Identifying Japanese Bromides (Starffin, Kawakami et al)

[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

[Frankish]

Page 29 continues with more Kawakami cards and introduces long-time (1938-56) Giants second baseman Shigeru Chiba. A member of the HOF, he was an extremely disciplined hitter and a strong defensive player. One particular record that stands out is that he scored six times in one game. Not really sure how you do that. Wish I could see the film….


Chiba/Kawakami - Kawakami - Kawakami
Kawakami - Kawakami - Chiba/Kawakami
Chiba - Chiba - Chiba

[Frankish]

Page 30 of the album includes seven more bromides of the Giants star second baseman Shigeru Chiba. The two additional cards appear to be journeyman third baseman Takeshi Yamakawa, including one really exceptional decorative bromide. Yamakawa played pro ball from 1940-1954 and for the Giants from 1946 through 1951.


Chiba - Chiba - Chiba
Chiba - Chiba - Chiba
Yamakawa - Yamakawa - Chiba