In the Washington Post – Minnie Minoso, White Sox and Baseball Icon, dies; President Obama joins in tributes
I have, surprisingly enough, a great Minnie Minoso story.
There was a time when you could, theoretically, get an autograph from a major leaguer simply by writing to him. It seemed to work about 25 percent of the time, though you often had to wait months for a favorable reply. All in all, I sent off probably 60-75 requests as a kid.
One day in about 1982, Minoso was among those to whom I sent a self-addressed stamped envelope containing a baseball card and a brief note of admiration. My hopeful letter went off to Chicago, and I didn’t think much of it again. High school was starting, and this sort of thing was soon to take a permanent back seat to girls, cars and rock ‘n’ roll.
I’d been a high school graduate for some months when I ran the quarter-mile down to the mailbox one day and found an envelope from the Chicago White Sox addressed to me, in my own handwriting. There was additional postage on the front, joining my old stamp.
Inside was an autographed Minnie Minoso card.
Rest in peace, Mr. Minoso. You were very, very good for baseball, very good for Chicago, very good for America.
