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Ernie Banks was so beloved and respected that even fans of the Cubs’ biggest rival, the St. Louis Cardinals, respect the class and work ethic Banks represented.

You have to love when a player earns that kind of respect. Stan Musial had the same reputation among the Cardinals' opponents (I should have included Musial in the aforesaid list of players with skill and class!); Sandy Koufax had the same rep among the Dodgers' opponents; Hank Aaron among Braves' opponents.

A story about Koufax I still love: Thirty-five years after Koufax beat the Cubs' Bob Hendley in a perfect game that might have featured Hendley with a no-hitter on its backside (the only Dodger run of the game scored without a hit; the only Dodger hit was stranded on base), Hendley was surprised to receive a small package: a 1965 National League baseball inscribed "What a game!!" with a note attached: We had a night, a moment, a career. I hope life has been good to you. Sandy.

It happened after one of Hendley's sons saw a newspaper clipping commemorating the game and sent it to Koufax, only to have Koufax return it autographed with a note: "Say hello to your father for me."

Hendley to this day will tell anyone who asks how it felt to lose that game, "It's no disgrace to be beaten by class."

A story about Koufax I still love

My son’s future father-in-law stayed in a place in Monterey - a cabin. He was in his late 40’s, and all the nearby cabins were filled with college kids, partying. The next day, he went to the office, asking for a different spot. “We have one left, up on the hill. There is only one other cabin up there, but the guy values his privacy, so you have to leave him alone”. “Done deal” came his reply.

Two days later, he was loading up his car, cleaning the windshield, checking the oil, etc., to prepare for departure. The guy next door was doing pretty much the same thing. He looked over, and was taken aback. Finally, he couldn’t resist, and said “Hey Sandy, I really enjoyed watching you pitch”. Koufax was humbled by the remark, and they ended up chatting for a few minutes :)