Japanese HOF Project

[nat]

As John said, there are many Oh rookie cards. There is one with red (or, sometimes, gold) borders that also features Nagashima that is popular and always seems to sell for a healthy amount. It's from the JCM 24 set.

Most Oh rookies look like the standard "tobacco" style menko - rectangular, a bit larger than a T206, a photo with Japanese text overlaid, usually giving his name, his team, and his position, and one of various menko-style backs. Some of these sets are quite common. I don't have an Oh rookie, but if you want one, they're not hard to find. Other sets of this kind are practically impossible, to the point that some Oh rookies are, as far as anyone knows, unique. I don't know that there is one issue that is THE Oh rookie, like the 52T is THE Mantle rookie. But there are plenty of nice ones. Now, menko cards are toys, they were meant for kids to play with. So condition on them is often pretty rough. But if you're patient you'll be able to find one in decent shape with a good image. Unless you want one of the rare ones, expect to spend in the low three figures.

mrmopar: you've probably got Calbee cards. Early Calbee cards were a little smaller than standard baseball card size, but then in the 80s they started making tiny ones. (They went back to the old size at the end of the decade.) They would have originally been packaged with potato chips. I'd love to see them if you've got a picture to share.