Minnie Minoso

Baseball legend Minnie Minoso was born Saturnino Orestes Arrieta Armas Minoso in Havana, Cuba on November 29, 1925. The outfielder and third baseman played for 17 seasons on four different teams and ended his Major League playing career in 1980.

Known as the "Cuban Comet," Minoso was the first Chicago White Sox player to break the color barrier in 1951. In his first time at bat in his White Sox debut May 1, 1951, Minoso hit a home run in a game against the New York Yankees. He finished his rookie year as the American League leader in stolen bases and triples, and led the American League in stolen bases each year from 1951 to 1953.

While with the Chicago club, Minoso ushered in the era of the "Go-Go Sox." Although he was not present for the Sox' 1959 pennant win, they gave him an honorary championship ring.

Following stints with the Indians and Senators, Minoso batted .302 in 1958 and 1959 before the Sox reacquired him in 1960, when he led the American League in hits. While he retired from baseball in 1964, the Sox brought him out of retirement in 1976. He coached for the Sox in 1976-78 and retired in 1980. The club's president named him "Mr. White Sox" before his number "9" was retired in 1983.

Minoso was a seven-time American League All Star and a three-time Gold Glove outfielder. He was elected to the Chicago Sports Hall of Fame in 1984 and the World Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990. Since his retirement from the game, he served as an ambassador for baseball and a Sox community relations representative. In 2002, he was inducted into the Shrine of the Eternals.

Minnie Minoso passed away on March 1, 2015 at the age of 89.