Jobe, Grant, Tiant elected to Baseball Reliquary’s Shrine of the Eternals
From SABR member Terry Cannon at the Baseball Reliquary:
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%).
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.
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.
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.
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).
For more information on the Baseball Reliquary, visit www.baseballreliquary.org.
Originally published: May 11, 2012. Last Updated: May 11, 2012.