seven boys in a family of 12, Peter Burchard says the only thing everyone could agree on was that Ernie Banks was the greatest ballplayer ever. (Courtesy of Peter Burchard)

The National League’s MVP in 1958, Cubs shortstop Ernie Banks would win the honor again in 1959. But he set one mark that remains unmatched. Banks holds the record for playing the most games without ever making it to the postseason. (File Photo)

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“The waiting,” as Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers told us long ago, “is the hardest part.”

That’s why fans of a franchise that has been waiting for another World Series championship since 1908 still find it difficult to pass the time until the October postseason begins. Which leads to this story from a fan who handed over his boyhood treasures to the Cub who holds the record for waiting.

“Ernie Banks, the greatest baseball player the world has ever known, was the only person our family collectively loved,” reads a line from an essay by Peter Burchard, 61, who grew up in a family of 12 in Des Plaines, served as village manager in Hoffman Estates and city manager in Naperville, teaches at Northern Illinois University and lives in Geneva.

Banks, anointed Mr. Cub in part because of a positive attitude that matched his Hall of Fame play, holds the MLB record for playing the most games without a postseason appearance — 2,528.

In the age of wild-card teams, Banks’ record likely will last forever. In recent years, the closest challenger to Mr. Cub was former White Sox Adam Dunn, who finished his postseason-less career 527 games behind Banks. Among active players, Seattle first-baseman Adam Lind, 33, has played the most games without seeing postseason action, and he isn’t even halfway to Banks’ record. All of which makes Banks glow even brighter in Burchard’s memories.

“I had my Ernie Banks 1969 replica jersey on,” Burchard says of his trip to Wrigley Field on the night when the Cubs celebrated their 2016 Central Division crown with a walk-off homer by catcher Miguel Montero. Burchard saw lots of Banks’ homers on TV as a kid.

His dad, Jack, who died in 2009, and his mom, Dorothy, who celebrates her 90th birthday soon, would shush their seven sons and three girls whenever Banks came to bat. But it was a trip to Wrigley Field on Aug. 15, 1964, that started a magical link to the Cubs slugger through a commemorative Ernie Banks Day button marking that day.

“I remember my dad handing me that button in Wrigley Field in 1964 like it happened five minutes ago,” says Burchard. To protect his prize from his “band of brothers,” whom Burchard says were named after saints but not above stealing such a valuable keepsake, he wore the button day and night.

“It eventually made its way to a cigar box,” says Burchard.

The button remained in a safe place until June 2, 1992, when Burchard, then village manager for Hoffman Estates, got a chance to meet Banks through a friend at a Rosemont hotel. “It was Ernie who said, ‘Let’s sit down and talk,’” Burchard says. “We had this delightful conversation.”

He showed Banks the button and the retired superstar asked if he could have it.

“That was one of the most enjoyable moments of my life, that I could return to Ernie Banks some of the joy he gave me as a kid,” Burchard says, noting he’d hand over his button again. “In a heartbeat. Let it go. This is Ernie Banks.”

Banks and Burchard teamed up for another talk later when the Hall of Famer was in Naperville on business and remembered Burchard. Banks asked about Burchard’s wife and kids, his spirituality, God and life. And Burchard broke out his collection of 1969 Cubs baseball cards to give to Banks.

“He just basked in joy looking at Billy Williams’ card,” Burchard says, remembering how Banks mumbled, “Wow! That was a good year,” as he looked over the stats on the back of his sweet-swinging teammate’s card.

Since Banks’ death in 2015, lots of fans have told similar stories about friendly chats with Mr. Cub.

“He connected with his bat on a baseball, and I think he wanted to connect heart-to-heart with people,” says Burchard, who admits to basking in his Banks’ moments. “I have exaggerated this to myself endlessly. I was his best friend. That’s what it felt like at that moment.”

For Burchard, the title of his essay came naturally: “Who Needs a World Series? We’ll Always Have Ernie.”

For the rest of us Cubs fans, we’re tired of waiting, and hoping for a championship. Or, to paraphrase Petty, we’re ready to stop “Free Fallin’” and start “Runnin’ Down a Dream.”