THE BASEBALL RELIQUARY ANNOUNCES
DR. FRANK JOBE, JIM “MUDCAT” GRANT, AND LUIS
TIANT ELECTED TO THE SHRINE OF THE ETERNALS
The Board of Directors of the Baseball
Reliquary, Inc., a Southern California-based
nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering an
appreciation of American art and culture through
the context of baseball history, is pleased to
announce the 2012 class of electees to the
Shrine of the Eternals.
The Shrine of the Eternals is the
national organization’s equivalent to the
Baseball Hall of Fame.
Dr. Frank Jobe, Jim “Mudcat” Grant, and
Luis Tiant were elected upon receiving the
highest number of votes in balloting conducted
during the month of April 2012 by the membership
of the Baseball Reliquary.
The three electees will be formally
inducted into the Shrine of the Eternals in a
public ceremony on Sunday, July 15, 2012 at the
Donald R. Wright Auditorium in the Pasadena
Central Library, Pasadena, California.
Of the fifty eligible candidates on the
2012 ballot, Dr. Frank Jobe received the highest
voting percentage, being named on 34% of the
ballots returned.
Following Jobe were Jim “Mudcat” Grant
with 33% and Luis Tiant with 33%.
Runners-up in this year’s election
included Lefty O’Doul (32%), Dizzy Dean (30%),
Manny Mota (29%), Don Zimmer (29%), Steve Bilko
(27%), Charlie Finley (25%), and Glenn Burke
(24%).
Voting percentages for all fifty
candidates appear at the end of this
announcement.
Elected to the Shrine of the Eternals in
his tenth year on the ballot,
DR. FRANK
JOBE is a renowned orthopedic surgeon who
revolutionized the medical care and prolonged
the careers of baseball pitchers with his
groundbreaking tendon transplant procedure now
known as the “Tommy John” surgery.
In 1974, Dodgers pitcher Tommy John was
diagnosed with a torn ligament in his left
(pitching) elbow, apparently ending his career.
In an experimental surgery, which he
estimated at the time as having 1% odds for a
successful outcome, Jobe transplanted a tendon
from John’s right forearm to his left elbow,
turning him into the game’s first “right-handed
southpaw.”
After more than a year of rehabilitation,
John and his “bionic arm” returned to the mound,
where he pitched for 14 more seasons and racked
up 164 of his 288 career victories before
retiring at the age of 46.
Today, the procedure is commonplace among
professional and amateur pitchers.
It has been estimated that Jobe performed
more than 1,000 Tommy John surgeries himself and
that nearly 200 major leaguers – not all of them
pitchers – have had their careers extended by
the procedure.
Some have even reported that they had
more velocity after coming off the operating
table than before, although Jobe attributes this
more to stronger rehabilitation.
Now 87 years of age, Jobe has retired
from his medical practice but still consults
with patients and doctors at the famed
Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles,
and serves as special advisor to the Los Angeles
Dodgers.
Elected to the Shrine of the Eternals in
his eighth year on the ballot,
JIM
“MUDCAT” GRANT has become one of baseball’s
greatest ambassadors.
If all you know about Grant is that he
was the first African American to win 20 games
in a season in the American League (21 wins in
1965 for the AL champion Twins), you’re missing
the rest of a great story.
During a 14-year major league career
(1958-1971), spent mostly with Cleveland and
Minnesota, Grant won 145 games and saved 53
others, but the Lacoochee, Florida native was as
prized for his community leadership, social
grace, and cultural ability as he was for his
competitive skills.
Sporting a killer set of muttonchop
sideburns, the stylish swinger led his own
musical group called Mudcat and the Kittens.
Grant has written and published his own
poetry, in addition to a book,
The Black
Aces, which chronicles outstanding
African-American hurlers and their stories of
triumphs over racism.
He tirelessly promotes baseball,
education, and multiple charitable and community
causes nationwide.
Elected to the Shrine of the Eternals in
his tenth year on the ballot,
LUIS
TIANT was one of the most popular Boston Red
Sox players ever, renowned for his practical
jokes and post-game cigars in the locker room
and for his natty leisure suits and mod
hairpieces on the town.
The son of Luis Tiant, Sr., one of Cuba’s
greatest pitchers, Luis, Jr. won 229 games in a
19-year major league career (1964-1982),
baffling hitters with an unorthodox delivery
which saw him swiveling practically all the way
around to center field before unleashing pitches
from different release points.
His breakthrough season came in 1968 with
Cleveland when he went 21-9 with an AL-leading
1.60 ERA.
He won 20 games three times for Boston,
and helped the Red Sox to the pennant in 1975,
winning two games in the World Series, including
a five-hit shutout of Cincinnati in game one.
The gregarious “El Tiante” was one of the
most respected players of his era, not only by
his teammates and opposing players, but by the
media and fans.
In recent years, the Luis Tiant
Charitable Foundation has provided much-needed
financial support to a variety of children’s
charities, and youth and family assistance
programs.
Dr. Frank Jobe, Jim “Mudcat” Grant, and
Luis Tiant will join 39 other baseball
luminaries who have been inducted into the
Shrine of the Eternals since elections began in
1999, including, in alphabetical order, 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, Mark Fidrych, Curt
Flood, Ted Giannoulas, Josh Gibson, Pete Gray,
William “Dummy” Hoy, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Bill
James, Bill “Spaceman” Lee, Roger Maris, Marvin
Miller, Minnie Minoso, Buck O’Neil, Satchel
Paige, Jimmy Piersall, Pam Postema, Jackie
Robinson, Lester Rodney, Pete Rose, Casey
Stengel, Fernando Valenzuela, Bill Veeck, Maury
Wills, and Kenichi Zenimura.
In the coming weeks, leading up to the
Shrine of the Eternals Induction Day on Sunday,
July 15, 2012, further details will be
announced, including the Keynote Speaker and the
recipients of the 2012 Hilda Award (named in
memory of Hilda Chester and honoring a baseball
fan’s exceptional devotion to the game) and the
2012 Tony Salin Memorial Award (presented
annually to an individual dedicated to the
preservation of baseball history).
THE
SHRINE OF THE ETERNALS:
2012 VOTING PERCENTAGES
Dr. Frank Jobe – 34%
Jim “Mudcat” Grant – 33%
Luis Tiant – 33%
Lefty O’Doul – 32%
Dizzy Dean – 30%
Manny Mota – 29%
Don Zimmer – 29%
Steve Bilko – 27%
Charlie Finley – 25%
Glenn Burke – 24%
Chet Brewer – 22%
Charles M. Conlon – 22%
Rube Foster – 22%
Effa Manley – 22%
Dan Quisenberry – 21%
Lisa Fernandez – 19%
Eliot Asinof – 18%
Eddie Feigner – 18%
Vic Power – 18%
Charlie Brown – 17%
Dr. Mike Marshall – 17%
J.R. Richard – 16%
Rube Waddell – 16%
Ernie Harwell – 15%
Tug McGraw – 15%
Rusty Staub – 15%
Hideo Nomo – 14%
Phil Pote – 14%
Annie Savoy – 14%
Bert Campaneris – 13%
Fred Merkle – 13%
Conrado Marrero – 12%
Joe Pepitone – 12%
Jefferson Burdick – 11%
John Montgomery Ward – 11%
Fay Vincent – 10%
Steve Blass – 9%
Annabelle Lee – 9%
David Wells – 9%
Bill Bergen – 8%
Jose Canseco – 8%
Hector Espino – 8%
Curtis Pride – 8%
Toni Stone – 8%
Bucky Dent – 7%
Wilbur Wood – 7%
Gary Bell – 5%
Charles “Victory” Faust – 5%
Chuck
Stevens – 5%
Donald Fehr – 3% |