Minnie Minoso, long-time Chicago White Sox player and the first black player out of Latin America in the major leagues, passed away this past Sunday.

Minoso is also known as a very popular All-Star outfielder from Cuba.  While his age was never clearly known, an account in his autobiography would have him at 89 years old at the time of his death.

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His body was found in his parked car, already deceased. He was coming home from a friend's party when he felt ill and pulled over.

Minoso's son, Charlie Rice-Minoso, told the Chicago Tribune that his father had a pacemaker. This led them to believe that the cause of death was a heart ailment.

His death comes five weeks after Ernie Banks, another great black baseball player, passed away.

After his death, praise for Minoso came from a great number of people.

President Barack Obama, for instance, stated that while Minoso was overlooked by the Hall of Fame, he was an important icon for blacks and Latino young people during their generation.

Apart from the color of his skin and playing at a time when racism ran rampant, Minoso will also be remembered as the only modern major league player who played for five decades.

The feat was reached due to White Sox showman owner Bill Veeck, who brought Minoso out of retirement for three games in 1976 and two at-bats in 1980.

Throughout his career, Minoso amassed a total of 1,963 hits and 186 home runs. He also led the American League in triples three times and had a .298 average across three seasons.

In each of his three full seasons, Minoso was the league leader in stealing bases. He stole 205 in all. He remained a favorite in the eyes of Chicago fans and has a statue showing him with his trademark batting stance still standing at the White Sox ballpark.

TagsMinnie Minoso, Baseball, Latin America, first black baseball player