Baseball Reliquary

The Baseball Reliquary is a nonprofit educational institution that is "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."[7] The Reliquary was founded in 1996 by Terry Cannon, a creative artist and assistant school librarian who describes himself as “meek and mild-mannered [on the outside] … a rabble-rouser and non-conformist [at heart].” In its early years, the Reliquary had no physical home; instead it collaborated with local institutions including public and university libraries and the Jackie Robinson Center.[8]

Beginning in 1999, the Reliquary created a hall-of-fame style historical commemoration of baseball notables called the Shrine of the Eternals. Rather than focusing on statistical accomplishments as does the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, the Shrine “seek[s] out aspects of this history that have been overlooked or have not been explored in depth as well as players and others in baseball who have had unconventional careers.” [8] The Reliquary and its Shrine have been described as “a haven for legends like Marvin Miller and Spaceman Lee, umpires like Emmett Ashford and Pam Postema … mostly renegades who did not meet the precise standards of the [National] Baseball Hall of Fame.”[9] Some view the Shrine of the Eternals as a more welcome recognition of their contributions to baseball than even the Hall of Fame.[10]

The Reliquary has recognized three inductees each year since the Shrine's inception. Members of the Reliquary receive a ballot of 50 candidates for the Shrine each year, and the top three vote-getters by percentage are installed. As of the 2019 Shrine election, there were more than 300 voting members.[11]

In 2001, the Reliquary began recognizing “distinguished service by a baseball fan” with the Hilda Award, named for famed Brooklyn Dodgers fan Hilda Chester. In 2002, the Tony Salin Memorial Award was established “to honor individuals for their work in preserving baseball history.” Each of these honors is awarded annually.[12]

In 2013, documentary filmmaker Jon Leonoudakis released a 69 minute film about the Reliquary titled, “Not Exactly Cooperstown.”[13] The film premiered at the 8th Annual Baseball Film Festival at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown on 29 September 2013.[14] The film was also featured at the St. Louis International Film Festival in November 2014.[15]

In January 2015, the Reliquary found a permanent home for its collections and events with the opening of the Institute for Baseball Studies at Whittier College in Whittier, California. Housed on the third floor of the College’s Mendenhall building, the Institute is open to students and the public for research and viewing of the Reliquary’s growing collection.[16]

Since 1999, members of the Baseball Reliquary have elected three individuals annually 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.[1] The definition of "individuals" is not restricted to humans; the 2017 induction class included the Peanuts character Charlie Brown.[17]

The Baseball Reliquary lists the criteria for election to the Shrine of the Eternals as:[1]

• the distinctiveness of play (good or bad)
• the uniqueness of character and personality
• the imprint that the individual has made upon the baseball landscape

Inductees (as of 2020)

• Sources:[2][18][12]

Named in memory of legendary Brooklyn Dodgers baseball fan Hilda Chester, the Hilda Award recognizes distinguished service by a baseball fan. The award is an old cowbell, Hilda Chester’s signature noisemaker. The Hilda is awarded annually, on the Shrine of the Eternals Induction Day.[2]

Recipients (as of 2019)

• Source:[12][19]

In 2002, the Reliquary established the Tony Salin Memorial Award, after the baseball historian and researcher of that name, to honor individuals for their work in preserving baseball history.[2]

Recipients (as of 2019)

• Source:[12][20]

• Nisei Baseball Research Project

• Baseball Reliquary homepage
• New York Times - "A Hall of Fame for Great Stories"