Joe DiMaggio’s Last Hurrah: The 1951 Lefty O’Doul All-Star Tour

From left to right: Takehiko Bessho, Eddie Lopat, Joe DiMaggio, and Tetsuharu Kawakami. (Rob Fitts Collection)

 

In 1951 American troops still occupied Japan, but their mission had shifted. Rather than seeing the country as a former enemy to be subjugated, Japan was now viewed as an ally in the fight against communism. As the war in Korea raged, Japan became a strategic center for United Nations troops, providing a supply base, command center, and behind-the-lines support that included hospitals. It became vital to US policy that democracy flourish in Japan and that ties between the two nations remain strong.

Since the end of World War II, US forces had consciously used the shared love of baseball to help bind the two nations together. To this end, Maj. Gen. William F. Marquat, the occupation forces’ Chief of Economic and Scientific Section, had restarted Japanese professional and amateur baseball immediately after the war. He also worked closely with Frank “Lefty” O’Doul to organize baseball exchanges. O’Doul made three trips to Japan between 1946 and 1950, bringing over the San Francisco Seals in 1949 and Joe DiMaggio in 1950. In August 1951, O’Doul announced that after the season he would return to Japan for the fourth time; this time taking an all-star team of major leaguers and Pacific Coast League stars on a goodwill tour to bolster ties between the two countries.

Sponsored by the Yomiuri newspaper, and organized by Sotaro Suzuki, the team was to play 16 games during a four-week trip starting in mid-October. The roster included American League batting champ Ferris Fain, Bobby Shantz, and Joe Tipton of the Athletics; Joe DiMaggio, Billy Martin, and Eddie Lopat of the Yankees; Dom DiMaggio and Mel Parnell of the Red Sox; Pirates Bill Werle and George Strickland; and PCL standouts Ed Cereghino, Al Lyons, Ray Perry, Dino Restelli, Lou Stringer, Chuck Stevens, and Tony “Nini” Tornay. To accommodate the All-Stars’ schedule, Japanese baseball Commissioner Seita (also known as Morita) Fukui canceled the final games of the Nippon Professional Baseball League so that the Japan Series could be concluded before the all-stars arrived.1

As the all-star squad was about to depart, Joe DiMaggio made a stunning announcement. He was considering hanging up his spikes. In a meeting in New York, Yankees President Dan Topping supposedly told his star, “You are going to Japan. … You will have a lot of time for thought. So, think it over, and when you get back to New York, call me up and we will go over this matter again.”2

O’Doul’s team gathered in San Francisco on October 15 and the next day boarded a Boeing 307 Stratoliner for the long flight to Hawaii. After an hour’s delay before takeoff, the plane finally departed. Thirty minutes later, an engine began to sputter and then died. “Boy, was I scared,” recalled Bobby Shantz. “It’s no fun to have a motor conk out and see nothing below you but Pacific Ocean!” The Stratoliner returned safely to San Francisco and after three hours of repairs tried again. As the plane neared Hawaii, O’Doul told his players to change into their uniforms. The team was scheduled to play a 7:30 P.M. game in Honolulu and although they would be late, Lefty planned to keep the engagement.3

Once they touched down at 9:45 P.M., a police escort whisked the ballplayers to Honolulu Stadium, where 15,000 fans were still waiting for the visitors to arrive. By 10:30 they were playing ball. The exhausted All-Stars put in a poor performance against the local semipros. The Hawaiians scored six off Shantz and Lopat as starting pitcher Don Ferrarese (who had played minor-league ball and eventually had an eight- year major-league career) held the visitors to a single run in four innings before the All-Stars erupted for five in the fifth inning to tie the score. Reliever Ed Correa, however, stymied the All-Stars for the remainder of the contest, striking out eight, as the Hawaiians pushed across two more runs to win 8-6. To the great disappointment of the crowd, Joe DiMaggio did not start and only appeared as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning -Correa fanned him on three pitches.4 One irate fan later wrote to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin:

Do you honestly think that the way you let 15,000 people down the other night is true sportsmanship? Folks came piling into the Honolulu stadium at7:00 PM and waited for six hours. … They came in droves, young and old. Old women carrying babies, dads with their kids, who should have been in bed in order to be ready for school the next day. And for what? … they all came for the one purpose of seeing one man in action, Joe DiMaggio. All through the game an old grandmother sat holding her grandson, who kept asking, ‘Where’s DiMaggio, Gramma, where’s DiMaggio? And when he finally did appear for an instant in the 8th, I looked over at them, and they were still waiting there, sound asleep! Yep, Lefty, you sure let us down.5

After the game ended at 12:55 A.M., the All-Stars trudged back to the airport and boarded a flight to Tokyo.6

General Marquat met the team when it arrived at Haneda Airport at 4:30 P.M. After a brief press conference, Marquat ushered the players into 15 convertibles for a parade through downtown Tokyo.

As dark fell, nearly a million fans lined the streets of Tokyo to welcome the team. “I never saw so many people in my life,” recalled Shantz.7 “Baseball worshipping Japanese fans choked midtown Tokyo traffic for an hour and rocked the city with screams of ‘Banzai DiMaggio!’ … in a tumultuous welcome,” the United Press reported.8 “Magnesium flares flashed through the sky as the motorcade inched through the mob. DiMaggio and O’Doul were in the lead convertible, just behind a Military Police jeep that used its hood to push back the mob to clear a path. ‘Banzai DiMaggio! Banzai O’Doul!’the mob shouted. Scraps of paper rained from the windows of office buildings.”9

Yets Higa, a Honolulu businessman who accompanied the team to Japan, said, “The cars finally slowed down to almost a snail’s pace as thousands of Japanese baseball fans walked right up to the cars to touch the celebrities from America. The crowd intensified its enthusiasm as an American band played Stars and Stripes [Forever]. The whole thing was so fantastic that I couldn’t believe my eyes. Never in my life have I seen such a tremendous welcome given to any team.”10 The “surging crowds gave the ball players one of the greatest receptions ever accorded any visitors to Japan,” added the Nippon Times}1

The next afternoon, Thursday, October 18, 5,000 spectators showed up at Meiji Jingu Stadium (renamed Stateside Park by the occupation forces) to watch the visiting ballplayers practice. O’Doul and DiMaggio remained the center of attention. “When O’Doul walks off or on the field, going to his car, walking to the locker room or any other time he appears in public, people seemed to spring right out of the ground. Baseball fans of all ages press in on him and beg for an autograph or just mill around, trying to catch a glimpse of ‘Refty.’ Joe DiMaggio is the same way. … It becomes almost impossible for him to move from one place to another for the people who want him to sign cards, baseballs, scraps of paper, old notebook covers or anything they happen to have handy.”12

That evening more than 3,000 fans jammed the Nippon Gekijo, Asia’s largest movie theatre, to see the ballplayers. Thousands more waited outside after being turned away from the sold-out event. During the brief ceremony, Sotaro Suzuki introduced the players as each stepped forward and bowed to the audience. After the introductions, O’Doul spoke: “The long war with cannons and machine-guns is ended. Let’s promote Japanese-American friendship by means of balls and gloves. There is no sport like baseball to promote friendship between two countries. Oyasuminasai [goodnight].”13

On October 19, after 10,000 fans came to watch them practice, the ballplayers met with Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway, commander of the United Nations forces in Korea and the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers in Japan. The general told the team that he was “very happy the major leaguers had come to Japan and felt sure their visit would promote good relations between the United States and Japan.” Ridgway also asked if the squad could travel to Korea to entertain the troops.14

The gates of Korakuen Stadium opened at 8 A.M. the following day to accommodate the expected throng for the opening game against the Yomiuri Giants. The players themselves arrived for practice at 11:40. By 1:30, 50,000 fans packed the stands as baseball comedian Johnny Price began his show. Often known as Jackie, Price had been a longtime semipro and minor-league player (with 13 major-league at-bats for the Cleveland Indians in 1946), who had turned to comedy. During the 1940s and ‘50s, he performed at minor- and major-league parks across the United States. His act included accurately pitching two baseballs at the same time, blindfolded pitching, bunting between his legs, catching pop flies down his pants, and both playing catch and batting while hanging upside down by his ankles from a swing set. His signature act featured shooting baseballs hundreds of feet in the air with an air-powered “bazooka” and then catching them from a moving jeep.15 The Japanese fans adored the show, having never seen anything like it in their serious games.

At 1:45, an announcer introduced the two teams and numerous dignitaries as they lined up on the field. Just as the pregame ceremonies and long-winded speeches seemed endless, General Marquai yelled, “Let’s get on with the ball game!” and a few minutes later the teams took the field.16

The Yomiuri Giants had just completed one of their most successful seasons, running away with the Central League pennant by 18 games and then topping the Nankai Hawks in the Japan Series, four games to one. Their star-studded roster included seven future members of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. Nevertheless, “manager Shigeru Mizuhara readily admitted that his championship team didn’t have a chance, but he promised his ball players will be hustling all the way to put up a good fight.”17

It did not take long for the All-Stars to grab the lead. After starter Takehiko Bessho retired leadoff batter Dom DiMaggio on a fly to right field, Billy Martin beat out a grounder to the shortstop. Ferris Fain then stroked a line-drive single into center field, sending Martin to third. Joe DiMaggio stepped to the plate and on a 2-2 count, “answering the fervent pleas of the fans” slammed a sharp single by the third baseman to score Martin. But a nifty double play turned by second baseman Shigeru Chiba ended the inning.18

Leading off the bottom of the first for Yomiuri was Lefty O’Doul’s protégé Wally Yonamine. Yonamine was the first American star to play in the Japanese leagues after World War II. Frustrated by not reaching the inaugural Japan Series in 1950, Yomiuri executives wanted to import an American player to strengthen their lineup and teach the latest baseball techniques.

They reasoned that hiring a Caucasian player so soon after the end of the war would lead to difficulties, so instead they searched for the best available Japanese American player. They soon settled on Hawaiian-born Yonamine, who had not only just finished a stellar year with the Salt Lake City Bees of the Pioneer League but had also become the first man of Japanese descent to play professional football when he joined the San Francisco 49ers in 1947. In his first season with Yomiuri, Yonamine became an instant star, batting .354 with 26 stolen bases. He went on to have a 12-year Hall of Fame career in Japan.

Yonamine battled starter Mel Parnell before drawing a walk. With a one-out single by Noboru Aota, the Giants threatened to even the score, but Parnell got out of the jam and proceeded to shut down Yomiuri for the next five innings. In the meantime, Bessho retired the next 10 All-Stars and the fifth inning began with the score still 1-0. Two errors, a walk, and a single in the fifth, however, increased the All-Stars’ lead to 4-0. The Americans tacked on another three runs and Bill Werle came on in relief of Parnell, holding Yomiuri scoreless for the 7-0 victory.19

After the game it began to rain. The precipitation slackened to a continuous drizzle by game time the following afternoon, October 20, when the All-Stars tackled the Mainichi Orions, winner of the inaugural Japan Series in 1950. The 1951 squad, however, was not as strong, finishing in third place in the Pacific League, 22’A games behind the Nankai Hawks.

The event began with the usual pregame ceremonies. Penny Ridgway, the general’s wife, threw out the first pitch and Johnny Price entertained the 50,000 damp spectators with his antics. Not all went as planned, however, as Price failed to clear his “bazooka” and was struck in the elbow with a baseball. He was rushed to the Tokyo Army Hospital, where X-rays showed no significant damage.20

Once the game started, the muddy field caused grounders to “roll erratically” and players had difficulty “getting out of the muck around the batter’s box.” The conditions may have helped American starter Bobby Shantz. “The Orions could do absolutely nothing with him. Despite the rain, [his] control was fine, and he was very seldom behind the hitters.” On the other hand, the All-Stars feasted on Orions starter Takeshi Nomura and reliever Toshihide Yamane, scoring 11 times on 20 hits with home runs by the DiMaggio brothers and Shantz. Eddie Lopat came on for the visitors to close out the easy 11-0 victory.21

After spending October 22 shopping in Tokyo, where “hundreds of people surrounded and trailed after the … athletes as they peered into stores,” the All-Stars and Yomiuri Giants traveled by train to Sendai in northern Japan to play on the 25th.22 Thirty thousand fans, including 5,000 GIs from California’s 40th Division, packed the ballpark. In a symbolic gesture to emphasize unity between the two nations, the 40th Division’s band played both national anthems as the flags were raised prior to the game. Then the spectators witnessed an exciting game.

Although the Americans went out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning, the Japanese tied the score in the fifth as left fielder Hiroyoshi Komatsubara tripled in Yuko Minamimura and then scored as Yasuo Kusunoki executed a perfect squeeze bunt—causing the fans to jump “to their feet, waving red paper fans in great excitement.” The All-Stars moved back on top in the next frame as Joe DiMaggio doubled and Dino Restelli slammed a pitch into the left-field stands. In the seventh, Komatsubara tripled again and scored on an infield out to cut the American lead to 4-3. In the eighth, however, Billy Martin homered and Restelli singled in Chuck Stevens to seal a 6-3 victory.23

The All-Stars returned to Tokyo the next day and were Marquat’s dinner guests that evening at the Washington Heights Club, where they spent most of the time autographing menus and baseballs.24 The following day, October 27, the All-Stars and Giants met again, this time in the city of Utsunomiya, 60 miles north of Tokyo. Although Yomiuri scored in the first inning to hold a lead for the first time in the tour, the All-Stars answered quickly with three runs in the top of the second and went on to win 11-4.

After rain postponed a scheduled game in Tokyo, the Americans traveled to Toyama to play a squad of Central League all-stars. The city’s mayor personally greeted each player as the All-Stars left the railroad station through a “specifically constructed arch of welcome.”25 The team then paraded through town in open cars as thousands of fans cheered their arrival. The 30,000 spectators who packed the small stadium were disappointed to learn that Joe DiMaggio would not be in the lineup as he had slipped and fallen in his hotel bathroom, injuring his back. The game began as a pitchers’ duel. Mel Parnell pitched masterfully, shutting out the Japanese for eight innings on four hits. The Central League team started 18-year-old Masaichi Kaneda. In his second year of pro ball, the slim southpaw had showed promise, winning 22 games (but losing 21) and striking out 233 batters (but walking 190) in 350 innings. Kaneda matured into one of Japan’s greatest pitchers—the only hurler to win 400 games. Kaneda pitched well, holding the Americans to two runs and four hits in five innings before the lanky, bespectacled Shigeru Sugishita took over. O’Doul’s All-Stars entered the ninth inning with just a 3-0 lead before both teams’ bats came alive with the Americans plating three more and a two-run homer by Michio Nishizawa spoiling Parnell’s shutout.26

As the All-Stars departed for a three-game stint in Osaka, Eddie Lopat, troubled by a sore arm, left the team and headed back to the United States. The Osaka games began on November 2 against the Pacific League champion Nankai Hawks, led by wily player-manager Kazuto Yamamoto (also known as Kazuto Tsuruoka). As a player, Yamamoto had just won his third MVP award and as a manager would lead the Hawks to 11 pennants in 23 years at their helm. He became the manager responsible for sending Masanori Murakami to the United States in 1964.

The game at Namba Stadium had sold out but heavy rain before the game discouraged spectators and just 10,000 showed up to the ballpark. Those who stayed home missed a great game. Yamamoto decided to challenge the Americans with a series of pitchers rather than just rely on his ace. Haruyasu Eto and Nobuo Nakatani shut out the visitors for five innings before Ferris Fain hit “a towering home run into the right-field stands” off Takeo Hattori in the sixth inning to give his side a 1-0 lead.27 After the home run, Hattori and Susumu Yuki continued to shut out the Americans. Meanwhile Bill Werle (who managed Masanori Murakami when he came to the States in 1964) held down the Hawks, scattering nine hits in a complete-game shutout.28

The next day’s game at famed Koshien Stadium against a combined Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers team could not have been more different. The All-Stars pounded all five Japanese pitchers for 13 runs on 19 hits including six home runs. With a 13-2 lead, O’Doul turned the mound over to Kenny Lehman of the US Army’s 40th Division. Lehman had pitched for the Hollywood Stars in 1950 and went on to pitch for Brooklyn, Baltimore, and the Philadelphia Phillies in the majors. Lehman “retired the side without trouble.”29

On Sunday, November 4, the American All-Stars began a four-game set against the All-Japan squad. Although the All-Japan roster contained numerous future members of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, some complained that player selection was not based on actual performance and that a number of the past season’s top players had been omitted. Commissioner Seita Fukui “however, pointed out that the games to be played with the American major leaguers are wholly of a goodwill character and cautioned against placing too much emphasis on the strength of the Japanese representatives.”30

Fifty thousand fans packed Koshien Stadium to watch the two nations’ all-stars battle. The Americans scored quickly as Joe DiMaggio lashed a two-out double in the top of the first off Takehiko Bessho to drive in two. The Japanese retaliated with two runs off Mel Parnell in the fourth, momentarily knotting the game before Chuck Stevens doubled home Ferris Fain in the top of the fifth to put the Americans back in the lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Kenny Lehman took the mound again and pitched four scoreless innings to save the 4-2 victory. After the game, reporters peppered Joe DiMaggio with questions about his retirement, but the Yankee Clipper restated that he was still undecided about his future in baseball.31

The All-Stars headed back east the next day, stopping in Shizuoka to play the All-Japan squad on November 6 and Nagoya on the seventh to meet the Dragons. Neither team challenged the Americans as the All-Stars beat All-Japan 6-1 and the Dragons 11-1.32 O’Doul’s team had now won every contest, outscoring their opponents 76-15.

The All-Stars’ perfect record ended the next day in Nishinomiya.

Thirty thousand fans crowded into the ballpark to watch the Pacific League All-Stars, managed by Kazuto Yamamoto, challenge the Americans. Bobby Shantz took the mound for the All-Stars and held the Japanese to just three hits in seven innings. Unfortunately for Shantz, two of the three hits were sharp RBI singles by Mainichi Orions outfielder Kaoru Betto, which put the Pacific Leaguers up 2-0.

Having nearly upset O’Doul’s squad earlier in the week, Yamamoto once again threw a succession of fresh pitchers at the Americans. Nankai ace Haruyasu Eto started and was followed by Yasuo Yonekawa of the Tokyu Flyers, Nobuo Nakatani of the Hawks, Tokuji Kawasaki of the Nishitetsu Lions, Giichi Hayashi of the Daiei Stars, and Susumu Yuki of the Hawks. The hurlers held the Americans scoreless, and Joe DiMaggio hitless, until the eighth inning, when a bunt hit, an error, a triple, and a wild pitch allowed the All-Stars to tie the game.

The two teams entered the 11th inning knotted, 2-2. With one out, Betto struck again, smoking another single. He then stole second base to put the winning run in scoring position. Right-handed relief pitcher Ed Cereghino bore down and stuck out future Hall of Famer Tokuji Iida. Yamamoto then sent Takuji Kochi to pinch-hit for Shosei Go. With the game in jeopardy, O’Doul walked to the mound and brought in his ace, lefty Mel Parnell, who fanned Kochi to get out of the jam. After 2 hours and 54 minutes of baseball, dusk had fallen. All agreed that the game would end in a tie.33

Two days later, on Saturday, November 10, the Central League All-Stars adopted Yamamoto’s strategy against the Americans. On a crisp, misty day at Meiji Jingu Stadium, 54,000 fans watched four of Japan’s top pitchers -1951 Rookie of the Year Kiyoshi Matsuda, Takehiko Bessho, Masaichi Kaneda, and Shigeru Sugishita—hold O’Doul’s squad scoreless for seven innings. Meanwhile, GI Kenny Lehman limited the Japanese to just two hits in the first six innings but surrendered an unearned run.

With his team down 1-0 in the top of the eighth, Joe DiMaggio stepped into the batter’s box. The 6-foot-tall Sugishita stood on the mound, peering down at his catcher through his thick, round glasses. Although the lanky hurler always looked a bit comical in his baggy flannel uniform, he could pitch. He would win three Sawamura Awards for the season’s best pitcher and finish his career with a 2.23 ERA. “When DiMaggio came up,” Sugishita later told reporters, “I felt tremendous pressure. …I was half inclined to walk him.”34 The Yankee Clipper fouled off a pitch and then connected with his long graceful swing, slamming “a towering fly into the stands in left field” to tie the game.35

In the top of the ninth, the Americans surged ahead as relief pitcher A1 Lyons walked, Dom DiMaggio tripled, and Billy Martin hit a fly ball scoring Dom to put the Americans on top, 3-1. After a walk to Fain and a groundout by Stevens, the inning came to an end with Joe DiMaggio grounding to third. It proved to be DiMaggio’s last professional at-bat as he announced after the game that he needed to return to the United States for unspecified “business reasons.” A month later, DiMaggio retired.36

On Sunday, as Joe DiMaggio waited for his flight at Haneda Airport, his team faced the All-Japan squad at Jingu. After two close games, the All-Stars’ bats unleashed against starter Masaichi Kaneda and four relievers. The Americans pounded out 21 hits and 12 runs as Mel Parnell blanked the Japanese on four hits.37

After a couple of days off, O’Doul’s All-Stars once again faced off against Kazuto Yamamoto’s Pacific League All-Stars. Seventeen-year-old Ed Cereghino took the mound for the Americans, and the Pacifies began with Susumu Yuki. The Japanese took the lead in the second inning, as Tokuji Iida tripled down the right-field line and after an out, Kazuo Horii walked. With runners on first and third, Hawks shortstop Chusuke Kizuka surprised the Americans with a perfect squeeze bunt and Iida streaked home for the first run. Next Yuki, the pitcher, walloped a double to left, scoring Horii to put his team up 2-0.

A single by Ferris Fain followed by a Chuck Stevens triple put the Americans on the board in the top of the third, but the Pacifies retaliated in the bottom of the inning as Kaoru Betto walked and Iida doubled him in. Down 3-1, O’Doul brought in Bobby Shantz to start the fourth inning. Shantz dominated the Pacifies, allowing just three hits and no runs for the remainder of the game, but it was too late as Yuki, Takeshi Nomura, Yasuo Yonekawa, and Giichi Hayashi shut down the Americans’ offense to preserve the 3-1 victory.38

A surprised reporter for the Nippon Times wrote, “The upset victory was not only the first loss of the American All-Stars in 14 starts but was also the first time ‘Lefty’ has played for or managed a losing team here.” Even the New York Times covered the upset, incorrectly stating, “An American professional baseball team was beaten by a Japanese club today for the first time in history.”39 According to The Sporting News, “The victory produced a national sensation in Japan.”40

On the heels of the defeat, the All-Stars had a four- day hiatus as comedian Johnny Price, Dom DiMaggio, Mel Parnell, Billy Martin, Ferris Fain, and George Strickland headed off to Korea to visit American troops. The players were flown by a US Army plane to the Kumsong front—an active war zone. There they visited “the front-line infantry companies [to] talk baseball to the combat weary fighters.”41

On Saturday, November 17, the All-Stars returned to action at Korakuen Stadium against the All-Japan squad. Although the Pacific League All-Stars had given the Americans trouble, the supposedly more talented All-Japan team had not played well, losing their previous three games, 4-2, 6-1, and 12-0. This final matchup was no exception, as O’Doul’s squad pounded All-Japan 14-5.42

The All-Stars’ tour ended on Monday, November 19, with a charity game against the Yomiuri Giants at Meiji Jingu Stadium. For what was heralded as “O’Doul Day,” Lefty invited 30,000 Japanese schoolchildren as well as United Nations soldiers from the Army hospitals in Tokyo to be his guests at the ballpark. After the game, O’Doul donated 100,000 yen (worth $2,777 at the time) to Hinode Gakuen, a private school for the mentally challenged in Tokyo.43

The children were treated to a cracking good game. Yomiuri went out to a quick lead, scoring four in the bottom of the first off Mel Parnell. The All-Stars chipped away, tallying two in the third, one in the fifth, and two in the seventh to enter the bottom of the ninth on top 5-4.

Dusk had fallen as reliever Bobby Shantz faced Hiroyoshi Komatsubara with two outs and Mitsuo Uno on first. Komatsubara hit a high pop fly to shallow left. Shortstop George Strickland went out and left fielder Dino Restelli charged in, but neither could see the ball in the darkened sky. It fell for a double as Uno raced around the bases to score the tying run. After the inning, all agreed that it was too dark to continue, and the game ended in a 5-5 draw. A perfect finish for a charity event.44

The next day the All-Stars boarded a 10:05 P.M. flight back to the United States. As they departed, the players gushed about the Japanese hospitality.45 “I found the Japanese to be wonderful hosts,” exclaimed Bobby Shantz. “They wouldn’t let us do a thing. After a game they would come to our rooms and get the uniforms and have them cleaned. Almost anything we wanted was served on a silver platter. I never met such friendly people. They are great cooks too. …I can sincerely say I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. I’d love to go back to Japan for another tour.”46

O’Doul praised the Japanese players. “Don’t underestimate Japanese baseball. It is developing in rapid strides and right now is capable of competing in Class A or lower leagues in the United States. … We had a pretty well balanced aggregation of American players on this trip—a club that could make United States teams in every league step lively. In every game the Japanese played fine baseball and did not appear to be outclassed by any means. I am really amazed at the progress made in baseball technique in the three years since I first came to Japan in the postwar period. The Japanese have some good long-ball hitters such as Tetsuharu Kawakami, Michio Nishizawa and Kaoru Betto. They always have been top fielders and the pitching has improved a lot since the early days. Yamamoto and Mizuhara are top strategists as managers.”47

Although the 1951 tour did not have the diplomatic impact of the 1934 All-American or 1949 Seals tours, newspapers in both the United States and Japan agreed that the visit helped solidify goodwill between the two nations. A New York Times editorial proclaimed, “News that a half a million Japanese turned out in Tokyo to shout ‘banzai’ for Joe DiMaggio and Lefty O’Doul is the sort of thing that keeps up our hope for some eventual international understanding. … What we are all trying to find is those means of communication that can jump across language and culture-pattern barriers. Sport is one of those means … We don’t expect the world to be transformed on the playing fields, but every little bit helps. When the Japanese shout their ‘banzais,’ in this case they are helping to shout in a better world.”48

ROBERT K. FITTS is the author of numerous articles and seven books on Japanese baseball and Japanese baseball cards. Fitts is the founder of SABR’s Asian Baseball Committee and a recipient of the society’s 2013 Seymour Medal for Best Baseball Book of 2012; the 2019 McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award; the 2012 Doug Pappas Award for best oral research presentation at the annual convention; and the 2006 and 2021 SABR Research Awards. He has twice been a finalist for the Casey Award and has received two silver medals at the Independent Publisher Book Awards. While living in Tokyo in 1993-94, Fitts began collecting Japanese baseball cards and now runs Robs Japanese Cards LLC. Information on Rob’s work is available at RobFitts.com.

 

 

NOTES

1 Both the Yomiuri Giants and the Nankai Hawks had already clinched their pennants. “Caught on the Fly,” The Sporting , October 1o, 1951: 27.

2 Dan Daniel, “DiMag, Topping Shadow Box on Clipper’s 100 Grand Pay,” The Sporting News, October 24, 1951: 4.

3 Bobby Shantz, The Story of Bobby Shantz (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1953): 127; Jim McGee, “O’Doul Stars Have Rough Time in Air and at Honolulu,” The Sporting , October 24, 1951: 2.

4 Jim McGee; Carl Machado, “15,000 See O’Doul Stars Bow to Locals, 8-6” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, October 16, 1951: 18.

5 K.B., “Wanted to See, DiMag—Disappointed,” Honolulu-Star Bulletin, October 20, 1951: 4.

6 Machado.

7 Shantz, 130.

8 United Press, “Million Screaming Fans in Tokyo Jam Traffic to Acclaim DiMaggio,” New York Times, October 18, 1951: 35.

9 United Press, “Million Screaming Fans in Tokyo Jam Traffic to Acclaim DiMaggio.”

10 Red McQueen, “Hoomalimali,” Honolulu Advertiser, October 27, 1951: 10.

11 “Tumultuous Welcome Given U.S. Ballplayers,” Nippon Times, October 18, 1951: 1.

12 Sgt. Clarkson Crume, “Chotto Matte,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, October 19, 1951: 13.

13 United Press, “O’Doul Stars Are Cheered in Theater,” Honolulu Advertiser, October 19, 1951: 12.

14 United Press, “Touring All Stars Get Assist from Ridgeway,” New York Daily News, October 20, 1951: 119.

15 Andrew Sharp, “Jackie Price,” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jackie-price/.

16 Fred N. Miike, Baseball Mad Japan (Tokyo: Privately published, 1955), 40.

17 “U.S. Major League Ball Team to Make Japan Debut Today,” Nippon Times, October 20, 1951: 1.

18 Sgt. Clarkson Crume, “All Stars Halt Giants, 7-0,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, October 21, 1951: 16.

19 >Crume, “All Stars Halt Giants, 7-0”: 15.

20 Shantz, 131.

21 Sgt. Clarkson Crume, “All-Stars Blank Mainichi,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, October 22, 1951: 16.

22 United Press, “Jap Crowds Gape at Major Leaguers,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 22, 1951: 15; Leslie Nakashima, “Bosox Stars Happy Boudreau Now Pilot,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, October 24, 1951: 15.

23 Leslie Nakashima, “Big Leaguers Beat Nippon Giants, 6 to 3,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, October 25, 1951: 8; N. Sakata, “O’Doul’s All-Stars Continue March of Victory in Japan,” The Sporting News, November 7, 1951: 17.

24 “Members of the 20-Man All American Baseball Squad,” Nippon Times, October 27, 1951: 3.

25 United Press, “Big League Stars Triumph in Japan,” New York Times, November 1, 1951: 39.

26 “American All-Stars Defeat Central Leaguers 6 to 2,” Nippon Times, November 1, 1951: 2.

27 “Fain’s Homer Beats Hawks in Osaka Tilt,” Japan Times, November 3, 1951, 2.

28 United Press, “Stars Nip Hawks on Fain’s Homer,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, November 3, 1951: 15.

29 United Press, “Stars on Hit Spree,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, November 4, 1951: 15.

30 “All-Japan Ball Players Named to Play Against U.S. Team,” Nippon Times, October 17, 1951: 2.

31 Associated Press, “’Clipper’ Comments on Retirement Plans,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, November 5, 1951: 16.

32 United Press, “A1 Lyons Hurls, Hits in ‘All-Stars’ Victory Against Japan Pros,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, November 7, 1951: 15; “U.S. Major Leaguers Trounce All-Japan, 6-1, in Shizuoka,” Nippon Times, November 7, 1951: 2; United Press, “All-Stars Batter Dragons,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, November 8, 1951: 15; “U.S. All-Stars Win 10th Game as Werle Whips Dragons 11-1,” Nippon Times, November 8, 1951: 2.

33 “Japanese Tie Americans in 11-Inning Osaka Contest,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, November 9, 1951: 15; “Inspired All-Pacific Nine Holds Visitors to 2-2 Tie,” Nippon Times, November 9, 1951: 2.

34 Kyushi Yamato, “Zoku Nichibei Yakyu Haikenki,” Baseball Magazine 9, no. I (1952): 81.

35 Sgt. Clarkson Crume, “DiMaggio Brothers Pace U.S. Triumph Over Central Stars,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, November 11, 1951: 14.

36 Crume, “DiMaggio Brothers Pace U.S. Triumph Over Central Stars;” “American Ball Team Edges Central League All-Stars, 3-2,” Nippon Times, November 11, 1951: 2; N. Sakata, “All Star Jap Pros Hand U.S. Team First Loss on Trip,” The Sporting News, November 21, 1951: 17.

37 United Press, “U.S. Nine Blanks Japanese, 12-0, With 21-Hit Assault at Tokyo,” New York Times, November 12, 1951: 37; Sgt. Clarkson Crume, “All-Stars Whip All-Japan,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, November 12, 1951: 15.

38 United Press, “Pacific League Team Whips All-Stars, 3-1,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, November 14, 1951: 15.

39 “Japan Nine Finally Scores Ist Win Over U.S. All-Stars,” Nippon Times, November 14, 1951: 1; United Press, “U.S. in First Loss to Japanese Team,” New York Times, November 14, 1951: 55. The Mita Club beat the All-Americans, 9-3, on November 19, 1922.

40 N. Sakata, “All Star Jap Pros Hand U.S. Team First Loss on Trip,” The Sporting News, November 21, 1951: 17.

41 Sgt. Jim Gilbert, “DiMaggio, Parnell Reach Front Lines,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, November 15, 1951: 16.

42 United Press, “All-Stars Take 13th On Home Run Spree,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, November 18, 1951: 15.

43 “O’Doul Day to Be Feted Mon. at All-Stars’ Farewell Game,” Nippon Times, November 17, 1951: 2; “O’Doul Gives 100,000 Yen to Hinode Gakuen Here,” Nippon Times, November 20, 1951: 2.

44 “Giants Tie All-Stars, 5-5 In Sayonara Ball Game,” Nippon Times, November 20, 1951: 2; Leslie Nakashima, “U.S. Stars End Trip in Tie with Yomiuri; 30,000 Kids Watch,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, November 20, 1951: 14.

45 United Press, “American All-Stars Head for Honolulu; O’Doul Lauds Foes,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, November 21, 1951: 15.

46 Shantz, 132, 135.

47 Ema Mori, “Japanese Game Is Making Rapid Strides, Says Lefty,” The Sporting News, November 28, 1951: 18.

48 Editorial, “Baseball Fans in Tokyo,” New York Times, October 19, 1951, 26; “Welcome All-Stars,” Nippon Times, October 19, 1951: 6.

49 Yoshikazu Matsubayashi, Baseball Game History: Japan vs, U.S.A. (Tokyo: Baseball Magazine, 2004), 88; Nippon Professional Baseball Records, https://www.2689web.com/nb.html.