\u00a0Noun- a container or shrine in which sacred relics are kept and displayed for veneration<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

How do I describe the Baseball Reliquary?\u00a0 It\u2019s really not a place.\u00a0 While its \u201chome\u201d is in the state of California (Pasadena), the Reliquary really resides more in the heart of its founders, honorees and members \u2013 who take joy in celebrating the character and characters of our national pastime. \u00a0The Reliquary leads that joyful (often irreverent) celebration through its Shrine of the Eternals, its collection of historic artifacts, and its traveling exhibitions.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Shrine of the Eternals<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>is the Reliquary\u2019s best-known element and its honorees include (among others) a one-armed major league outfielder, a pitcher who once threw a no-hitter while high on LSD, a team owner who sent a midget to the plate, a man in a chicken suit, a member of Major League Baseball\u2019s 3,000-hit club, a manager who won eight World Championships, a noted surgeon, a labor leader, more than one best-selling author, a statistical wizard and even the sports editor of the\u00a0Daily Worker\u00a0(American Communist Party newspaper).The honorees are each unique in their role in \u2013 and contributions to –\u00a0\u00a0 the national pastime, but they all share the distinction of having made a significant impact on the game.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Baseball Reliquary\u2019s Collection<\/b><\/span>\u00a0of what BBRT would term \u201cart-ifacts\u201dis as diverse as its Shrine honorees.\u00a0 The collection includes (but is \u201coh-so not limited\u201d to) the Walter O\u2019Malley Tortilla, the Roger Bresnahan Potato, the Eddie Gaedel Jock Strap,\u00a0 a Babe Ruth cigar, a Mother Teresa autographed baseball (a whole case actually), a heat-twisted 45-rpm record from the White Sox\u2019 ill-fated Disco Demolition Night, and a piece of flesh from Abner Doubleday\u2019s inner thigh.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Baseball Reliquary\u2019s Traveling Exhibits<\/b><\/span>\u00a0have included baseball art, photography and literature; and have covered such varied topics as Latino baseball history, baseball in foreign policy, baseball literature and even the self-defining \u201cLasordapalooza.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

So, back to the question, \u201cHow would I describe the Baseball Reliquary?\u201d\u00a0 If I had to put it in 25 words or less, \u201cThe Baseball Reliquary is the Mardi Gras of our national pastime \u2013 a free-spirited celebration of the human side of baseball\u2019s history and heritage.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Do I have your attention?\u00a0\u00a0 If so, continue on\u00a0 for the full (and FUN) story of\u00a0the Baseball Reliquary \u2013 and how you can become one of its card-carrying members.<\/p>\n

$\"The$ <\/a>
The Baseball Reliquary’s founder and Executive Director Terry Cannon says establishing this unique tribute to the character and characters of the game was both “a calling and a challenge.”<\/p><\/div>\n
The Reliquary was born out of its Executive Director Terry Cannon\u2019s passion for history, art, culture and baseball \u2013 and it brings them all together in its approach to our national pastime.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo of the great passions in my life have been baseball and art,\u201d Cannon told BBRT in a recent interview, \u201cand I always thought it would be interesting to create an organization that would marry these two seemingly disparate, but actually very inter-connected mediums.\u201d<\/p>\n
That explains the Reliquary\u2019s ties to the world of art and culture, but what about the touch of wry irreverence that seems to be part of the Reliquary\u2019s basic essence? \u00a0Multiple MLB team owner Bill Veeck, Jr. (unknowingly) played a role in that development.<\/p>\n
Detroit-born (1953), Cannon\u2019s passion for baseball began as a boy and his \u201cfeel\u201d for the game was shaped when, at age nine, he read \u201cVeeck \u2013 as in Wreck\u201d \u2013 an account of the baseball life of one of the game\u2019s true rebels and rabble-rousers.\u00a0 Like most of the Shrine of the Eternals’ honorees (and Veeck is one), Veeck combined personality and principles, an anti-establishment point of view and a commitment to innovation, as he strove to enliven the game.\u00a0 Cannon recalls the Veeck saga fondly.<\/p>\n
\u201cReading \u2018Veeck\u2019 at a young age had a profound effect on me, not only in terms of my thoughts on baseball, but also in the way I viewed the world around me,\u201d Cannon said. \u201cI\u2019ve always had a sort of anti-establishment perspective and enjoy getting under the skin of the stuffed shirts whenever the opportunity avails itself, just as Veeck did. That first chapter in Veeck\u2019s book, which covers the Eddie Gaedel caper \u2013 A Can of Beer, a Slice of Cake \u2013 and Thou, Eddie Gaedel<\/i> \u2013 is, in my opinion, one of the finest pieces ever written on baseball. It set me on a path which resulted in the creation of the Baseball Reliquary.\u00a0 It\u2019s all in that one chapter \u2013 the history, the showmanship, the humor, the exploration of the national pastime\u2019s creative possibilities, the critique of the establishment \u2013 and these traits would all become hallmarks of the Reliquary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cannon, who refers to the task of establishing the Reliquary as \u201ca calling and a challenge,\u201d was well suited for the undertaking.\u00a0 He had previously (in the 1970s) founded the low-budget, non-profit Pasadena Film Forum (and served as its executive director for many years), so he was used to combining the methodical work of starting a new organization from the ground up with the more free-wheeling approach of the art world.\u00a0 His subsequent work in the publishing field and libraries also proved beneficial.<\/p>\n
\u201cI currently work part-time as a library assistant for the Allendale Branch of the Pasadena Public Library,\u201d he said. \u00a0\u201cIt fits very nicely with the Baseball Reliquary, since most of our exhibitions and programs are free of charge and held in public libraries.\u00a0 That\u2019s been kind of a niche for the Reliquary, since we don\u2019t have a brick-and-mortar home.\u201d<\/p>\n
From this perspective, commitment and experience sprang The Baseball Reliquary \u2013 which continues its \u201cwork\u201d with support from memberships, donations and grants from various arts and cultural organizations (particularly the Los Angeles County Arts Commission).<\/p>\n
The Baseball Reliquary \u201cShrine of the Eternals\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
The Shrine of the Eternals has often been characterized as the \u201cFans\u2019 Hall of Fame\u201d and there is truth in that observation.\u00a0 The Shrine is an answer to baseball\u2019s need for a place to go beyond statistics and on-field performance and recognize the human side of the game – to honor baseball\u2019s finest stories and most storied characters.\u00a0 Whereas Cooperstown is a statistics-driven election process conducted by a select few voters, voting for electees to the Shrine of the Eternals is open to all Baseball Reliquary members (Go to http:\/\/www.baseballreliquary.org\/membership.htm<\/a> to find out how easy it is to join). The formal criteria for election: \u201cThe distinctiveness of play (good or bad); the uniqueness of character and personality; and the imprint that the individual has made on the baseball landscape. Electees, both on and off the diamond, shall have been responsible for developing baseball in one or more of the following ways: through athletic and\/or business achievements; in terms of its larger cultural and sociological impact as a mass entertainment; and as an arena for the human imagination.\u201d <\/i>(BBRT is especially drawn to that final criterion.)<\/b> While each electee is unique, they all have one thing in common, their contributions to baseball were in some way game-shapers or game-changers.<\/p>\n
$\"Dock$ <\/a>
Dock Ellis, first “Shrine of the Eternals” inductee, described as “iconoclast, risk-taker … who, time and time again, put principle over profit.”<\/p><\/div>\n
Based on this criteria, the very first inductee to the Shrine of the Eternals (in 1999) was Pittsburgh Pirates\u2019 pitcher Dock Ellis \u2013 who is remembered for wearing hair curlers on the field during pregame warmups, once setting out to hit the entire Cincinnati Reds line-up, pitching a no-hitter while on LSD and being the National League starting pitcher in the 1971 All Star Game. There was, of course, more to Ellis\u2019 contributions to the game \u2013 and to the recognition bestowed by the Baseball Reliquary. Ellis was known as one of baseball\u2019s fiercest competitors, most courageous advocates for racial equality and a vocal spokesperson for players\u2019 rights. At Ellis\u2019 induction, Cannon read from a letter sent to Ellis by Jackie Robinson, commending his contributions, acknowledging the cost of stepping forward and urging Ellis to continue his advocacy for racial fairness in baseball.\u00a0 Robinson wrote, \u201cI want you to know how much I appreciate your courage and honesty. In my opinion, progress for today\u2019s players will only come from this kind of dedication. Try not to be left alone. Try to get more players to understand and you will find great support. You have made a real contribution. I surely hope your great ability continues.\u00a0 That ability will determine the success of your dedication and honesty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cannon is particularly proud of the Reliquary membership\u2019s first choice for induction. In Cannon\u2019s words, \u201cI think, as far as inductees go, our membership made a very strong statement by choosing Dock Ellis to be in the very first class of inductees.\u00a0 Here was someone who was an iconoclast, a risk-taker, a person who, time and time again, put principle over profit.\u00a0 He was what the civil rights activist Bayard Rustin liked to call an \u2018angelic troublemaker.\u2019 Dock set the tone for the many anti-establishment figures who would later find a home in the Shrine of the Eternals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joining Ellis in the first class of electees to the \u201cShrine of the Eternals\u201d were long-time, outstanding major league outfielder Curt Flood (whose challenge to MLB\u2019s Reserve Clause began a dramatic shift in baseball\u2019s balance of economic power) and multiple MLB team owner Bill Veeck, Jr. (considered one of the national pastime\u2019s most creative, boundary-stretching promoters).<\/p>\n
Over the years, plenty of unique and influential characters (three annually) have joined the Eternals, including such truly big-league personalities as the politically rebellious Bill \u201cSpaceman\u201d Lee; the entertaining Mark \u201cThe Bird\u201d Fidrych; the irreverent Jim \u201cBull Dog\u201d Bouton; and the unpredictable Jimmy Piersall.\u00a0 In 2003, the Eternals welcomed Ila Borders (the first woman to receive a college baseball scholarship, win a men\u2019s college game and win a men\u2019s regular-season professional game).\u00a0 Steve Dalkowski \u2013 thought to be the fastest and wildest hurler ever (and the inspiration for \u201cNuke Laloosh\u201d in the movie Bull Durham) was enshrined in 2009. \u00a0This year, the Eternals added Eddie \u201cThe King\u201d Feigner (softball\u2019s greatest showman and perhaps the finest fast-pitch hurler ever \u2013 nearly 10,000 exhibition wins and 140,000 strikeouts while heading the King and His Court<\/em>, a four-man fast-pitch squad).<\/p>\n
Shrine of the Eternals inductees also include such game-changing individuals as Dr. Frank Jobe (who pioneered the Tommy John surgery); labor leader Marvin Miller; statistical wizard Bill James; and Lester Rodney (the first sports editor of the Daily<\/i> Worker<\/i>, the American Communist Party newspaper).<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll also find star players who made contributions to baseball\u2019s character on and off the field like Yogi Berra, Roberto Clemente, and Satchel Paige.<\/p>\n
You can find the full list of 45 inductees at the end of this article, but I urge you to visit and explore the Baseball Reliquary\u2019s website http:\/\/www.baseballreliquary.org<\/a>. You\u2019ll find the stories behind all the inductees there.\u00a0 And, while you are at it, consider a membership ($25.00 annually) \u2013 it\u2019ll give you, as a fan, a voice in next year\u2019s election.<\/p>\n
$\""Fan$ <\/a>
“Fan Attic Brand” by Ben Sakoguchi, from the artist’s Orange Crate Label Series: The Unauthorized History of Baseball. (Part of The Baseball Reliquary’s permanent collection.)<\/p><\/div>\n
Since 2001, The Baseball Reliquary also has annually honored a baseball fan with its Hilda Award – named for Hilda Chester (aka \u201cHowling Hilda\u201d), probably baseball\u2019s best known and most devoted fan. Hilda rooted and hooted for her beloved Brooklyn Dodgers for more than 30 years (beginning in the 1920s).\u00a0 Her raspy voice carried far – as did the frying pans and iron ladles and, eventually, the cowbell she used to punctuate her cheers and criticisms, after health issues led her doctor to suggest she tone it down a bit.\u00a0 (The annual Hilda Award is an old cowbell encased in a Plexiglas box with an engraved inscription.)<\/p>\n
With BBRT based in Minnesota, I was proud see a Saint Paulite among the Hilda Award recipients.\u00a0\u00a0 Retired university professor Dr. Seth Hawkins, known as \u201cDoctor Fan\u201d among friends and colleagues, was recognized in 2002. Among his accomplishments, Hawkins has been in the ballpark for every 3,000th hit recorded in the major leagues since 1959.<\/p>\n
In 2002, The Baseball Reliquary added the Tony Salin Memorial Award (in honor of the late baseball historian and researcher).\u00a0 The award, Cannon noted, recognizes \u201cindividuals for their contributions to preserving baseball history and for bringing attention to the stories and legacies of the game\u2019s forgotten heroes, who are largely unknown to the general public.\u201d\u00a0 Among its past recipients are Richard Beverage, a former president of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and best-selling author Paul Dickson (The Dickson Baseball Dictionary; Bill Veeck: Baseball\u2019s Greatest Maverick; The Joy of Keeping Score; and more).<\/p>\n
The Collection<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
While the annual Shrine of the Eternals election and awards ceremony are the Reliquary\u2019s most often publicized activities, there is a lot more going on within the organization. \u00a0It all started in 1996, with the still-growing collection of baseball artifacts as its foundation.\u00a0 Developing and displaying that \u201ctraveling museum of baseball wonderments and oddities\u201d has been a labor of love for Terry Cannon, his wife Mary (who serves as the Baseball Reliquary\u2019s Artistic Director), and Archivist and Historian Albert Kilchesty.\u00a0 Like the Eternals, each of the now nearly 100 items in the collection is unique in its own way, yet they share a commonality in their relevance to baseball.\u00a0 They are part fact\/part fiction (with a very blurry line in between), but each tells a chapter in baseball\u2019s story.\u00a0 Kilchesty has explained the philosophy behind the collection this way: \u201cThe Baseball Hall of Fame uses artifacts to trigger the imagination.\u00a0 The Reliquary uses the imagination to trigger the artifacts.\u201d\u00a0 Both, BBRT believes, enrich the history of the game.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s consider just a few of the Reliquary\u2019s popular artifacts and their relevance.<\/p>\n
A tortilla bearing former Dodger owner Walter O\u2019Malley\u2019s image provides a base from which to reflect upon the initially contentious relationship between O\u2019Malley and the Mexican-American community that was displaced to make room for the Dodgers\u2019 stadium in Chavez Ravine.\u00a0 Then there is the box of Mother Teresa \u201cautographed\u201d baseballs, a poke at the FBI\u2019s celebrity autograph and memorabilia fraud bust of 2000. \u00a0The Ty Cobb \u201cHumanitarian of the Year Award,\u201d a silver-plated cup presented to Cobb for his contributions toward the building of a modern hospital for his hometown, spurs discussion of Cobb\u2019s reputation as one of the meanest, most vindictive ballplayers ever. As noted in the text explaining its place in the collection \u201c\u2026it is believed that this was the only award ever bestowed on Ty Cobb for \u2018humanitarianism,\u2019 as the quality or state of being humane was a trait rarely associated with \u2018The Georgia Peach\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cannon described the Baseball Reliquary\u2019s collection as consisting of \u201cobjects through which we have discovered entirely new ways of looking at, and interpreting, the history and folklore of our national pastime.\u00a0 Due to our collections policy and our creative and frequently unusual approaches to the documentation and interpretation of baseball history, the Reliquary may be the only baseball museum for which no category yet exists.\u201d<\/p>\n
$\"BBR$ <\/a>\u201cThe Baseball Reliquary functions very much in the spirit of the world\u2019s earliest 17^{th<\/sup> and 18^{th<\/sup> century museums,\u201d Cannon said, \u201cMagical places which displayed curiosities beside scientific specimens and works of art, and where the curators were almost like conjurers, working under the assumption that truth is a many-faceted gem.\u201d<\/p>\n}}
He added that The Baseball Reliquary has also become a sort of final resting place for artifacts that other organizations have discarded or do not consider appropriate for exhibition purposes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe flesh from the inner left thigh of Abner Doubleday, for example, came from the National Baseball Hall of Fame, whose early curators felt that the public would find it repulsive,\u201d Cannon explained. \u201cOn the contrary, it has become a signature piece of the Reliquary collection, and it is met with jubilation wherever it is exhibited.\u201d<\/p>\n
Traveling Exhibitions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
A you can see, The Baseball Reliquary is dedicated to celebrating the national pastime \u2013 and it does that not just with a wink and a \u201ctruthful grin,\u201d but also with cultural exhibitions that document baseball\u2019s place in history and its contribution to culture (at home and abroad). The Reliquary has, through the years, sponsored exhibits and projects touching on such topics as baseball in literature (Baseball by the Books<\/i>); baseball card art (Cardboard Fetish<\/i>); Latino Baseball history (The Latino Baseball History Project<\/i>); and baseball and American patriotism and foreign policy (Patriotic Pitch: The Empire of Baseball<\/i>).<\/p>\n
Cannon is particularly proud of\u00a0 Another Trip in Baseball\u2019s Time Machine: Photography at the Field of Dreams<\/i>, which just concluded a two-month run at the Pasadena Central Library.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother Trip in Baseball\u2019s Time Machine: Photography at the Field of Dreams <\/i>was an excellent example of the Reliquary\u2019s curatorial philosophy,\u201d he said. \u201cWe asked a group of historians, authors, artists, photo archivists, etc. to submit their favorite baseball photograph along with a description of why the image had such personal meaning to them.\u00a0 What makes a particular image resonate so personally and profoundly with someone is the hook to the exhibition, and it is what engages the viewer and provides new insights into the pastime.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany people who viewed the exhibit \u2013 baseball fans and non-fans alike\u2013 said it provided them with a new perspective on the game\u2019s history and its relationship to the American experience,\u201d Cannon added. \u201cThat\u2019s what we try to achieve with our exhibitions \u2013 they may not always hit the mark, but this one was about as good as it gets.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, what does the future hold for the Baseball Reliquary?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cOver the last year, we have been preoccupied with finding a home for the Reliquary\u2019s voluminous research materials,\u201d Cannon said. \u201cWe have, over the years, compiled an impressive reference collection, which includes Paul Dickson\u2019s research materials related to his Bill Veeck book (Bill Veeck: Baseball\u2019s Greatest Maverick<\/i>) and to the history of scorekeeping.\u00a0 We are currently negotiating with a college in Southern California to serve as the repository for the research collection. \u201c<\/p>\n
Cannon said he hopes to have news on this front in the next couple of months, adding that \u201cThe Reliquary will continue operating as a peripatetic museum, as we always have, but the reference materials would have a home where they could be accessed by students, scholars, and the general public.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a look at The Baseball Reliquary from BBRT\u2019s point of view.\u00a0 If you are a baseball fan (and if you are reading this blog, I assume you are), I urge you to take a look at what the Reliquary has to offer from your own point of view.\u00a0 That is exactly what Terry Cannon and The Baseball Reliquary\u2019s officers, board and membership are all about.\u00a0 I urge you to visit the Reliquary\u2019s web site at http:\/\/www.baseballreliquary.org<\/a>\u00a0 – poke through the links (especially those that take you to the annual Shrine of the Eternals induction information). \u00a0I guarantee you will be (as the Reliquary aims for) \u201camazed, enlightened and informed.\u201d\u00a0 While you are at the site, check out the membership information and consider becoming a card carrying member of the Baseball Reliquary (my membership card has a place of prominence in my wallet).<\/p>\n
$\"Not$ <\/a>If you want to learn more, you also can purchase the video (DVD) documentary about the Baseball Reliquary, \u201cNot Exactly Cooperstown,\u201d described by filmmaker Jon Leonoudakis as \u201can unorthodox look at America\u2019s most orthodox game,\u201d from the Baseball Reliquary \u201cstore\u201d or at http:\/\/notexactycooperstown.com<\/a><\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s Note:\u00a0 Inductees to The Shrine of the Eternals since elections began in 1999 include, in alphabetical order:<\/i><\/b> Jim Abbott, Dick Allen, Roger Angell, Emmett Ashford, Moe Berg, Yogi Berra, Ila Borders, Jim Bouton, Jim Brosnan, Bill Buckner, Roberto Clemente, Steve Dalkowski, Rod Dedeaux, Jim Eisenreich, Dock Ellis, Eddie Feigner, Mark Fidrych, Curt Flood, Ted Giannoulas, Josh Gibson, Jim \u201cMudcat\u201d Grant, Pete Gray, William \u201cDummy\u201d Hoy, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Bill James, Dr. Frank Jobe, Bill \u201cSpaceman\u201d Lee, Roger Maris, Marvin Miller, Minnie Minoso, Manny Mota, Lefty O\u2019Doul, Buck O\u2019Neil, Satchel Paige, Jimmy Piersall, Pam Postema, Jackie Robinson, Lester Rodney, Pete Rose, Casey Stengel, Luis Tiant, Fernando Valenzuela, Bill Veeck, Jr., Maury Wills, and Kenichi Zenimura.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Baseball Reliquary is the Mardi Gras of our national pastime – a free-spirited celebration of the human side of baseball’s history and heritage. Reliquary\u00a0 (rel\u2032\u0259 kwer\u2032\u0113) \u00a0Noun- a container or shrine in which sacred relics are kept and displayed for veneration How do I describe the Baseball Reliquary?\u00a0 It\u2019s really not a place.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n