Vintage Japanese Baseball Cards--Any Collector's?

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Posted By: James Feagin

Does anyone here collect vintage Japanese baseball cards? The reason I ask is that after Mastro, and realizing I'm completely getting priced out of the American hobby, I'm thinking of turning to foreign options. I also like the color, that there are some American players, and the relatively untapped history. So, am I alone here?

James

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Posted By: James Feagin

Guess not.

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Posted By: Mike Mattison

James,

I've looked but have never pulled the trigger on an auction. I did pick up this book through Amazon. See link below

Sayonara Home Run!: The Art of the Japanese Baseball Card

Very cool. It has some history, but mostly pictures of the cards.

Mike



http://www.amazon.com/Sayonara-Home-Run-Japanese-Baseball/dp/0811849457/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-3330298-9720906?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182534783&sr=8-1

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Posted By: davidcycleback

http://www.robsjapanesecards.com/

This site is devoted to Japanese baseball cards and has a few beginner's print guides.

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Posted By: Andrew

...but I do like my 1959 Oh. There's another one from the same year with more color that's on the wantlist:





"Take your life in your own hands and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame." -- Erica Jong

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

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Posted By: Pennsylvania Ted

My last remaining Japanese card....I had a bunch of them that I acquired from Dennis King (in Berkley, CA)
years ago.....but sold them.

Can anyone tell me what year and value this card is ?

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Posted By: James Feagin

That looks like a 1974-1975 Calbee. Other than a handful of United States collectors, not too many people care, even if he is the true world home run king. They usually go for $10-15..

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Posted By: John Harrell

The biggest collector I know of is Rob Fitts who used to be s member of OBC. He has a huge collection and publishes form time to time in Tuff Stuff and other mags. Look him up on Google. He has a great web site. Whoops!! I just realized on second glance that that's the web site David has listed. It is a terrific site.

John

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Posted By: Mike Mattison

Other than the book I mentioned above this is my lone card.

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Posted By: Jimmy

I have an interest in the early cards - items and programs, photos that relate to MLB travel teams mostly

Jimmy

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Posted By: Mark Holt

I collect them. There are 72 pro players and coaches in the Japanese Baseball HOF that have cards issued during the careers and I've got 59 of them - sent half into SGC for grading and they look good in the black slabs. I've also collected most of the Meikyukai (Golden Players Club - 200 wins/200 saves/2000 hits) raw along with a couple sets.

I work for a Japanese company and go over there four times a year. Stayed in the same hotel as the Hanshin Tigers in May. The cards are relatively cheap, are becoming well documented (buy 'The Art of the Japanese Baseball Card' and Gary Engel's 6th edition of the Japanese Baseball Card Checklist.).

You can find 40s and 50s HOFer menkos and bromides in nice shape for a fraction of the price of American HOFers from the same era.

Pre war collegiate stuff is very rare and gets pricy.

Both PSA and SGC are grading Japanese cards now. Rob's site and Prestige's site are both good and those guys will generally answer questions by email.

Collecting Japanese cards reminds me of collecting baseball back in the 70s - pretty fun and not expensive.

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Posted By: Craig H

I'm an active collector though not particulary serious. I have both older mostly late 1950's-early '60s menko and newer cards like a Topps Barry Zito done completely in Japanese. Gary Engel has a book that helps you figure out how to translate the kanji characters into English. The older Japanese cards are quite attractive, but it would be better if I knew more Japanese. I don't know many old players other than Oh and Shigeo Nagashima--allegedly the Ruth and Gehrig of Japanese baseball.

Craig Hashimoto

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Posted By: boxingcardman

Except for one card each of the best half-dozen players of all time, which I kept for novelty's sake. The cards are interesting and attractive for the most part, but I decided to get out once I realized that the collecting field itself is rather disappointing. Engel does a great job of cataloguing the cards, a rotten job of pricing them. His book prices are (self-servingly?) many times the actual sale prices of the cards. There is also virtually no market for the cards except for the handfull of dealers who handle them. Also, there is a seemingly endless supply of "rare" uncatalogued cards offered for sale by the main dealers in the field (Prestige Collectibles, Rob's, etc.). In short, I found the whole thing to be rather manipulated.

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Posted By: Justin

Does Eija Sawamura have anything close to a contemporary card?

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Posted By: Mark Holt

As far as I know, Sawamura just has some tribute cards in a couple BBM 'greatest players' sets from around 2002.

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Posted By: Peter Thomas

I have a 53 Mantle card that shows a 51 picture of him batting with #6 on uniform. I bought the card from Rob about 15 - 17 years ago. Nice card. Quite a few other cards as well.