Identifying Japanese Bromides (Starffin, Kawakami et al)

[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

[Frankish]

As with most of the teams, the collector who originally assembled this album starts off (after teams and managers) with the pitching staff. This 25th page of the album is dominated by cards of pitcher Tokuji Kawasaki who played for the Giants from 1946-49. Before the war, he spent three years on the Nakai team and from 1950-57 he played for the Nishitetsu Clippers/Lions. His bromides are (I believe) the upper left and middle, the entire middle row, and the bottom right.

The two other cards on the bottom row are of Hiroshi Nakao, an impressive left-handed pitcher who played his entire career for the Tokyo team (Tokyo Kyojin then Yomiuru Giants)…1939-57 (with a few year out for the war).

The final care (top right) looks like Nakajima (who is featured on a page yet to come) and I assume manager Mihara.


Kawasaki - Kawasaki - Nakajima and Mihara?
Kawasaki - Kawasaki - Kawasaki
Nakao - Nakao - Kawasaki

[Frankish]

Page 26 starts with another Giants pitcher, Hideo Fujimoto. Despite a relatively short career, Fujimoto is considered one of the greats of Japanese baseball. He played his entire career for the Giants franchise (except for 1947 when he was on the Chunichi Dragons and 1945 when play was canceled due to the war). Over his career (1942-55) he won 200 games and lost 87, despite playing only four games total in his final two years. His lifetime ERA is 1.90. His cards are the top left and center, entire middle row, and bottom center.

Nakao, mentioned on page 25, is pictured in the top right bromide.

The other two cards are a little hard for me to identify.

The bottom left card reads to me (admittedly, not a hard endorsement) as kawa-matsubara or something like that. I’m guessing it is Hiroyoshi Komatsubara who pitched in pro ball from 1942-42 and 47-49 and then played outfield through 1947.

The bottom right card I’m having a hard time figuring out. Does anyone recognize him?



Fujimoto - Fujimoto - Nakao
Fujimoto - Fujimoto - Fujimoto
Komatsubara - Fujimoto - Yoneo Yashima

[Jeff Alcorn]

Hi Frank,

You are right on Hiroyoshi Komatsubara. The bottom right card is pitcher Yoneo Yashima. He only played 1 year in 1948 for the Giants going 2-2 in 15 games.

Keep them coming,

Jeff

[Frankish]

Thanks, as always, Jeff!

Page 27 transitions from pitchers to catchers with a player who wore both hats. The top left and center cards appear to be Fukuzo Tada, a catcher and starting pitcher who played pro ball from 1941 to 1955 with all but the last two years with the Giants. The top right card is Komatsubara who also appeared on the previous page.

Another Giants catcher, Tamotsu Uchibori, occupies the middle row center and right cards. Uchibori played for the Giants from 1936-37 and then left pro ball until the 1946 season. He finally retired in 1951.

The left-hand card in each of the middle and bottom rows is the legendary first baseman and manager Tetsuharu Kawakami. We will see more of him in the pages to come.

The final action card (bottom right) shows Giants #20 at bat. I can’t seem to find a good source for player uniform numbers of the era, so I’m not really sure who this is….

Fukuzo Tada - Tada - Komatsubara
Kawakami - Uchibori - Uchibori
Kawakami - Giants action (players?) -

[Frankish]

The 28th page of the album is entirely devoted to Tetsuharu Kawakami. Kawakami joined the Giants as a player in 1938 and played with the team through 1958 (with a few years out for the war). For those unfamiliar with Japanese baseball history, Kawakami was arguably the greatest offensive player of his era, known for his disciplined hitting and his red bat. He was also arguably the greatest manager in Japanese baseball history, having led the Giants through 9 consecutive championship seasons during his reign as manager (1961-1974). By all accounts, he was a very intense and disciplined person.

[Jeff Alcorn]

Hi Frank,

#20 on page 27 is OF Kiyomitsu Hayashi whose last year was 1947. From 1936-1941 his first name was Seiichi, and from 1942 onwards it was Kiyomitsu. By the way the photo is a reverse negative as is Kawasaki's upper left corner card on page 25.

Jeff