9 Hall of Famers who you might have forgotten were Cardinals

Minnie Minoso

Minnie Minoso was among the most exciting players of the 1950s and was a crucial piece to the success of the Chicago White Sox during that decade. The outfielder led the American League in stolen bases in 1951, 1952 and 1953, and he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1951.

Minoso began his career in Cuba and soon signed with the New York Cubans of the Negro National League, a team that frequently signed Hispanic ballplayers to play alongside blacks. In three seasons with the Cubans, Minoso hit .313 and became the top leadoff hitter in the league in 1947.

The Cardinals had an opportunity to sign Minoso, as he had attended a tryout for the team in 1948, but the Cardinals declined to sign him. Minoso's official introduction to the major leagues came via Abe Saperstein, who was most famous for founding the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team but was also a prominent figure in Negro League baseball. Saperstein watched Minoso and recommended that the Cleveland Indians sign him, which they did. However, he spent most of his time on the bench before Cleveland swung a trade with the White Sox to send Minoso to the South Side.

Minoso became the first black player on the White Sox, and his speed and basestealing acumen enamored fans. In 1953, he became one the best hitters in the American League and had a career-high .320 average in 1954. The White Sox were not known for their power, and in 1957, Minoso became the first White Sox player to hit 100 home runs with the team.

The White Sox traded Minoso back to the Indians after 1957, and Cleveland returned him to the White Sox following the 1959 season. Though Minoso was getting on in years, he still performed well for Chicago. On Nov. 27, 1961, two days before his 38th birthday, Minoso was sent to the Cardinals for first baseman and outfielder Joe Cunningham.

Minoso joined an outfield that also contained Stan Musial and Curt Flood. After starting two games, Minoso pulled a rib muscle during batting practice and spent almost two weeks on the shelf. Then, on May 11, he suffered a frightening injury when he hit the concrete wall while going after a line drive. The incident knocked Minoso unconscious and resulted in a fractured skull as well as a broken wrist, and he was sidelined for a month.

Throughout his career, Minoso had a tendency to get plunked by pitches, leading the major leagues in that category nine times. That ended up being the nail in the coffin of his injury-plagued Cardinals tenure, as he broke his forearm after being hit by a pitch on Aug. 19, ending his season.

Minoso only managed to play 39 games for St. Louis, hitting an anemic .196 with only one home run. He returned to St. Louis for Spring Training in 1963, but the Cardinals sold his contract to the Washington Senators before the season began.

Following one more full season, Minoso returned to the White Sox for a final hurrah. After 1964, he retired from the major leagues and played in the Mexican League for eight years after that. He made two appearances in games with Chicago for publicity purposes, one at age 52 and the other at 56.

Minoso's time with the Cardinals was fraught with bumps and bruises, and he was a shadow of his former self. If the Cardinals had decided to sign him during his tryouts with the team, they might have had a fan favorite.