The loss of Minnie Minoso...

Some Chicago sports blog, eh?

No posts talking about the passing of Ernie Banks, the Cubs legend who had his best days in the late 50's and early 60's but was still productive when I became a fan in the late 1960's (mostly 1969).  He was never my favorite player.  I tended to like good ol' number 10 (Ron Santo) and Glenn Beckert and Fergie Jenkins.  But he was always a favorite player.  And I didn't even bother to post when he died.

No posts on the injuries to Derrick Rose and Patrick Kane.  No posts on the moves made by those teams to cover for those losses (the Bulls made no significant moves; the Hawks got the best available forward/center and a solid defenseman).

No posts on pitchers and catchers reporting.  On Kris Bryant.  On much of anything.

But I saw on the news last night that White Sox great Minnie Minoso passed away over the weekend, and it made me think about this blog.  I didn't see Minoso play; I only know that he was the first black Cuban player in the majors, and I believe that his numbers are thought to be Hall-of-Fame worthy.

But he was one of my grandmother's favorite players.

My grandmother, who died before I was even born, was a huge Sox fan.  And by "huge" I mean she liked them a lot, not that she was a large woman.  She was only about 4'11".  My grandfather was a Sox fan, also.  (He was a big fan, but he WAS also a big man -- something like 6'2")  So how did I become a Cubs fan?  Well, that's another blog entry.  Maybe some day.

Anyway, when I heard about Minoso's passing, I thought about my grandparents.  And I remembered some pictures that my grandmother took at a Sox game in 1951.  Some of the players were identified by just their first name, some by both names.  But here are those photos if you'd like to see these old Sox players and even a bit of the ballpark.  I have a few others as well.

Minnie Minoso

Lou Aloma

Chico Carrasquel (I think) (sp?)

Eddie Roberson (again, I think)(sp?)

Four old black and white photos of White Sox players from the old days. I've heard the names here and there. I don't think any of them except for Minoso were exactly "great" players (whatever that means), but they were solid players.

Rest in peace, Minnie.

*****