Baseball Reliquary
The Baseball Reliquary is a nonprofit, educational organization "dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through the context of baseball history and to exploring the national pastime’s unparalleled creative possibilities." The Reliquary was founded in 1996 in Monrovia, California and is funded in part by a grant from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
Throughout the year, the Reliquary organizes and presents artistic and historical exhibitions relating to baseball. Recent exhibitions (as of 2007) include a history of Mexican-American baseball in Los Angeles, a detailed replica of Ebbets Field, and a screening of the film The Emerald Diamond about the Irish national baseball team.
Shrine of the Eternals
Since 1999, members of the Baseball Reliquary have elected 27 individuals to their "Shrine of the Eternals." The Shrine is similar in concept to the annual elections held at the Baseball Hall of Fame, but differs philosophically in that statistical accomplishment is not a criterion for election. Rather, the Shrine’s annual ballot is composed of individuals – from the obscure to the well known – who have altered the baseball world in ways that supersede statistics.
The Baseball Reliquary lists the criteria for election to the Shrine of the Eternals as:
- the distinctiveness of play (good or bad)
- the uniqueness of character and personality
- the imprint that the individual has made upon the baseball landscape
Shrine of the Eternals inductees
Current as of the 2015 induction.
- Jim Abbott
- Dick Allen
- Emmett Ashford
- Moe Berg
- Sy Berger
- Yogi Berra
- Steve Bilko
- Jim Brosnan
- Ila Borders
- Jim Bouton
- Bill Buckner
- Glenn Burke
- Roberto Clemente
- Steve Dalkowski
- Dizzy Dean
- Rod Dedeaux
- Jim Eisenreich
- Dock Ellis
- Mark Fidrych
- Eddie Feigner
- Curt Flood
- Ted Giannoulas (also known as the San Diego Chicken)
- Josh Gibson
- Mudcat Grant
- Pete Gray
- Dummy Hoy
- Shoeless Joe Jackson
- Bill James
- Frank Jobe
- Bill "Spaceman" Lee
- Roger Maris
- Marvin Miller
- Minnie Miñoso
- Manny Mota
- Lefty O'Doul
- Buck O'Neil
- Satchel Paige
- Jimmy Piersall
- Pam Postema (umpire)
- Jackie Robinson
- Rachel Robinson
- Lester Rodney (journalist)
- Pete Rose
- Casey Stengel
- Luis Tiant
- Fernando Valenzuela
- Bill Veeck
- Maury Wills
- Kenichi Zenimura
- Don Zimmer