Manzanar Women’s Softball, 1944 Season: A Gentle Breeze Lifts Their Spirits High

Girls of Japanese ancestry playing softball at war relocation authority center, Manzanar: Ritsuko Masuda and Marion Fujii with hands on bat, before choosing sides. Manzanar, May 1942. (Photo by Francis L. Stewart, War Relocation Authority / UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library)

 

NATIONAL LEAGUE

According to the June 3, 1944, edition of the Manzanar Free Press, the newspaper staff predicted that the National League crown would be won by the Twixteeners, the Lambda Nine, or the Zephyrettes. The Forget-Me-Nots were considered the underdogs of the fastpitch league, while the Jinxes were regarded as the dark horse because they had no prior experience on the diamond.

The Zephyrettes started their season out strong by riding the magnificent arm of pitcher Fumi Maeda, who hurled a one-hitter against the Forget-Me-Nots. In the third inning, the Zephyrettes piled on nine runs en route to a 13-4 victory, with the hitting attack led by M. Kusaba and Sets Miki.

Though not as unblemished as her first outing, Fumi Maeda had more than enough in her arm when it came time for the Zephyrettes to face off against the Jinxes. The game was tight as both teams scored a run in the first inning. In the second inning, Maeda experienced some uncharacteristic wildness as the Jinxes touched her up for two runs on two singles and walks. The Zephyrettes came back in their half of the third inning when Jinxes pitcher Y. Nakayu walked the bases loaded. Then R. Yamashima proceeded to drive in three runs to give the Zephyrettes a 4-3 lead. In the Jinxes’ final at-bats, they placed runners on second and third bases, but Maeda, with cool precision, struck out the next three batters to end the game and preserve the 4-3 win.

In a mid-June contest, it was the Lambda Nine who tamed pitcher Fumi Maeda and the Zephyrettes by a score of 10-5. The Lambda Nine squad was aided by the consistent hitting of Pat “Patty” Takeyama, Yoshiko “Little Mite” Watanabe, Susie “Lefty” Morishita, and Miyo “Infant” Tachibana. With the score tied at 5-5 in the final fifth inning, the Lambdas went into batting-practice mode and teed off, scoring five runs to seal the victory.

As the Fourth of July holiday approached, the Forget-Me-Nots found themselves still looking for their first win when they matched up with the Jinxes. Alas, the Forget-Me-Nots left the game still seeking that first victory as the Jinxes routed them 9-3 thanks to an explosive six-run bottom of the second inning in which the Jinxes loaded the bases and then got hits from M. Maeda and M. Shimooka to drive in runs.

The Lambda Nine were handed their first, and what would turn out to be their only, defeat of the season in a thrilling contest against the Twixteeners. With the score tied at 9-9 heading into the fifth inning, Kayoko Wakita hit a fly ball into center field that was dropped, allowing Grace Hochi to score the winning run from second base. The Lambda Nine had their chances, leaving many ducks on the pond thanks to numerous errors by Twixteener fielders, but the 10-9 defeat left the Lambdas tied with the Zephyrettes for the top spot in the league.

The Twixteeners found themselves on the other end of a squeaker against their next opponent, the Zephyrettes. As it was in the previous game, the Twixteeners were on the verge of a walk-off victory, placing runners on second and third bases in the final inning. But the hurling of Zephs’ pitcher Fumi Maeda ended the threat as the Zephyrettes held on for an 8-7 victory. The batting star of the game for the Twixteeners was center fielder S. Azeka, who had three hits in four trips to the plate. Zephs K. Takeuchi, F. Maeda, and T. Iwasaki each had two hits in the win. Sets “Semai” Miki, who Manzanar Free Press sports editor Terubo described as having a “Barbara Stanwyck hairdo,” also had two hits for the Zephyrettes.

The close contests continued as the Lambda Nine took on the Forget-Me-Nots in early July. Led by the brilliant fielding of Yoshiko Watanabe, who had moved from shortstop to the keystone second base position, the Lambda Nine held off the Forget-Me-Nots for a 4-3 victory. According to the game summary published in the Manzanar Free Press, Watanabe displayed “almost a one-man exhibition with her steady and frequent put outs.” The paper also called out catcher Y. Shigemori of the Forget-Me-Nots for “having the crowd suspended for her uncanny catches at the backstop position.”

A few days later, the Lambda Nine continued their winning ways when they engaged the Jinxes. Lambda pitcher Dorothy Shindo was the star of the show, striking out 11 in defeating the Jinxes, 8-4.

A mid-July game between the Zephyrettes and Forget-Me-Nots brought forth the first no-hitter in the National League, which was tossed by Zephs’ pitcher Fumi Maeda. The 5-1 Zephyrettes victory, in which Maeda had 10 strikeouts, advanced the team into a first-place tie with the Lambda Nine. The Forget-Me-Nots scored one run when Maeda walked four batters during the final inning.

With respect to the many fielding errors that occurred during games, it should be noted that the Manzanar Free Press sports section entitled “Mousing…with Teddy Bear,” printed on July 22, 1944, included the following words: “After looking at the diamond in which the girls participate in, it’s no wonder that so many errors are committed during the games (not making excuses on the part of the misfortunate girls). By the way, the ground looks like a family of gophers had really made themselves at home.”

Just days after their game against the Forget-Me-Nots, star pitcher Fumi Maeda of the Zephyrettes performed a Johnny Vander Meer as she hurled a second consecutive no-hitter, this time against the Jinxes. Maeda did not give up a single run, striking out 12 batters in the 9-0 win.

The month of July concluded with a National League championship tilt between the top two teams, the Zephyrettes and Lambda Nine. It was the Zephyrettes who dominated the Lambdas by a score of 11-2. Once again, pitcher Fumi Maeda led the Zephyrettes, striking out 10 batters, while her teammates aided the performance tremendously by playing an errorless game of ball. The Zephyrettes finished the National League season in sole possession of first place with six wins and one loss.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

The American League kicked off toward the end of June with the Pick-Ups trouncing the Junior Misses by a score of 15-5. The Pick-Ups were led by sisters Joyce and Janet Sugimoto, Ruby Oshio, and Chiyo Tashima. In the game, Oshio had four hits in five at-bats, while teammate Janet Sugimoto connected for three hits as the Pick-Ups scored six of their runs in the fourth inning.

The Modernaires sent pitcher Yo Tabuchi to the mound when they faced the Wee Necks, which turned out to be a great decision. Tabuchi set down in order the first nine batters she faced before the Wee Necks managed to score in the fourth inning. It didn’t take nearly that long for the Modernaires to plate runs as the game started with a hit by Tak Ando, followed by Rosie Maruki reaching base on an error, a hit by Tabuchi that scored Ando, and another hit by Hana Shintani that plated Maruki for a second run. By the end, the Modernaires won the game by a score of 8-5.

The follow-up contest between the Modernaires and the Junior Misses was much closer as the Modernaires narrowly defeated the Misses, 7-6. With the score tied at six runs apiece, the Modernaires’ T. Morishita reached first base on what turned out to be a costly error as the next batter, D. Takeuchi, singled to left field to drive in Morishita with the decisive tally that held up for the remainder of the game.

The Pick-Ups and Wee Necks next found themselves in a thrilling engagement that ended with the Pick-Ups picking up the 8-7 victory thanks to the last-minute relief pitching of Chiyo Tashima. According to the game summary published in the July 5, 1944, sports section of the Manzanar Free Press, “All through the game both sides were seen making sensational catches robbing the players of sure hits. Most sensational stops were made by Marian Uyenatsu and Kazuko Kadota of the Wee Necks.”

As July began, a pair of 2-0 teams faced off, with the Pick-Ups engaging the Modernaires. When the game concluded, it was the Pick-Ups who were in sole possession of first place in the American League. Thanks to the masterful pitching of Chiyo Tashima, the Modernaires never quite threatened the Pick-Ups. In the fourth inning, Janet Sugimoto smashed a triple to score Y. Hara and M. Inana en route to a 7-4 victory for the Pick Ups.

In perhaps the most lopsided affair of the softball season, the Wee Necks annihilated the Junior Misses by a score of 49-5. The Misses were held to just three hits while the Necks banged out a grand total of 34 hits, scoring in every inning.

The Modernaires next bounced back from their loss against the Pick-Ups, defeating the Wee Necks by a score of 9-5. Modernaires pitcher Yo Tabuchi was exquisite, holding the Wee Necks to just two hits. For the Modernaires, center fielder Tak Ando and first baseman J. Tatae each picked up two hits, while fellow teammates Chickie Hiraoka, D. Takeuchi, T. Morishita, and M. Kageyama each picked up a hit.

Though the Wee Necks’ bats awoke in their next game, in what was described in the Free Press sports section as a “wild slugfest,” the Wee Necks were defeated 20-10 by the Pick-Ups. Utilizing a barrage of 17 hits, including three round-trippers, the Pick-Ups had the game in hand from the jump. Ruby Oshio and Chiyo Tashima were the big boppers for the Pick-Ups, contributing four hits and three hits respectively.

As the month of July concluded, so too did the American League season. The Pick-Ups engaged the Modernaires with a chance to not only win the league but also finish the season with an undefeated record. Though the Modernaires put in a valiant effort, led by two hits apiece from Chickie Hiraoka and T. Morishita, it wasn’t enough as the Pick-Ups scored nine runs to defeat the Modernaires by a score of 9-5. Impressively, the Pick-Ups scored all their runs with two outs, including three round-trippers in the sixth inning, one each by Yuki Hara and Ruby Oshio, and another by Chiyo Tashima, who walloped the first pitch she saw.

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.

 

SOURCES

Unless otherwise noted, all information used to construct the 1944 Manzanar women’s softball season summaries was compiled using game summaries and the comments of the sports editors of the Manzanar Free Press newspaper, accessed via digitized copies of the paper found online at the Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn84025948/?st=calendar&year=1944.