Japanese Catcher in 1932 Sanella Margarine Set?

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Posted By: Tom

I know that the only baseball player in this set other than Babe Ruth was the Japanese catcher from their 1932 Olympic team. I have two of these cards and would like to list one, but I can't find his name anywhere. Does anyone have any idea of this guy's name?
Thanking you in advance from a new member.....

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Posted By: Chris Counts

I have a friend who has this card, and he's convinced it's a young Josh Gibson, although I'm not sure why ...

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Posted By: Joann

I just picked up the same card last week. Love how it shows the equipment of the day. The back actually says it is a baseball trainer or coach. That made sense to me - from the people milling around in the background and no stands, it does not appear to have been a game situation (although with colorized pix, not photos, it's hard to be that precise).

I think these were issued in anticipation of the upcoming Olympics? If so, it would probably be an anonymous amatuer bballer.

Nice card.

Joann

[Archive]

Posted By: Ryan Christoff

Definitely Jim Thorpe or Joe Jackson.

-Ryan

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Posted By: Anonymous

Japan didn't have a baseball team at the '32 Olympics- in fact it wasn't even a demonstration sport there. It was in Berlin in '36, but the participants were 2 American teams.
The first Japanese team to play in the Olympics was in Tokyo in '64, in a 1 game match against the U.S.
Great card, whoever it is.

[Archive]

Posted By: Tom

Here's where I got that - guess he was wrong!

http://www.rbcraik.com/tobacco/1932_sanella.htm

[Archive]

Posted By: Anonymous

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_at_the_Summer_Olympics



Although little was recorded, Olympic baseball first appeared in 1904 St. Louis. Eight years later in 1912 Stockholm, a American team played against host Sweden, winning 13-3. In 1936 Berlin, two American teams played each other. The 1952 Helsinki event was a modified form of the sport, Finnish baseball, played by two Finnish teams. Australia played a one-game exhibition against the United States in 1956 Melbourne and Japan did the same in 1964 Tokyo.
After a 20-year hiatus, Olympic baseball (labeled an exhibition sport/event by the IOC) returned but with tournament formatting (1984 Los Angeles). In 1988 Seoul, it was termed a demonstration sport. Japan defeated the United States in the inaugural tournament finale in 1984. However, in 1988, Team USA was the winner over Japan.

[jazer95602]

BTY-The other baseball player in the Sanella Margrine book has not been proven yet but is almost positively thought of as Japanese Hall of Famer Jiro Kuji.

[25801wv]

Didn’t Babe Ruth catch in ‘32?

[Vintagedeputy]

Here’s a good read - https://prewarcards.com/2017/11/19/i...nd-astra-sets/

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by 25801wv

Didn’t Babe Ruth catch in ‘32?

"Even after joining the Yankees as the most feared slugger of all time, he still occasionally pitched. He made appearances on the mound in 1920, 1921, 1930 and 1933. In those six games, he was 5–0 with a 5.52 ERA and two complete games. He struck out just five while yielding 16 walks and 40 hits in 31 innings."

Don't know if he caught any games while with the Yankees, but he did pitch a few.

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by 25801wv

Didn’t Babe Ruth catch in ‘32?

According to Retrosheet, Ruth never caught during his career, he played all three outfield positions, first base, and of course he pitched.