The BASEBALL RELIQUARY Inc.
SHRINE
OF THE ETERNALS:
2002 INDUCTION DAY
Sunday,
July 28, 2002 ~ 2:00 PM
Donald
R. Wright Auditorium
Pasadena Central Library
285 East Walnut Street, Pasadena, CA
Free Admission / Information (626) 791-7647
The Baseball
Reliquary will sponsor the 2002 Induction Day ceremony for its fourth class of
electees to the Shrine of the Eternals on Sunday, July 28, 2002 in Pasadena,
California. The Baseball Reliquary is a nonprofit, educational organization
dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through the
context of baseball history. The highest honor afforded an individual by the
Baseball Reliquary is election to the Shrine of the Eternals, and only three
individuals are elected on an annual basis. Similar in concept to the National
Baseball Hall of Fame, the Shrine of the Eternals differs philosophically in
that statistical accomplishment is not the sole criterion for election; rather,
candidates are nominated based on overall contributions to, and impact made on,
baseball. Voting is conducted by the national membership of the Baseball
Reliquary, and membership is open to the public. Past inductees to the Shrine of
the Eternals include, in alphabetical order, Moe Berg, Jim Bouton, Dock Ellis,
Curt Flood, Bill “Spaceman” Lee, Satchel Paige, Jimmy Piersall, Pam Postema,
and Bill Veeck, Jr. The class of electees for 2002, selected from a ballot
consisting of fifty candidates, is comprised of Minnie Minoso, Mark Fidrych, and
Shoeless Joe Jackson.
One of only two players to appear in five different decades (he would
have been the first to appear in six decades had the Commissioner’s Office not
prevented him from playing in the 1990s), Cuban-born Saturnino Orestes Arrieta
Armas “Minnie” Minoso is truly a baseball legend, one of the most exciting
and popular performers in the game’s history. “Minnie Minoso is to Latin
ballplayers what Jackie Robinson is to black ballplayers,” Orlando Cepeda
said. “He was the first Latin American baseball player to become what in
today’s language is a ‘superstar.’” Known as “The Cuban Comet,”
Minoso debuted with the Cleveland Indians in 1949 but gained his greatest fame
with the Chicago White Sox, to whom he was traded in 1951, thus becoming the
first black player to wear a White Sox uniform. A three-time Gold Glove
outfielder and daring basestealer who appeared in seven All-Star games, Minoso
ushered in the era of the “Go-Go Sox,” and his presence in the lineup helped
turn that club from perennial doormats to perennial contenders. Still active as
a goodwill ambassador for the White Sox, Minoso will attend the ceremony to
personally accept his induction into the Shrine of the Eternals. He will be
introduced by Tomas Benitez, a Los Angeles-based arts administrator for over 20
years, working with a number of community-based groups, including Plaza de la
Raza, the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts, and Self-Help Graphics and Art in
East Los Angeles, where he is currently the director.
A baseball phenomenon of the highest order, Mark “The Bird” Fidrych
spent five years pitching for the Detroit Tigers (1976-1980). In his spectacular
rookie season in 1976 (19 wins and a 2.34 ERA), he captured the fancy of the
nation with his uninhibited enthusiasm for the game. The free-spirited
right-hander with the unruly blond locks and animated pitching style would talk
to the ball, shake hands with his infielders after they made difficult plays,
and get down on his hands and knees to landscape the pitching mound. Sadly,
injuries brought a premature end to Fidrych’s career, but he remains one of
baseball’s greatest cult heroes. Fidrych’s induction will be accepted by Los
Angeles-based comedian and actor Thom Sharp. A Michigan native and lifelong
Detroit Tigers fan, Sharp is known to television audiences for his appearances
on The Tonight Show and Late Night with David Letterman and as Tim
Allen’s older brother on Home Improvement.
Undeniably one of the game’s greatest natural talents (his .356
lifetime batting average is the third highest in major league history, behind
only Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby), Shoeless Joe Jackson (1889-1951) fell from
public grace as a result of his implication in the fixing of the 1919 World
Series, the most infamous scandal in American sports history. Banished from
organized baseball at the end of the 1920 season, Jackson returned to his native
South, where the left-handed hitting outfielder barnstormed for years with
semipro baseball teams in order to make a living, all the while maintaining his
innocence and hoping to be reinstated. Accepting the induction of Jackson on
behalf of his remaining relatives and the Shoeless Joe Jackson Society will be
Mike Nola. A computer programmer by trade and Coordinator of Computer
Applications for Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, Nola is one
of the foremost authorities on Joe Jackson, having researched his life for the
past 17 years. He became involved in the movement to clear Jackson’s name from
major league baseball’s ineligible list in 1990 when he joined the Shoeless
Joe Jackson Society (he also developed and maintains their Web site, the
Shoeless Joe Jackson Virtual Hall of Fame), whose 15,000 members worldwide
comprise the strongest and most impassioned voice for the reevaluation of one of
baseball’s most misunderstood and misrepresented figures.
The ceremony will commence with the 2002 Keynote address, to be delivered
by Peter Golenbock, the renowned baseball historian and author, whose books
include Dynasty: The New York Yankees 1949-1964; Bums: An Oral History of the
Brooklyn Dodgers; Fenway; Wrigleyville; The Spirit of St. Louis; and the
recently published Amazin’: The Miraculous History of New York’s Most
Beloved Baseball Team. A frequent guest on television and radio talk shows
including Biography on A&E and SportsCentury on ESPN,
Golenbock resides in St. Petersburg, Florida.
In addition to the unveiling of the 2002 inductee plaques, another
highlight of the ceremony will be the presentation of the 2002 Hilda
Award, named in memory of beloved Brooklyn Dodgers fan Hilda Chester and
given to a fan for his/her extraordinary passion for and dedication to baseball;
and the first annual Tony Salin Memorial Award,
named for the late baseball author and researcher, which honors individuals for
their contributions to preserving baseball history.
The 2002 Induction Day ceremony will be held on Sunday, July 28, 2002 at
the Donald R. Wright Auditorium in the Pasadena Central Library, 285 East Walnut
Street, Pasadena, California. The doors will open at 1:30 PM and the ceremony
will begin at 2:00 PM. Admission is open to the public and free of charge.
Seating will be on a first come first served basis with a capacity of 177
people. The auditorium is accessible to the handicapped, and a sign language
interpreter will be provided if necessary. Free parking is available on the
street in the vicinity of the library or in the Los Angeles County parking
structure located at 240 Ramona Street, one-half block south of Walnut, between
Marengo and Garfield Avenues.
