Negro League Béisbol exhibit a special honor for Miñoso family
By Adrian Burgos
Chicago was a Minnie Miñoso kind of town.
After all, the Cuba native truly became “Minnie,” the endearing player the fans cheered for on the South Side, where he became the charming man so many across Chicagoland got to know as a White Sox community ambassador.
That Miñoso left a mark on the White Sox franchise is without question. However, before he began his pioneering career in Major League Baseball, the man who was first known as Orestes Miñoso when he left Cuba in 1946 and starred in the Negro Leagues.
On Aug. 9, the White Sox held a special preview of Negro League Béisbol for Miñoso’s widow Sharon Rice-Miñoso and his son Charlie Rice-Miñoso. The White Sox also called on me to accompany the Miñoso family to share with them and the invited media the history of Latinos in the Negro Leagues and Minnie’s place in that history.
As Charlie noted after previewing the exhibit, which includes photos of Minnie with his children, at family birthday celebrations as well as in Disneyland, it shows “the different aspects, all the pieces that made him, him.”
Negro League Béisbol
Created by the Negro League Baseball Museum (NLBM), Negro League Béisbol is a traveling exhibit on Latinos in the Negro Leagues and also African Americans who played in Latin America. The exhibit officially opened to the public on Aug. 10. It will be on display in the Chicago Sports Depot across from Guaranteed Rate Field through Sept. 26.
Notably, Negro League Béisbol was dedicated to Minnie’s honor. This is no surprise for those who got to know Minnie. He was a dear friend to the NLBM who enthusiastically supported its mission of educating the public about the Negro Leagues.
“Minnie was such an important part of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum family, and his passing in 2015 prompted us to dedicate our acclaimed exhibit, “Negro Leagues Béisbol” to his memory,” said Bob Kendrick, the president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
“The former New York Cubans’ pioneering career made him one of the most beloved and important figures in baseball history. He dazzled us on the field with his bat and blazing speed on the base paths and he stole our hearts with an infectious smile, charm and light-up-the-room personality. He was proud of his time in the Negro Leagues and how it opened the door for him to live the American dream. We are equally proud of him and the path he blazed for others. The dedicating of this exhibit is simply our way to say, ‘thank you’ and to ensure that the legacy of Minnie Miñoso plays on,” Kendrick said.
A Special Preview
Time with the Miñoso family is always special. While baseball fans in Chicago loved Minnie the ballplayer and community ambassador, they knew Minnie the husband and father.
The preview had its intimate family moments. In seeing a display of Minnie in a Cleveland uniform, Sharon marveled at how much Charlie resembled his father, noting Charlie was about the same age as the pictured Minnie.
The preview was an opportunity for Sharon to reacquaint herself with the career of Minnie the ballplayer. As she shared before and after walking through the exhibit, she met Minnie after his playing days were over. She really got to know Minnie the man.
Following the preview, Charlie shared his impressions of the exhibit and memories of his dad with the media.
“Our dad, he was just daddy. He wasn’t a public figure at home. He was a patriarch, husband and dad. To us, that is really what we always think of first. All those memories kind of come back first, before we recognize, ‘oh wait, dad has really had an impactful career,’” Charlie said.
The exhibit powerfully shows how the Negro Leagues welcomed Miñoso and all other talented Latinos to play baseball in the United States when MLB had its color line barring blacks from participation. The focus on the impact Latinos and Afro-Latinos had in baseball was an important reminder of this history.
“It is great to see how [Miñoso’s] story is very unique, but also, too, his story is one of so many, of other Afro-Latinos who really influenced baseball not just here in the U.S. but also across the Caribbean.”
Chicago Flavor
Fans coming out to see the Negro League Beisbol exhibit will enjoy additional content telling the Chicago story of Latinos and the Negro Leagues.
The White Sox have complemented the exhibit with displays of artifacts highlighting the decades Miñoso worked with the Sox organization and lived in Chicago.
Other Chicago connections to the Negro Leagues are highlighted such as the time Chicago played host to the East-West Classic, the Negro Leagues’ all-star game. One can see uniforms from the annual Double Duty Classic held by the Sox and named in honor of Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe, a Negro League star who called Chicago home until his 2005 death.
Another case highlights the story of Latinos on the White Sox, with images and artifacts of Miñoso, Aparicio, and Abreu, among other Latinos who starred on the Sox.
Highlighting both the Negro Leagues’ and Chicago’s story of Latinos in baseball, the Negro League Beisbol exhibit powerfully captures why Chicago truly became Miñoso’s kind of town.
Featured Image: La Vida Baseball
Inset Images: La Vida Baseball