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#1
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Really cool mystery and a cool ball regardless. Keep us posted as you learn more.
Found this link for a Tamazawa baseball signed by members of the 1934 Japan Tour, so the brand seems to make sense. http://www.antiqueathlete.com/vintag...orabilia.shtml |
#2
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Also, the link in your OP didn't work (maybe its just me), but this link does specifically mention that Jackie Robinson hit his last HR in a Dodger uniform.
http://www.walteromalley.com/hist_in...7.php?lang=eng |
#3
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#4
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Let's think about what kind of corrobative evidence may be out there.
First i think it would be a plus to confirm that the ball you have is a Japanese professional baseball of the type used in 1956. This should be a first step. Establishing that this is a -1956- professional Japanese ball. This should be doable. Second, are there any early photos of your Dad and the ball, either from Japan, which would be a plus, or from home many years ago. Third, did your dad save the ticket stub and/or program. Fourth, helpful to history, the Japanese film a tremendous amount. Perhaps there is a video of the home run, including your dads catch. This is a very real possibility. Perhaps Major League Baseball has a liaison to the Japanese professional league who might be of assistance. |
#5
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for what its worth, stories can change throughout the years... do you think that this perhaps could have been a fould ball hit by jackie while barnstorming in Japan? I would think that if the owner (your dad) caught a home run ball from Jackie Robinson (nevermind any other player) he would have inscribed the ball as a "home run ball" hit by jackie robinson... insteadhe just inscribes it as a ball "hit" by jackie...
the story of his 6'2" frame overpowering the gent in front of him to catch it denotes that the ball was out of play but not necessarilly a homer... this could potentially correspond with the box score noting no homers... either way an awesome ball and wonderful piece of history... congrats & please keep it away from your dog! -Dave |
#6
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Dave,
I was thinking the same thing.
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http://www.wix.com/boblee89/brocks-collection Last edited by yanks12025; 01-01-2013 at 08:32 PM. |
#7
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The link also states Robinson's HR was hit 420 ft. Maybe try to find the dimensions of the ballpark they played at to verify there are stands where the ball was hit. Not a ground breaking detail, but a small piece to the puzzle to help build your case.
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#8
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I've tried to put myself in my father's position back then, and having thought it through I'm not surprised there isn't more details. First of all, my father wasn't a sentimental guy who saved anything, in fact this ball might be the only thing from his youth that he did save. Besides his discharge papers and a duffel bag, he didn't save anything else from his time in the Army. I'm sure that as a 20 year old private in the Army he went back to his barracks and scribbled the inscription on the ball and threw it in his foot locker as a nice momento from his time in Japan. Second, sports memorabilia collection didn't have the same sophistication that it has today. This ball is from an exhibition game being played against All-Stars from a foreign country at a time when it hadn't been announced that Jackie Robinson was retiring so nobody knew this was the second to the last game he ever played. Who would really place any significance on the game at the time? Keep in mind, this game was played only 11 years after we dropped two atomic bombs on them and tensions in the Koreas were still very high. Like I said originally, I doubt that I could ever prove this, but I appreciate the thoughts offered so far. I did go back and look at archived Pacific editions of Stars and Stripes and they do have articles on the game, but not surprisingly no details that would be of help to me. Thanks again for the help. Please share any other ideas you may have. And I will put it someplace out of the reach of my dog! |
#9
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It's too bad that you don't have at least a ticket stub to show that his seat was even in the outfield section. For all anyone knows at this point, it could have been a foul ball off the bat of Robinson.....
Nice item to keep in the family IMO |
#10
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Any chance you could find out who might've been at the game with your dad? If you could find that out, they might have more details, or maybe even their own ticket.
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#11
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+1 Also, document the story for your heirs so that it stays intact.
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$co++ Forre$+ |
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