HR0227LRB099 11301 MST 31897 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Saturnino Orestes Armas Minoso Arrieta, known in
3the United States as Minnie Minoso, was born in Perico, Cuba;
4his birth date is often given as having been November 29, 1925;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, After sharpening his baseball skills in Havana,
7Minnie Minoso emigrated to the United States in 1946, signing
8successively with the New York Cubans and the Cleveland
9Indians; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Grace Comiskey's team traded for Minnie Minoso on
11April 30, 1951, and on May 1, 1951, he became the first black
12player to take the field in the uniform of the Chicago White
13Sox, and the first black major leaguer in Chicago; he hit a
14home run in his first at-bat; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Minnie Minoso's play continued at a very high
16level throughout the 1951 season, leading to his finishing as a
17strong second in the balloting for 1951 Rookie of the Year
18honors; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Minnie Minoso was one of the baseball greats of
20the 1950s, named to 9 All-Star teams; he was the awardee of the
21inaugural Gold Glove Award for left field in 1957; and
 

 

 

HR0227- 2 -LRB099 11301 MST 31897 r

1    WHEREAS, Orlando Cepeda paid tribute to Minnie Minoso as
2"the Jackie Robinson for all Latinos; the first star who opened
3doors for all Latin American players. He was everybody's hero.
4I wanted to be Minoso. Clemente wanted to be Minoso."; and
 
5    WHEREAS, After his days as a full-time player ended in
61964, Minnie Minoso never abandoned his love of the game,
7becoming known as "Mr. White Sox"; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Minnie Minoso retained close ties with the Chicago
9White Sox organization and the families that had owned the
10club; his love of the game led to a unique honor being bestowed
11upon him, when he re-signed with the Chicago White Sox in 1976
12and 1980 in order to become the second player in major league
13history to wear a uniform and appear in a lineup in 5
14successive decades; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Minnie Minoso was signed to appearances with the
16St. Paul Saints in 1993 and 2003, thus becoming the only player
17in baseball history to take the field in 7 successive decades;
18and
 
19    WHEREAS, During his lifetime, Minnie Minoso was further
20honored as one of the all-time greats of the Chicago White Sox,
21with his uniform number 9 retired in 1983 and a statue of him

 

 

HR0227- 3 -LRB099 11301 MST 31897 r

1erected at U.S. Cellular Field on "Minnie Minoso Day",
2September 19, 2004; by this time, the black Cuban-American had
3become one of the last living landmarks of the integration era
4of Major League Baseball; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The ageless Minnie Minoso, a pioneer on many
6different levels of American life, passed away on March 1, 2015
7in Illinois, the state he had come to call home; therefore, be
8it
 
9    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
10NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
11mourn the death of Chicago White Sox great Saturnino Orestes
12Armas Minoso Arrieta; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
14presented Minnie Minoso's widow, Sharon Rice; to Rick Hahn, the
15General Manager of the Chicago White Sox; and to Jerry
16Reinsdorf, the Executive Chairman of the Chicago White Sox.