the baseball reliquary is one of this area's most incredible treasures - part memorabilia collection, part historic preservation, and all baseball celebration. the reliquary frequently put on incredible displays of obscure baseball artifacts, artwork, and presentations, that are open to the public.
part of their legacy is an annual selection of baseball pioneers to their "shrine of the eternals". 33 baseball icons have been inducted to their hall of fame, ranging from josh gibson (known as the black babe ruth), to jim abbott (a pitcher who played in the big leagues despite having only one hand). this month the main branch of the pasadena public library is displaying a collection of items paying homage to these 33 individuals, and this coming sunday the reliquary is set to induct three more.
this event is free to the public, and if you are interested in reading about my experience from last year, you can check it out right here.
8 comments:
Josh Gibson has a lifetime batting average of .360 and it was estimated (Negro League statistics are impossible to verify) that he hit about 800 home runs.
Babe Ruth was the white Josh Gibson.
Well said. Unfortunately Gibson is still not a household name.
It's always a great event.
Nor is the "Hoosier Comet," Oscar Charleston. By many accounts he was one of the five best players to ever play the game. Buck O'Neil said he was better than Willie Mays at every aspect of the game.
Jackie Robinson making the Majors Leagues is so celebrated that I think a lot of people assume the Negro Leagues were an "inferior" brand of baseball that Jackie was able to rise above. There was nothing inferior about it.
Satchel Paige at 50 (?) yrs old was just a fraction of himself by the time he was finally allowed into the bigs, yet was still a major league caliber pitcher.
Have you ever been to the Negro League HOF? I hear its great.
I have been to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. It is spectacular.
By the way, it is very important to them that it NOT be referred to as a hall of fame. It is their position that the HOF in Cooperstown is the only hall of fame for the game of baseball and that is the proper place for the great Negro League players. Baseball was unfortunately segregated once and they do not believe the Halls of Fame should be segregated today.
So they consider themselves a museum to tell the story of the Negro Leagues, but not a "hall of fame."
I really like that. Thanks for the correction.
Great stuff. I remember covering this as a reporter years ago when they had a display at the Pomona Library. I also remember seeing Jim Abbott pitch as a California Angel. Thanks for the photos.
Post a Comment