We continue Hall of Fame week with another player who started in the Negro Leagues and transcended the game to join baseball's immortals. Like Buck O'Neil, I only had one card of Minnie Minoso, so I had to fill out my Top 5 with cards I thought were cool. Here they are in chronological order:
1955 Bowman #25
You don't often see cards of players in a bunting pose, and it's especially unusual to see the bat being held further back like this. I don't know how well this worked, but Minnie was one of the key members of the "Go-Go Sox" teams of the 50's. I'm sure he had more than his fair share of bunt singles!
1977 Topps #232 (RB)
This is the one Minnie Minoso card I own. Minoso's age has always been in question. At the time of his historic hit, his age could have been anywhere from 50-53. Regardless of his age at the time, this record isn't accurate. (In 1934, St. Louis Browns' Charley O'Leary recorded a hit at 58 years of age!) Minoso was still in good shape and would later take more at-bats in 1980, becoming just the second guy ever to appear in a game in 5 separate decades.
1993 Action Packed All-Star Gallery #37
What a great photo! After Cleveland traded Minoso to Chicago, he endeared himself to White Sox fans right away by hitting a home run in his first at bat with the team! That day was already historic since Minoso became the first black ballplayer to play for the White Sox!
2003 Topps Heritage - Then And Now #TN6
Now here's one for the want list! Minoso led the league in triples 4 times, and held the stolen base title 3 times. That is one fast player!
2020 Dreams Fulfilled Negro League Legends #120
One of the cool things about MLB recently deciding to include Negro League stats as Major league stats is how it makes certain players better in hindsight. For example, Minoso went from being a 9 time All-Star to a 13 time honoree, and his Baseball-Reference page now has a banner celebrating his 1947 Negro League World Series Championship.
Welcome to the Hall of Fame, Minnie Minoso! This is an honor long overdue!
That 55B is awesome! That would be a cool card to own. The other one that's on my watch list is his 56T card.
ReplyDeleteThat 56 Topps of Miñoso was, happily, one of the cards I got from my uncle when I was a kid. It's a real beaut and I'm very lucky to have it.
DeleteThat RB card is the only Minoso I have, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm fortunate to have the '54 Bowman and '56 Topps Minosos. I like that Negro League Legends one a lot.
ReplyDeleteMinnie once said that he would lead the league in triples & a reporter ask how do you know that Minnie replying Me know So
ReplyDeleteMinoso tainted his reputation by participating in frequent "reactivation" sideshows, just so the number of decades he played was bogusly inflated.
ReplyDeleteI lost a lot of respect for him because of that. He should have respected the game enough to decline whoever thought that would be a "fun" idea.