Manzanar Celebrates The Fourth of July

Front page of the July 4, 1942, edition of the Manzanar Free Press newspaper.

 

On July 4, 1942, the front page of the Manzanar Free Press carried the headline, “Manzanar Celebrates Fourth,” along with the following message from the project director, Roy Nash:

“We are in Manzanar for the duration of the war. Possibly for several years. At the end, the essential question will be: ‘How did we play the game?’ The conditions imposed on Americans of Japanese descent and upon those other Japanese who, although long resident on the Pacific Coast, never achieved American citizenship, admittedly are hard. Are we then to nurse our sorrow, water the weeds in the garden of our misery, sulk, complain, lean on the handle of the hoe?

“Or shall we throw into the building of Manzanar the creative energies of a gifted people, the labor of a folk to whom toil is traditional, the gaiety of young men and women who know that the human soul can be defeated by nothing except itself.

“Mount Whitney already knows the answer: One day the world will know.”

Japanese American incarcerees displayed their American patriotism on Independence Day, celebrating with two days of festivities at the camp. They included gala picnics, with thousands of individuals expected to attend, and a Queen Contest, in which the ladies vied for the title of “Miss Manzanar.” The highlight of the festivities was none other than a grand display of America’s pastime, the game of baseball. Well, in this case it was softball.

Events included an all-star contest between the spring women’s fastpitch softball A League champion Dusty Chicks and a squad of stars selected from the remaining A League teams, as well as the B League teams. There were also two men’s all-star softball games played, one between the American and National Leagues and the other between the Manzanar and International Leagues. Through the courtesy of the recreation department, the games were aided by a public address system, with Hank Ushijama as the announcer.

All-star lineups for the American and National Leagues were as follows:

AMERICAN LEAGUE	POSITION	NATIONAL LEAGUE
T. Taketomo (Giants)	pitcher	H. Hino (S.F. Aces)
M. Shimizu (S.P. Gophers)	catcher	L. Sugawara (S.F. Aces)
T. Uyemura (Giants)	first base	S. Hasegawa (North Stars)
T. Higa (Ramblers)	second base	N. Hino (S.F. Aces)
Y. Tatsumi (S.P. Gophers)	third base	H. Takeohi (North Stars)
F. Takeuchi (S.P. Gophers)	shortstop	G. Shimizu (S.P. Yogores)
T. Teraji (Giants)	left field	T. Kamoto (Tony’s Alley)
I. Nagatani (Yankees)	center field	B. Yoshiwara (S.F. Aces)
H. Kayasuga (S.P. Gophers)	right field	S. Okada (North Stars)

Other American League players: pitchers: G. Yamasaki (S.P. Gophers), H. Neeno (Wonders); catcher: H. Koba (Yankees); infielders: J. Yamaguchi (Mayors), R. Goto (S.P. Gophers); outfielders: I. Mikuriya (Ramblers), J. Miyazaki (Wonders), J. Tamaki (S.P. Gophers). Coaches: S. Uyemura and T. Goto.

Other National League players: pitchers: S. Yamauchi (Tony’s Alley), S. Mitsui (S.F. Aces); catcher: P. Higashi (Tony’s Alley); infielders: K. Ando (Warriors), M. Nakadaira (S.F. Aces); outfielders: K. Seko (S.P. Yogores), K. Nishikawa (Warriors), F. Endo (S.F. Aces). Coach: Y. Shima.

Umpires: Hirashima and Sasaki.

 

The entire camp was expected to be in attendance for what the Manzanar Free Press billed as “the biggest event to hit the sports kingdom in Manzanar” between the American and National League all-stars. Those not present missed a genuine thriller.

The American League all-stars had a 6-5 lead going into the final seventh inning. In the top half of the seventh, National League catcher Higashi grounded a ball to the shortstop, who threw to first baseman Uyemura for what should have been the first out. But Uyemura dropped the ball, leaving Higashi safe at first. The next two batters, Nishikawa and Endo, reached on walks to load the bases for Yamauchi. American League pitcher Tak Taketomo calmly struck out Yamauchi, bringing up Nob Hino, who already had two hits in the game. Hino worked a walk, scoring Higashi to tie the game at 6-all before the side was retired.

The American Leaguers opened the bottom of the seventh with a scorching hit to left by Miyazaki. Tatsumi followed with a single to center and moved up to second base on an error by center fielder Nishikawa. Next up to bat was Thomas Higa, who, to this point, was perfect on the day with four hits in four trips to the plate. Higa clouted his fifth hit, this one the grandest of them all, as it drove in Miyazaki for the walk-off 7-6 victory and serious camp bragging rights for the American League all-stars.

The second men’s all-star softball game was played by representatives of the Manzanar and International Leagues, whose rosters were as follows:

 

MANZANAR LEAGUE	POSITION	INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE
H. Okamura (Eagles)	pitcher	B. Taketomo (Uptowners)
M. Furoto (Has-Beens)	catcher	W. Okamoto (Marlins)
S. Nozawa (Eagles)	first base	K. Mizumoto (Sierra Padres)
M. Kusaba (7-11s)	second base	D. Murata (Marlins)
G. Hiraoka (Eagles)	third base	T. Zoriki (Uptowners)
S. Tochioka (Has-Beens)	shortstop	T. Haga (Sierra Padres)
M. Okabe (Has-Beens)	left field	S. Morikawa (Marlins)
F. Kunitomi (Has-Beens)	center field	F. Takade (Marlins)
R. Miyake (7-11s)	right field	J. Nagano (Sierra Padres)

Other Manzanar League players: J. Kunitomi (Has-Beens), H. Tochioka (Has-Beens), M. Kondo (Has-Beens), B. Okamura (Has-Beens), L. Uyehara (Has-Beens), G. Kanemoto (Eagles). Coaches: Uyehara, Myose.

Other International League players: N. Murakami (Marlins), T. Shimizu (Marlins), C. Ishida (Marlins), N. Kawachi (Marlins), M. Zoriki (Uptowners), H. Tashima (Sierra Padres), V. Yokota (Sierra Padres). Coaches: G. Ishizuke, Hoshizaki.

 

Thanks to some erratic fielding by the International League in the top of the first inning, it was the Manzanar all-stars who held a 2-0 lead when the first inning came to completion. Unfortunately for Manzanar, that was the only lead they would hold for the rest of the game. International Leaguer Mike Zoriki connected on a pitch from Okamura for a double that brought in Takade and Murata to tie the score at 2-2 after two innings of play.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Internationals poured on another three runs to put the game out of Manzanar’s reach as the Internationals brought in Harry Tashima to relieve pitcher Ben Taketomo and finish out the game. Tashima pitched flawlessly, holding Manzanar hitless over the final three innings, with help from sensational plays by second baseman Duke Murata, which gave the International League stars the decisive 8-3 victory.

The authors of this book would also like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Manzanar Historic National Site Park Ranger Sarah Bone for helping to connect us to the many resources used to tell these important stories, while educating us all in the process.

RUSS SPEILLER has been a SABR member since 2023 and could not be more grateful to the writers, editors, and consultants who contributed to this book. Having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Chemical Engineering, Russ lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his incredible family. He has contributed to numerous SABR books, the BioProject, and Turnstyle magazine. This is his first time leading the construction of a SABR book and he is appreciative of the SABR publications board for choosing to greenlight this effort. He really hopes you all enjoy and learn from How We Played the Game. To read more of Russ’ work, please visit russspeiller.substack.com.