A monument for White Sox great Orestes “Minnie” Miñoso, who passed away on March 1, 2015, was unveiled at Chicago’s historic Graceland Cemetery during a private dedication Sunday.
Known as “Mr. White Sox,” the Cuban-born pioneer broke barriers as the first Afro-Latino major leaguer and the first Black player for the White Sox. Miñoso’s historic career earned him 13 All-Star selections, three Gold Glove Awards and a Negro Leagues World Series Championship with the New York Cubans.
In 2022, Miñoso, who was elected through the Golden Days Era committee, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Over parts of 20 seasons, ending with two at-bats in 1980, Miñoso had a slash line of .299/.387/.461 with 195 home runs, 216 stolen bases, 1,089 RBIs and 1,227 runs scored. He was a seven-time All-Star and a three-time Gold Glove winner, while topping .300 in eight seasons. But in May, with the addition of the statistics of more than 2,300 Negro Leagues ballplayers to the official record, Miñoso’s career stat lines changed to include his accomplishments with the Cubans.
His 150 hits with the Cubans from 1946-48 lift his career total over the 2,000-hit milestone to 2,113. He is one of just 294 players with at least 2,000 career hits in MLB history, per Elias Sports Bureau. Nine additional home runs give him 195 for his career, 12 more triples bring him to 95 and 29 more doubles to total 365.
“I feel that the incorporation of my dad’s Negro League statistics honors the complex and multifaceted challenges that he faced in baseball’s pre-integration era, both racially and culturally,” his son, Charlie Rice-Miñoso, told the Tribune.
“Despite the indignities and hardships my dad endured as a Black man — who also had to assimilate to a new country, learn a new language, and support his family back in Cuba — he and his Negro League colleagues rose above and were still able to excel on the only field allowed to them at the time, by no fault of their own and certainly not due to lack of talent or drive.”
“It adds much-needed context to our national pastime, as those color barriers sequentially impacted the courses of these players’ careers and lives. And, arguably, had this incorporation happened during my dad’s lifetime, one would assume he would have been inducted into Cooperstown while he was still living.”
The memorial, designed by his family and created by Mike Godzecki of Impressive Casket, is in the shape of a baseball diamond. It pays tribute to Miñoso’s many contributions to baseball and society, including:
- No. 9: Miñoso’s jersey number was retired by the White Sox in 1983
- His most well-known nicknames are etched into the memorial: “Mr. White Sox,” “Cuban Comet,” “El Charro Negro” and “The Black Cowboy”
- The emblems of the White Sox and the National Baseball Hall of Fame are also present
Miñoso’s memorial is located on the eastern side of Graceland’s Lake Willowmere and close to his friend and Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks. The pair died weeks apart in early 2015.
After retiring from baseball, Miñoso was a fixture at White Sox games, becoming a beloved favorite of young fans and a mentor for young players. The Sox retired Miñoso’s No. 9 in 1983, and a statue of him was unveiled at Guaranteed Rate Field (then U.S. Cellular Field) in 2004. Miñoso was elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in Exile in 1983 and to the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.
“At times, it’s still hard for me to wrap my head around the fact he was Chicago’s first Black major leaguer or any of his other numerous accolades,” Rice-Miñoso said.
“To my siblings and me, he was just our Dad. A humble abuelito, who loved his community and would have a chat with everyone he met. Dad loved Chicago, and the city loved him back. It meant the world to him and still does to our family.”
