Identifying Japanese Bromides (Starffin, Kawakami et al)

[Frankish]

Originally Posted by nat

I'm just shocked at how cool all of these are. This was one incredible find!

Hi Nat, thanks for the comment! I bought it mostly blind but it's turned out to be a pretty cool item.

And as long as at least one person is still reading, I'll keep posting the pages.

[Frankish]

On Page 22, the first two rows of cards are all Kaoru Betto that I believe date to 1948, his rookie year. Almost certainly they are 1948 or 1949, as those are the only two seasons he played for the Tigers, moving to the Mainichi Orions in 1950 until the end of his playing career in 1957. Betto was a star player (especially on the Orions) with a career batting average of .302 and 155 home runs during a relative short playing career. In America he is probably best known for appearing on Jeff Bridges’ t-shirt in The Big Lebowski and a couple of other films.

The bottom row is comprised of three Wakabayashi bromides. I wrote about him on Page 19, where his cards first appeared. He is interesting for many reasons, including being a Japanese American from Hawaii, which was a pretty big deal in prewar Japan.



Betto - Betto
Betto - Betto
Wakabayashi - Wakabayashi - Wakabayashi

[Jeff Alcorn]

Hey Frank,

Really great work you are doing on this album. I can confirm what you have already done on pages 18 - 21. The only change (very minor) is Hasegawa's first name is Zenzo not Zenso and it is definitely Takao Misono on the bottom left of page 19.

Fantastic cards and please keep them coming.

Jeff

[Frankish]

Originally Posted by Jeff Alcorn

Fantastic cards and please keep them coming.

Thanks, Jeff. I've made the correction to my notes. And, although I had some luck on the last few pages, this one is proving a bit trickier. If you have any ideas, please let me know....

Page 23 is a hodgepodge of Tigers cards. It looks like it was the repository for cards that didn’t fit onto other pages, so we’ve seen several of the players before: Hasegawa (top left), Wakabayashi (top right), Betto (middle center), and (maybe?) Doigaki (top center).

The player on either side of Betto in the middle row is Jun Togashi…I think. It’s hard to say, as I wasn’t able to find another picture of him to confirm. He played for the Tigers his entire brief career (1946-49) with almost all of his play coming in 1946 and 1957.

The bottom row is harder for me to identify. If I am reading the script correctly (it is a little tough for me), the left card is of Hirokazu Nozaki, a journeyman pitcher who (from 1946-53) compiled a 32-56 win-loss record. And the bottom right card looks like “Kobayashi” which is probably Eiichi Kobayashi, an obscure second basemen who played pro ball from 1944-48 and only clocked 96 games.

Unfortunately, I can’t make out the name on the bottom center card. Does anyone recognize this player?


Hasegawa - Doigaki? - Wakabayashi
Togashi - Betto - Togashi
Nozaki - ? - Kobayashi

[Jeff Alcorn]

Hi Frank,

You got them all right. Eiichi Kobayashi is interesting because the card lists him as a catcher and he is wearing a catcher's mitt. He only caught a few games, and played mostly at 2B & SS. The bottom middle card you could not identify is Takao Misono.

Jeff

[Frankish]

Originally Posted by Jeff Alcorn

]The bottom middle card you could not identify is Takao Misono.

Thanks, Jeff! I thought that might be Misono but couldn't get a good enough look at the face to be sure.

[Frankish]

Page 24 of the albums begins the stretch of Yomiuri Giants (previously Tokyo Kyojin). The upper left photo shows three Giant players at practice (although I can't identify them individually). Any takers?

The upper and middle right bromides are team photos. From what I can tell, these are 1947 images but I wouldn’t be the farm on it.

The remaining for cards appear to be Japanese HOF manager Osamu Mihara.

Mihara managed the Giants for a brief stretch from 1947-49, so that dates these cards pretty tightly. His history with the franchise goes back further, though. I remember reading somewhere that he was the very first player signed with the new Tokyo pro team in 1936, although he joined the military and 1938 and (as far as I can locate in the records) never played again. When he returned to pro ball as a manager during the 1947 season, the Giants were in last place. In 1949 they won the championship. This was typical of Mihara’s managerial career, taking teams from the bottom of the standings to championships (notably with the Lions, but also the Whales). To me, that is a much more impressive feat than a dynastic run. As a result, his 1687-1453 record (.537 winning percentage) really undersells his effectiveness as a manager.



Giants Team - Giants Team
Mihara (manager) - Giants Team
Mihara - Mihara - Mihara