Jan. 28--The Ernie Banks statue has been returned to Chicago from Michigan, where it was being restored, and will stand in Daley Plaza from Wednesday through Saturday to honor the Cubs Hall of Famer who died last week.
The bronze statue had been undergoing regularly scheduled maintenance, which includes removing evidence of oxidation left by precipitation, Cubs spokesman Julian Green said.
The statue, which was removed last fall, was not supposed to return to Wrigley until opening day, but because the restoration work hadn't started it was shipped back. The work will be completed later, Green said.
The 7-foot statue, designed by sculptor and Cubs fan Lou Cella, was unveiled at the start of the 2008 season, but drew the ire of some fans because of a grammatical error on its base -- Banks' iconic catchphrase was written sans apostrophe and read "LETS PLAY TWO." The issue was resolved shortly after, and apparently made no difference to Banks himself.
"Even when I am no longer around, this will be here," he said, smiling, before the unveiling ceremony. "When I'm not here, I will be here!"
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