Today marks 70 years since the great Orestes “Minnie” Miñoso made his Chicago White Sox debut.
At the time, the Negro Leagues All-Star third baseman earned the attention of Major League Baseball after leading the New York Cubans to a Negro World Series in 1947. He was acquired by the Sox via a three-team trade with rival Cleveland Indians.
With his first appearance at Comiskey Park on May 1, 1951, Miñoso broke the franchise’s color barrier as the White Sox became the first sports organization in Chicago and sixth Major League Baseball team (four years after Jackie Robinson) to feature a Black player.