Baseball Reliquary announces 2013 Shrine of the Eternals electees
From SABR member Terry Cannon at The Baseball Reliquary on May 6, 2013:
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 fifteenth 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.
Manny Mota, Lefty O’Doul, and Eddie Feigner were elected upon receiving the highest number of votes in balloting conducted during the month of April 2013 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 21, 2013 at the Donald R. Wright Auditorium in the Pasadena Central Library, Pasadena, California.
Of the fifty eligible candidates on the 2013 ballot, Manny Mota received the highest voting percentage, being named on 37% of the ballots returned. Following Mota were Lefty O’Doul with 35% and Eddie Feigner with 33.3%. Runners-up in this year’s election included Bo Jackson (32.6%), Don Zimmer (32.6%), Dizzy Dean (31%), Glenn Burke (29%), Sy Berger (28%), Steve Bilko (27%), Rocky Colavito (24%), and Charlie Finley (24%). Voting percentages for all fifty candidates appear at the end of this announcement.
Elected to the Shrine of the Eternals in his sixth year on the ballot, MANNY MOTA ranks as one of the greatest pinch hitters of all time. Successful pinch hitters are rare, as it takes a special player to sit on the bench and wait for the chance – just the chance, by no means a certainty – to come to bat with the game on the line. Mota had the talent and the psychological makeup to weather the pressure of this responsibility. In fact, as a tribute to his exceptional skills as a pinch hitter, it was said that Mota could wake up on Christmas morning, step into the box, and rip a single to right.
Elected to the Shrine of the Eternals in only his second year on the ballot, FRANCIS “LEFTY” O’DOUL (1897-1969) was born and raised in San Francisco, and became one of the greatest sports legends in that city’s history, his fame eclipsed only by Joe DiMaggio, and that just by a smidge. Lionized as one of the greatest managers in minor league history, and recognized as a key figure in the development of professional baseball in Japan, O’Doul was comfortable wearing many hats, but always favored green suits.
Elected to the Shrine of the Eternals in his thirteenth year on the ballot, EDDIE FEIGNER (1925-2007) was born an abandoned baby in Walla Walla, Washington, and grew up to become the single greatest ambassador the sports world has ever known. “The King” was not only the most legendary softball player who ever lived, but he also possessed the greatest right arm in sports history. For 60 years, Feigner’s four-man barnstorming team, “The King and His Court,” annually toured 400 towns and cities across the nation, competing against the best full nine and ten-man squads that could be assembled. Feigner’s lifetime stats are a testament to a pitching arm that was a wonder of anatomical science: he recorded 140,000 strikeouts, while amassing 9,700 wins, 930 no-hitters, and 238 perfect games.
For more information on the Baseball Reliquary, visit BaseballReliquary.org.
Originally published: May 6, 2013. Last Updated: May 6, 2013.