“Anybody who doesn’t like this life is crazy!”

If you like baseball or you would be curious about things like Dock Ellis’ hair curlers, a flour tortilla with the likeness of Walter O’Malley or a case of baseballs “signed” by Mother Theresa then, you simply must take a look at the Baseball Reliquary.

The Baseball Reliquary was founded in 1996 by Terry Cannon as a nonprofit, educational organization. As described in the Articles of Incorporation, the Baseball Reliquary’s primary mission is “to foster an appreciation of the historical development of baseball and its interaction with American culture by the preservation and exhibition of artifacts related to the National Pastime.” Its collections specialize in objects which more conservative, timid, or uninformed baseball museums have failed to bring to the public’s attention. In its concern for the significant and the trivial, the timeless and the ephemeral, the celebrated and the obscure, the Baseball Reliquary fills a void in the National Pastime’s community of museums and archives.

Partially smoked cigar left by Babe Ruth on Aprli 27, 1924 at Rose Hicks’ brothel on Broad Street in Philedelphia. That evening, a Yankees player observed Ruth sitting in a big chair in an upstairs room with a brunette on one knee and a blonde on the other. As the girls poured a bottle of champagne on his head and shampooed his hair with it, Ruth smiled and exclaimed, “Anybody who doesn’t like this life is crazy!”

The Reliquary also has it’s own Shrine of the Eternals.

Similar to Cooperstown’s National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Shrine of the Eternals differs philosophically in that statistical accomplishment is not the principal criterion for election. It is believed that the election of individuals on merits other than statistics and playing ability will offer the opportunity for a deeper understanding and appreciation of baseball than has heretofore been provided by “Halls of Fame” in the more traditional and conservative institutions.

Criteria for election shall be: the distinctiveness of play (good or bad); the uniqueness of character and personality; and the imprint that the individual has made on the baseball landscape.

Related posts

• Two Views Of The Muse (6)
• Is You Is Or, Is You Ain’t (3)
• Big Cork Guitar Mural (0)
• Spending The Afternoon Waiting For The Funnel To Evolve (4)
• The Best Record In Baseball (0)

Tags: american culture, art, babe ruth, Baseball, baseball reliquary, dock ellis, terry cannon, walter o malley