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PRESS RELEASE
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January 15, 2007
Baseball
Reliquary Announces Candidates for
2007 Election of the Shrine of the Eternals
The Baseball Reliquary, Inc.
has announced its list of fifty eligible
candidates for the 2007 election to the Shrine
of the Eternals, the membership organization’s
equivalent to the Baseball Hall of Fame. This
year marks the ninth annual election of the
Shrine, which has become a major national
component of the Baseball Reliquary, a Southern
California-based organization dedicated to
fostering an appreciation of American art and
culture through the context of baseball history.
The twenty-four individuals previously elected
to the Shrine of the Eternals are, in
alphabetical order: Jim Abbott, Dick Allen, Moe
Berg, Ila Borders, Jim Bouton, Roberto Clemente,
Rod Dedeaux, Dock Ellis, Mark Fidrych, Curt
Flood, Josh Gibson, William “Dummy” Hoy,
Shoeless Joe Jackson, Bill “Spaceman” Lee,
Marvin Miller, Minnie Minoso, Satchel Paige,
Jimmy Piersall, Pam Postema, Jackie Robinson,
Lester Rodney, Fernando Valenzuela, Bill Veeck,
Jr., and Kenichi Zenimura.
The Shrine of the Eternals 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 comprised
of individuals – from the obscure to the well
known – who have altered the baseball world in
ways that supersede statistics.
On a procedural level, the Shrine of
the Eternals differs significantly from the
Baseball Hall of Fame in the manner by which
electees are chosen. While the Baseball Hall of
Fame’s electees are chosen in voting conducted
by a closed group of sportswriters or
committees, the Baseball Reliquary chooses its
enshrined by a vote open to public membership. A
screening committee appointed by the Reliquary’s
Board of Directors prepares an annual ballot
consisting of fifty candidates, on which the
membership votes annually. The three candidates
receiving the highest percentage of votes gain
automatic election.
Among the fifty eligible candidates
for 2007, ten individuals appear on the Shrine
of the Eternals ballot for the first time, while
two others (Roger Maris and Luis Tiant) return
after an absence of several years. The newcomers
and returnees, in alphabetical order, are:
EMMETT ASHFORD
(1914-1980) –
the first black umpire in the majors, the
sartorially splendid Ashford enlivened American
League games in the late 1960s with an animated
array of calls and gestures, while off the field
he became a genial advocate for numerous social
and community issues, with a special interest in
youth educational and sports programs.
ZEKE BONURA
(1908-1987) –
the most colorful player on many bland 1930s
White Sox clubs, Zeke (from “physique”)
Bonura slugged his way into the hearts of fans
as a rookie in 1934, and unwittingly emerged as
an early argument for the implementation of the
DH thanks to his comically inept play at first
base; his knack for annoying management and his
unalloyed joie de vivre hastened his
departure from the majors, but he soon found a
new home as head of all baseball operations in
North Africa during World War II.
JIM BROSNAN
(1929- ) –
consistent relief pitcher of the 1950s and ‘60s,
the scholarly “Professor” Brosnan penned two
successful autobiographical books, The Long
Season and Pennant Race, insightful
works that revealed the frailties and
insecurities of professional ballplayers in a
manner more explicitly explored in Jim Bouton’s
Ball Four.
DARREN DAULTON
(1962- ) –
Adonis-like backstop for the gnarly ’93 Phillies
and improbable World Series champ 1997 Florida
Marlins, “Dutch” Daulton garnered bizarre
headlines after his retirement for a series of
inexplicable actions illustrative of either a
mental breakdown or a sublime self-willed
transcendence of reality hitherto available only
to long-term residents of a Zen monastery.
WILLIE HORTON
(1942- ) –
prodigious slugger and perennial home run
threat, Horton grew up in Detroit’s public
housing projects, one of 19 children, and later
starred as outfielder and DH for six teams
between 1963 and 1980, including his hometown
Tigers, with whom “Willie the Wonder” emerged as
a bona fide folk hero after the Kitties captured
the 1968 World Series championship.
SHERRY MAGEE
(1884-1929) –
destined to excel primarily with the
underachieving Phillies, Magee is among the most
overlooked stars of the Deadball Era, a rare
five-tool player who assembled a stellar career
as batsman and base stealer, overshadowed only
by the true giants of the era and undermined by
a series of on-field smackdowns with umpires.
OLIVER (“GHOST”) MARCELLE
(1897-1949) –
recognized by his peers as the greatest
third baseman in Negro League history, the
handsome Louisiana loner Marcelle wowed fans
with his fielding gems during the 1920s, but a
rancid temper and frequent brawling severely
tarnished his reputation, both during his career
and after.
ROGER MARIS
(1934-1985) –
two-time AL MVP whose campaign to break Babe
Ruth’s single-season home run record of 60 in
1961 led to official controversy and personal
anguish, effectively damaging a career and
diminishing a life; sadly, it wasn’t until after
steroidal hulk Mark McGwire established a new
single-season tater record in 1998 that the
magnitude of Maris’ feat was clearly and
indisputably recognized.
“NUF CED” McGREEVEY
(n.d.) –
Boston saloon proprietor, early memorabilia collector,
and ubiquitous member of the boisterous Royal
Rooters – a rollicking, near-rabid group of
turn-of-the-century fans – Hub legend Michael T.
McGreevey acquired his nickname via the habit of
ending every verbal argument with an emphatic
“Nuf Ced” (“Enough said”), thus rendering
further discussion moot.
FRED MERKLE
(1888-1956) –
The Great American Scapegoat, the intelligent
19-year-old Merkle entered baseball history
unfairly as the game’s supreme bonehead, thanks
to his base running gaffe (or was it?) in a
critical game between the Chicago Cubs and New
York Giants late in the 1908 season; instead of
a Giant win, the game was ultimately declared a
tie and the Cubs then beat the Giants in the
makeup contest, thus securing the NL pennant by
a single game over New York in one of the
greatest pennant races ever.
DAN QUISENBERRY
(1953-1998) –
always good for a pithy observation or memorable
quip, the Kansas City Royal relief ace was among
the most dominant closers of the 1980s,
combining a unique submarine-style delivery with
an affable poetic sensibility that enabled
“Quiz” to consistently frustrate batters and
continually amuse fans and teammates with his
wit and good humor.
LUIS TIANT
(1940- ) –
son of a former Cuban pitching star, the
cigar-chomping Tiant bewitched batters with a
bewildering variety of gyrations, body
movements, and release points on the mound,
leading to a breakthrough season with the
Indians in 1968 and superstardom with the Red
Sox of the mid-1970s, where he bewitched the
ladies of Boston with his hip leisure suits,
ultra-mod hairpieces, and ever-ready cigar.
A complete list of all fifty
candidates for the 2007 election of the Shrine
of the Eternals follows. Election packets,
containing ballots and biographical profiles of
all candidates, will be mailed to Baseball
Reliquary members on April 1, 2007. To be
eligible to vote, all persons must have their
minimum $25.00 annual membership dues paid as of
March 31, 2007.
The three new inductees will be
announced in May, with the Induction Day
ceremony scheduled for Sunday, July 22, 2007 in
Pasadena, California. In addition to the
presentation of plaques to the 2007 inductees,
this year’s ceremony will honor the recipients
of the 2007 Hilda Award (named in memory of
Hilda Chester and acknowledging a baseball fan’s
exceptional devotion to the game) and the 2007
Tony Salin Memorial Award (presented annually to
an individual dedicated to the preservation or
presentation of baseball history).
For additional information on the
Shrine of the Eternals, contact Terry Cannon,
Executive Director of the Baseball Reliquary, at
P.O. Box 1850, Monrovia, CA 91017; by phone at
(626) 791-7647; or by e-mail at
terymar@earthlink.net. |