Manzanar Men’s Softball, 1942 Season: Playing Ball Behind Barbed Wire

• P: Johnny Arita, Ramblers
• P: Yaro Shishido, Mayors 
• C: Harry Koba, Yankees 
• 1B: Frank Kuramoto, Gophers 
• 2B: Ray Goto, Gophers
• 3B: Nob Oyama, Yankees
• SS: Tom Higa, Ramblers
• LF: Tom Teraji, Giants 
• CF: Miki Mikuriya, Ramblers 
• RF: Gerald Nakata, Yankees

NATIONAL LEAGUE

The National League season set sail on May 14 when the San Fernando Aces subdued the Yogores ballclub by a score of 7-6. If there was such a thing as a “ringer” in the National League, it would have been the San Fernando Valley Aces, who had formed before incarceration at Manzanar. The Aces traced their roots to a stellar semipro team made up of Japanese Americans in the Los Angeles area known as the San Fernando Nippons. The Nippons, who played ball in the 1920s and 30s, later adopted the name of the Aces. Individuals on the team who became incarcerated at Manzanar banded together, with many of the players having been lettermen from San Fernando High School.1

In the Manzanar camp, the Aces were led by their 28-year-old elder statesman Pete Mitsui, himself a star pitcher at San Fernando High School who also played for the L.A. Nippon team and San Fernando Aces of the Japanese Athletic Union in the 1930s and 40s.2

The Aces cruised out of the gates, winning their first four games. In early June, the North Stars were expected to be a challenge for the Aces, but this was not to be. In a twilight affair, the Aces scored four runs in the first inning, two runs in the third inning, three runs in the fourth inning, and another seven runs in the seventh inning to take the win by a score of 16-3.

A few weeks later, after having won another two games, the Aces found themselves in what the Manzanar Free Press deemed “one of the finest pitching duels yet performed.” For the first three innings, Aces pitcher Hiro Hino and Orange City Aggies pitcher Hiro Oshima traded zeros. Hino encountered quite a bit of traffic on the bases as the Aggies managed to load them twice but, thanks to the tight defense of the Aces, Hino worked his way out of trouble each time. The Aces broke through with two runs in the fourth. In the sixth inning, slugger Lou Sugawara iced the game when he crushed a three-run triple leading the Aces to a comfortable 6-1 victory.

In a late June contest noted for being the first game in which the newly installed public address system was being used, the Aces received their first true scare, coming at the hands of the San Pedro Yogores. Aces pitcher Hiro Hino was torpedoed by the Yogores for seven runs in the bottom of the third inning. Thinking they had a comfortable lead, the Yogores instead endured an epic comeback by the Aces, who were saved by southpaw pitcher Satoru Mitsui. Mitsui had just returned to the team after being out for several games due to illness. In relief of Hino, “Sats” Mitsui gave up just one run over the final four frames while also driving in both the tying and winning runs with a double, capping the 10-8 victory for the Aces. The Aces were also aided by Frank Endow, who had three hits in four at-bats, and Lou Sugawara, who hit a home run to left field.

By the end of June, the San Fernando Aces, standing undefeated with nine wins and zero losses, were in first place in the National League. The Yogores and Warriors found themselves tied for second with six wins and three losses. Though the North Stars’ lineup included three men in the top five of the National League batting average race, their record was just four wins and five losses, good for fifth place. Rounding out the standings were the Orange City Aggies, Glendale Kings, and Royal Ys, the latter two teams having achieved just one win thus far in the season.

As late July approached, the San Fernando Aces showed no signs of slowing down thanks in large part to the consistent arm of fireball pitcher Sats Mitsui, who completed a two-hit shutout against the Warriors, giving the Aces a 3-0 victory and their 13th win in a row.

After yet another victory, the Aces found themselves in a rematch against San Pedro Yogores. The Aces began the game scoring two runs in the first inning with ace pitcher Satoru Mitsui on the mound. Unfortunately, Mitsui didn’t have his usual control as his wildness led to his issuing five walks. Combined with timely hitting by the Yogores’ batters, most notably S. Kuramoto, who had four hits in five trips to bat, Yogores erupted with a nine-run second inning. The Aces bats came to life when slugging superstar Lou Sugawara hit a two-run home run in the third inning and another in the fourth inning to bring the Aces within three runs. Despite having three innings left to finish the comeback, there was nothing left in the Aces’ tank as they failed to score, tasting their first defeat at the hands of the Yogores by a final score of 9-6.

If the San Fernando Aces were wounded by the loss to the Yogores, they certainly didn’t show it as the month of August arrived with the beginning of another Aces winning streak. Left fielder Frank Endow paced the Aces’ batters and the entire National League, leading the batting race with a .465 average.

By mid-August, with three games remaining in their schedule, the Aces clinched the National League championship with their 18th victory, this time against the North Stars. Pete Mitsui took the mound for the clinching 14-2 win, pitching a complete game in which he gave up just four hits.

As the month of August closed, the Aces completed their season by beating the WLA Warriors 10-5, thanks again to pitcher Satoru Mitsui, who allowed just three hits. Aces’ catcher Lou Sugawara blasted his league-leading 10th home run in 21 games played.

The San Fernando Aces were National League champions, earning their spot in the Little World Series that would follow in September.

 

FINAL NATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS

Team	Wins	Losses	Winning Pct.
S. F. Aces	20	1	.952
S. P. Yogores	17	4	.810
Tony’s Alley	14	7	.667
WLA Warriors	13	8	.619
North Stars	6	14	.300
O.C. Aggies	6	15	.286
Glendale Kings	4	16	.200
Royal Y	3	18	.143

 

At the end of the season, leading the National League in batting average was San Fernando Aces left fielder Frank Endow (.438), having edged out the Orange City Aggies’ M. Matsumoto (.437). Others finishing among the top batting average leaders included the Aces’ Satoru Mitsui (.410), and the North Stars’ S. Okada (.402), S. Hasegawa (.379), and H. Takechi (.378).

On the pitching side, two of the S.F. Aces moundsmen sat atop the leaderboard. Hiro Hino, with a record of eight wins and no losses that might have continued had he not experienced a shoulder ailment halfway through the season, and Satoru Mistui with a record of 10 wins and one loss. Other notable pitchers on the leaderboard included San Pedro Yogores’ M. Uragami with a record of 13 wins and three losses.

In a review of the National League season, Manzanar Free Press sports editor Roy Hoshizaki, in his column entitled “Second Sight,” noted that “the most prized pitching staff goes to the North Stars…everybody on the team pitches…the most noted trio are B. Oda, S. Okada, and H. Takechi…Hiram Hino is one of the 4 strikeout kings, he was the first to whiff 13 men. K. Ando of Warriors is considered one of the best defensive infielders. Royal Y making 3 double plays in one game…one of the first to make a triple play…O.C. Aggies one of the most unpredictable teams…S.P. Yogores hitting their stride again…G. Shimizu got his ‘battin eye back plus his whole squad…Barefooted Seko still considered one of the best outfielders.”

Based on an end of season polling of votes cast by league opponents, the following players were selected as First and Second Team all-stars:

FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS

• P: Saturo Mitsui, S.F. Aces
• P: Hiromi Hiro S.F. Aces
• C: Louie Sugawara, S.F. Aces
• 1B: Sammy Hasegawa, North Stars
• 2B: Noburo Hino, S.F. Aces
• 3B: Koshi Ando, Warriors
• SS: George Shimizu, S.P. Yogores
• LF: Koshi Seko, S.P. Yogores
• CF: Frank Endow, S.F. Aces
• RF: Shigeo Okada, North Stars

SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS

• P: Sam Yamauchi, Tony’s Alley
• P: Mas Uragami, S.P. Yogores
• C: Paul Higashi, Tony’s Alley
• 1B: J. Nishimura, O.C. Aggies
• 2B: Shigeo Nishikawa, Warriors
• 3B: Hideo Nakayu, Tony’s Alley
• SS: M. Nakadaira, S.F. Aces
• LF: T. Kamoto, Tony’s Alley
• CF: B. Yoshiwara, S.F. Aces
• RF: Kats Nishikawa, Warriors

 

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE

As the month of June began, the first-place position in the International League standings was being hotly contested between the Island Marlins, Uptowners, and Sierra Padres. The Marlins received an early test against the Padres, finding themselves down 5-4 going into the sixth inning. Costly errors by the Padres led to the Marlins claiming an 8-5 lead. In the seventh inning, the Padres rallied for two runs, falling short as the Marlins held on to win, 8-7, beginning their season on a four-game winning streak.

Days later, the Marlins kept their undefeated streak going against the Manzaknights, crushing them by a score of 16-4. Marlins pitcher Takedo held the Knights hitless until the sixth inning when they scored all four of their runs.

Meanwhile the Padres rebounded from their heartbreaking loss to the Marlins when their ace hurler Harry Tashima overpowered the Uptowner hitters giving up just three hits while also leading his mates in scoring three runs.

The Padres next found themselves in a thrilling battle with the Victory Aces. Late in the game, down 13-11, Padres second baseman Floyd Fuji connected on a double bringing in two runs to tie the game. Ko Yamada followed with a hard single scoring Fuji to break the tie and give the Padres a 14-13 win.

The Uptowners kept pace by proving to be more than the Manzaknights could handle, beating them 11-4 in a mid-June contest.

On Saturday afternoon, June 16, 1942, the league-leading Marlins engaged the Phantoms in a battle to test the Marlins’ dominance. The Marlins slugged their way to a 7-0 lead after the first inning aided by a hard-hit home run from Yoshida. By the conclusion of the third inning, the Marlins extended their lead over the Phantoms to 11-0, looking like they were on course for an easy victory. In the fourth and fifth innings, the Phantom bats came alive, scoring a total of six runs. Was there a miracle to be had? The Phantoms turned on the gas erupting for seven runs in their half of the final inning, inducing the Marlins’ players to sweat at the prospect of their first loss of the season. Unfortunately, the Phantoms’ fuel just ran short as the Marlins managed to stave off a Phantoms comeback, preserving a 14-13 win.

In their game against Santa Monica, the Sierra Padres showed no mercy bombarding the Monicans in every inning with every Padre player contributing to the scoring. Padres’ pitcher Harry Tashima limited the Monicans to only two hits en route to a 22-0 drubbing.

By late June, the undefeated Island Marlins continued to set the International League pace, sitting atop the standings with a record of eight wins and no losses. No slouch, the Sierra Padres were in second with six wins and one loss while the Uptowners were in third with five wins and two losses. The remaining International League teams sported losing records; no team more hapless than the Police Nine, who had yet to win a game in eight contests.

As June ended, the Sierra Padres faced off for a second time against the Phantoms, who they had beaten soundly in their first clash. This time it was the Phantoms who exacted revenge thanks to the pitching of Togo Tanaka. Tanaka gave up just three runs while his teammates jumped early on Padres’ pitcher T. Haga for three runs, later scoring three more in achieving the upset victory by a score of 6-3.

League games took a short hiatus as incarcerees celebrated the Fourth of July holiday break, where camp festivities included a slate of all-star contests between the American and National Leagues as well as International and Manzanar Leagues.

Sometime prior to July 9 the undefeated Island Marlins experienced their first loss as International League standings published in the July 10 edition of the Manzanar Free Press showed the Island Marlins in first place with nine wins and one loss, a loss that opened the door for the upstart Uptowners, who now sat just a game behind the Marlins with eight wins and two losses. The Sierra Padres were in third place with seven wins and three losses. Sadly, the Police Nine were still seeking their first win, having lost their first nine games.

In late July, the first-place Marlins met the third-place Sierra Padres. After four innings of play, the Island Marlins held a comfortable 7-1 lead. Perhaps the Marlins relaxed too much because the Padres came storming back with three runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings to tie the game. Entering the seventh inning, the Padres had clear momentum, bombarding the Marlins by scoring seven runs. In their last at-bats, the Marlins mustered just two more runs, falling to the Padres by a final score of 16-9. The Padres star of the game was H. Iiyama, who had a perfect five hits in five at-bats.

By the end of July, the International League found itself in a very tight three-way heat for first place. With a 5-2 victory over the Uptowners, the Sierra Padres closed out the month of July with a slim half-game lead over both the Uptowners and Island Marlins.

As the calendar flipped to August, the fourth-place Manzaknights, powered by home runs off the bats of Kimoshinko Terazawa and Sultan Nomura, along with a fantastic pitching performance from pitcher Tak Kitaoka, defeated the Padres 9-3. Not even Padre superfan 12-year-old Jimmy Nakashima—considered to be manager, coach, scorekeeper, batboy, and compiler of his team’s batting averages—could save the day for his favorite team.

By mid-August, the race for the top spot in the International League became a dogfight. The Island Marlins were holding onto a precarious lead with 14 wins and three losses. The Uptowners, having played one less game to this point, were a tick behind in second with 13 wins and three losses. The third-place Sierra Padres had 12 wins and four losses. The Manzaknights were the only other team in the league with a winning record, having won eight games with seven losses. The hapless Police Nine had finally won a game, now with four victories against 13 defeats, good enough to push the Santa Monica team into the league cellar.

Next up for the Uptowners was a date against the Victory Aces with a chance to gain a tie for first place. The game started out promising for the Uptowners as they erupted for four runs in the first inning. However, by the end of the fifth inning, the Uptowners found themselves in a five-all tie with the Victory Aces. In the bottom of the sixth inning, a walk and successive hits by Uptowners Mike Zoriki and S. Nitahara led to what proved to be the two decisive runs needed to gain a 7-5 victory and the first-place tie.

As August began to wind down, the International League became the hottest league in Manzanar. Precious few weeks remained in the season with the Uptowners, Marlins, and Padres swapping turns as pacesetters. Not helping matters was the early onset of darkness as hours of daylight diminished, causing many games to be deadlocked in score and not counted as a result, thus needing to be replayed. Darkness also contributed to the hospitalization of the Padres’ catcher, who was involved in a nasty collision.

On the evening of Thursday, August 20, the Uptowners and Padres faced off, with each team needing the win. Despite Padres pitcher Harry Tashima limiting the Uptowner hitters to only five hits, those hits came at exactly the right time as the Uptowners scored in every inning except the second to defeat the Padres, 6-4.

The setbacks continued for the Padres when they engaged the Victory Aces in a contest that was shortened to five innings due to darkness. Leading 3-2 in the third inning, the Padres’ defense made several errors that allowed the Victory Aces to score six runs in the fourth inning on route to a 9-5 win, placing the Padres in third place in the race to become International League champion.

The first day of September was ushered in by a truly spectacular feat in the men’s softball league as the Island Marlins’ lanky pitcher Kaz Kawauchi threw the first no-hit, no-run game at the Manzanar camp. The victim of the full seven-inning no-hitter was the Victory Aces whose own ace pitcher, Koto Tanaka, gave up just three hits, but also walked nine batters. The Marlins scored their first run on four consecutive walks as they proceeded to shut out the Aces by a score of 4-0.

The Marlins went on to lose an early September heartbreaker to the Padres by a score of 7-6 in which the Marlins had a five-run lead going into the final fifth inning. The next three contests for the Marlins were three incomplete tilts, one being called on account of darkness and two others ending in ties after five innings.

The Marlins’ official last game of the season came against the Manzaknights. Marlins’ pitcher Kaz Kawauchi looked like he might throw his second no-hitter as he kept the Knights hitless until the fifth inning. The Knights scored two runs in the seventh inning, but by then the Marlins had already tallied 10 runs giving the Marlins not just the victory but also the International League championship and a spot in the Little World Series, as they edged out both the Uptowners and Padres.

 

FINAL INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS

Team	Wins	Losses	Winning Pct.
Island Marlins	17	4	.809
Sierra Padres	16	5	.767
Uptowners	16	5	.767
Manzaknights	10	11	.476
Victory Aces	8	13	.380
Phantoms	7	14	.333
Police Nine	5	16	.238
Santa Monica	5	16	.238

 

At the end of the season, thanks to a late-season hitting surge, earning the batting crown in the International League was the Manzaknights’ George “Know” Maruki (.459), who edged out the Uptowners’ Ben Taketomo (.423). Others finishing among the top of the batting average leaders included the Marlins’ Shig Morikawa (.390) and the Padres’ Harry Tashima (.388).

In a review of the International League season, Manzanar Free Press sports editor Roy Hoshizaki, in his column entitled “Second Sight,” noted that “this league hogs the strikeout experts, Tashima of the Padres, S. Normura and T. Kitaoka from the Manza Knights credited with 13 K’s…Marlins by far the classiest infield in town and not to say anything about their slugging…Ben Taketomo the most valuable man in the league…he’s the whole team. Padres Tashima has achieved the king of pitching style, freak deliveries, plus natural stuff to provoke much unconcealed jealousy.”

Published end-of-season pitching records and all-star player selections could not be located within the Manzanar Free Press.

MANZANAR LEAGUE

The Manzanar League season started out as a hotly contested three-team race between the Has-Beens, 7-11s, and L.A. Eagles. By mid-June, the Has-Beens and 7-11s had each won their first three games while the Eagles had three wins and one loss, with the crushing loss coming at the hands of the Has-Beens and their ace pitcher Hisako Tochioka.

Meanwhile the Rookies played like … rookies, as they hadn’t experienced a single victory in their first four ballgames. The Slickers and Rusty Nine ballclubs each found themselves playing .500 ball with records of two wins and two losses. Bel-Aire and 30-40 brought up the rear in the standings just above the cellar-dwelling Rookies.

In an early season contest between the Rusty Nine and Bel-Aire teams, the Rusty Nine featured the Tanaka brothers, starring as the “big guns,” who between them had ten hits including five home runs in a 38-17 thrashing of Bel-Aire.

The Has-Beens never played like their team name implied based on their early-season game scores. Their fourth win in a row came against the Slickers whom they thrashed by a score of 29-2. The Slickers did nothing to help themselves as the Has-Beens capitalized on their costly errors and walks.

The 7-11s lost their first game of the season to the Eagles in a tough 9-8 contest thanks to the hitting of Nambe and Nakagawa, each of whom had two “bingles.”

In their fifth game of the season, the Has-Beens whitewashed the second-place 7-11s by a score of 10-0 on the back of pitcher “Speed” Tochioka’s one-hitter.

Post Fourth of July holiday break, the Has-Beens engaged the cellar dwelling Rookies. Has-Beens J. Kunitomi and M. Furuto each connected for four hits in five at-bats as the Rookies were walloped by a score of 25-11.

Early July found the Eagles in second place and looking to hold onto the position. In a twilight battle against the Bel-Aires, the Bel-Aires scored two runs in the opening inning followed by three more runs in the second inning to lead the Eagles 5-4. But the one-run lead didn’t hold as four-hit performances by the Eagles’ L. Sakamoto and T. Honjio sparked a 17-run outburst and 21-11 victory.

In an ensuing game against the 30-40s, who were referred to as “old-timers” in the Manzanar Free Press, as perhaps 30-40s represented the age range of the players on the roster, what should have been an 18-15 win for the 30-40s was instead declared a forfeit loss by a confidential committee after a protest by the Eagles due to the 30-40s playing an ineligible fielder. Maybe he was in his 20s?

As the month of July came to an end, the Eagles began to slip in the standings, dropping to fourth place and being leapfrogged by the Rusty Nine. On July 24 amid a dusty windstorm, the Eagles, despite a valiant five-run comeback effort, were defeated 10-8 by the youthful 7-11s. The 7-11s torched Eagles pitcher Sakamoto for 13 hits.

The Has-Beens continued their undefeated ways, though perhaps in less convincing fashion, as they achieved narrow wins of 29-28 and 19-17 in late July games.

According to the Manzanar League standings published in the August 3, 1942, edition of the camp newspaper, the Has-Beens led the league with 13 wins and no losses. In second place were the 7-11s, who were listed as having 10 wins and no losses. However, this appears to be an error. Each team listed in the standings played 13 games and several game summaries noted 7-11 team losses. It is more likely that the 7-11s had 10 wins and three losses. With eight wins and five losses, the Rusty 9s and Eagles were tied for third place while the remaining teams had losing records to this point, including the Rookies, who had been defeated in every one of their 13 matches.

Indeed, morale must have been at an all-time low for the Rookies when they met up with the L.A. Eagles at the beginning of August. Perhaps it was the inspiring pep talk by Rookies catcher Lou Kitagawa or an actual miracle that propelled the Rookie hitters to mount a 14-hit attack, earning a 16-11 victory.

It was the 7-11s, who had great cause to celebrate on Tuesday, August 4 as their pitcher Seko threw a no-hitter against the Bel-Aires. Shortstop M. Kusada of the 7-11s was the hitting star of the game, pelting a three-run home run in the sixth inning to climax the scoring in the 18-3 victory.

Wins kept on coming in August for the Has-Beens, who pounded the Rookies, notably referred to by the Manzanar Free Press as the “Flatfoots,” by a score of 22-6 for their 15th straight win against zero losses.

It appears that the L.A. Eagles may have had a unicorn in their midst. According to a comment made by the sports editors in the “Sports Core” section of the Friday, August 14, 1942, edition of the Manzanar Free Press, “Eagles chucker Ben Yano has it twice over any pitcher when he ‘baff-daffled’ the man in the box with his right and left-hand delivery…Besides being the only duo dynamo in camp, he has something more than something on the ball.”

The winning streak hit 16 games for the Has-Beens in mid-August when they defeated the Rusty 9 13-8 despite Rusty 9 superstar Shig Tanaka hitting two four-masters.

The Eagles continued to push forward with a convincing 11-2 win against the 30-40s thanks to consecutive hits by Inouye, Yano, and Sakamoto.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, their push forward took a step back when they next encountered the Has-Beens. The Has-Beens started the fireworks in the first inning, banging in seven runs and continuing to score five more in the next two innings to dominate the Eagles, 14-5, giving the Has-Beens their 17th straight win against no defeats.

On August 18, Shig Tanaka of the Rusty 9s, leading the Manzanar League in batting with a hefty .531 average, continued to strike the ball well when the Rusties routed the Rookies by a score of 22-11. Shig pounded out four hits in four at-bats as the Rusties outplayed the Rookies.

By late August the earlier onset of darkness kept many ballgames from being completed. In one such game, the undefeated Has-Beens squared off against the 7-11s. With the 7-11s holding a 6-3 lead going into the fifth inning, topped by a home run from S. Seko, a timely hit by Has-Beens catcher Okamura in the fifth brought in the three runs needed to tie the game. Darkness fell with the score knotted at 6-6, making extra innings an impossibility and preserving the Has-Beens’ undefeated Manzanar League championship season.

Emboldened by their deadlock against the champion Has-Beens, the 7-11s squared off against Bel-Aire with a second-place finish on their minds. They decided not to leave anything to chance, mounting a 13-run lead after two innings that they were never in danger of relinquishing. In defeating Bel-Aire 13-2, the 7-11s captured second place … briefly!

Playing out the string with a championship already in hand, the Has-Beens completed their season against the 30-40s. Has-Beens S. Masuda and J. Kunitomi contributed four of the six hits, leading the Has-Beens to a 3-2 win and their 20th victory overall against zero defeats. They had earned their spot in the forthcoming Little World Series.

The 7-11s ended their season having to engage in a replay game against the 30-40s. The 7-11s went down in an upset defeat by a score of 6-5 thanks to timely hitting by 30-40’s Inana and Nashida. In falling to the 30-40s, the 7-11s relinquished their hold on second place.

“Barbell” Shig Tanaka never relinquished his lead in the batting title, finishing the Manzanar League season with a hefty .557 batting average. Others finishing near the top of the leaderboard were Rookies Lou Kitagawa (.470), Slickers J. Mitsuuchi (.456), Slickers F. Sawahata (.451), and 7-11 M. Kusaba (.450).

A final published Manzanar League standings, end-of-season pitching records, or all-star player selections could not be found in the Manzanar Free Press.

OWENS LEAGUE

The Owens League kicked off their season in the middle of June, well after the April and mid-May starts of the American and National Leagues. The later start resulted in Owens League teams playing fewer total games than the other leagues as all leagues needed to wrap up their seasons by the middle of September to kick off the Little World Series. Additionally, a paper shortage resulted in shrinking the sports section of the Manzanar Free Press from two pages down to one. With so many teams playing simultaneously, coverage of the Owens League games was thin compared to the other leagues. The Owens League managers didn’t aid their cause to get more coverage as, in early August, the Manzanar Free Press reported that Owens League team managers have “slackened in turning in their scoresheets…result—no write-ups, standings, and batting averages.”

The Scorpions opened their season by stinging the Base Runners by a score of 28-19. A 17-run onslaught by the Scorpions in the opening inning was much too big of a hole for the Base Runners to climb out of.

In a Thursday evening affair, the San Pedro Pirates took on the Esquires. Going into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Pirates rallied for four runs. Behind 9-8, Esquire hitters rose to the opportunity in the top of the seventh inning, scoring two runs to reclaim their lead. But it was the Pirates, who would claim their booty, scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh for a 13-11 victory.

Taking on the “luckless” Diehards in late June, the scrappy Scorpions rocked the Diehards for “an eleven-run bombing raid” in the last three innings of a 14-7 triumph. S. Iwamizu led the Scorpion hit parade with his clean four-bagger while H. Matsuyomo had three hits in five at-bats.

Meanwhile the Esquires were dealt a crushing blow in their late June contest against the Falcons, who went on an 18-run barrage in the first three innings, coasting to a 22-6 victory.

At the end of June, the Base Runners were marauded by the Falcons as they ganged up on starting pitcher G. Maeda for five runs early. Falcons’ pitcher K. Watobawa was spectacular, allowing just two hits. Scoring another nine runs thanks to three hits each by Kuse and Nakashima, the Falcons came away with the 14-2 win.

In a series of Owens League games preceding the Fourth of July holiday, the Diehards suffered three gruesome defeats by scores of 16-11, 15-4, and 16-1 at the hands of the Royal Flush, Base Runners, and Bulldogs respectively. The Scorpions went into the holiday having narrowly defeated the Falcons, 10-8.

Post the July Fourth festivities, it was the Pedro Pirates who ruled the roost in the Owens League. Engaging the Royal Flush in an early July contest, the Pirates won a 28-17 slugfest, handing the Royal Flush their third loss of the season.

The unfortunate Diehards finally reversed their fortune when they met up with the Falcons. Tied at three runs each at the end of the seven-inning regulation game, the two combatants proceeded to extra innings. In the ninth inning, the Diehards scored two runs to win the game, tasting their first victory of the season.

On July 9, 1942, the San Pedro Pirates found themselves in first place with five wins and one loss. Having played one less game, the Scorpions had four wins and one loss. The Bulldogs were in third place with three wins and one loss, while the Base Runners were playing .500 ball at two wins and two losses. The Falcons, Esquires, Royal Flush, and Diehards each sported losing records.

The Scorpions squandered a chance to gain a tie with the Pirates for first place as they were bullied by the Bulldogs, who jumped on Scorpions starting pitcher S. Masunaka for nine runs and nine hits in the first inning. Sluggers Nakano, Yamigawa, and Ando propelled the Bulldogs to the 14-6 win, enabling the Bulldogs to leapfrog the Scorpions into second place.

With the month of July winding down, the Diehards found themselves dying a thousand deaths. This time it was the fastball of Esquires pitcher T. Minato that held the Diehards to five hits in a 13-6 loss. There was some false hope for the Diehards, who trailed by just one run through five innings. Walks and errors came back to haunt the Diehards as the Esquires scored eight runs to put the game away.

The Pirates continued their winning ways. As July ended, the swashbuckling Pirate hitters put on a hitting clinic, collecting 25 hits against the Esquires en route to a 16-10 victory and continued to hold onto first place in the Owens League.

The loss to the Pirates must have taken the wind out of the sails of the Esquires, who were next soundly defeated by the Falcons. Falcons’ pitcher Kish Matoba held the Esquires scoreless for six innings, giving up three runs in the seventh. But the final score was reported in the camp newspaper as a 13-2 win for the Falcons, so did Kish give up three runs or two?

August began with a contest between the league-leading Pirates and the scrappy Scorpions. Scorpion hitters B. Sano and S. Iwamizu helped the Scorpions jump out to an early two-run lead in the first inning, but it was short-lived as the Pirates answered with two runs of their own in the top of the second inning. A three-hit attack by Pirate K. Kubota paced the Pirates to a decisive 9-4 victory.

Perhaps the Royal Flush became too complacent as the lowly Diehards caught them napping in an early August encounter. Leading 4-1 with two innings to go, the Royal Flush let their guard down and the Diehards capitalized by scoring eight runs across the final two frames to defeat the Royal Flush by a score of 9-5.

The Scorpions rebounded nicely from their loss to the Pirates in proceeding to drop the Esquires 8-3. The Scorpions’ attack was fueled by the big bats of S. Iwamizu, K. Shimokawa, G. Seto, and H. Yamada.

The Pirates and Bulldogs next engaged one another in two contests. The fightin’ Bulldogs not only got the best of the Pirates in the first game but also ended their winning streak by narrowly beating them 10-9. The Pirates exacted their revenge in the second game with an 8-6 win. As if there was any doubt about the prowess of the Pirate hitters, at this point in the season they had five sluggers with a .400 or better batting average.

As the dog days of August plodded on with a month to go in their seasons, the Scorpions found themselves on the winning end of a 10-2 game against the Falcons while the Pirates eked out a nip-and-tuck affair with the Royal Flush by a score of 6-5. The Falcons went on to face off against the Bulldogs, who spotted the Falcons two early runs before embarking on an 11-run rally for a decisive 12-3 win.

The Royal Flush bounced back from their tough loss to the Pirates by winning a back-and-forth 21-16 slugfest against the Esquires. The Esquires took a liking to Royal Flush pitcher Min Oba, pounding him for 10 runs and taking a 16-14 lead before the Royal Flush decided it was time for some payback, going on to cross the plate seven times in the next two innings to put the game away.

With darkness arriving earlier in the day, it became difficult to complete games. In a mid-August contest between the Royal Flush and Scorpions, the game was called after six innings. Though the Royal Flush outhit the Scorpions, thanks to S. Sano and S. Iwamizu each collecting three hits of their own, the Scorpions prevailed by a 10-8 count.

The baseball diamond was buzzing with excitement when the Pirates engaged the Diehards in mid-August as Pirates starting pitcher K. Yamamoto was dealing a perfect game through six innings. Yamamoto had plenty of run support thanks to a third-inning two-run home run off the bat of M. Miki and a further seven-run splurge in the fifth inning. In the seventh inning, Diehard S. Ohashi punched a single spoiling the perfect game, a game the Pirates went on to win by a score of 9-4 for their 13th victory of the waning season.

In the latter half of August, it was the Falcons who put an end to the Pirates’ winning streak. The masterful pitching tandem of Falcon hurlers Kuse and Koyama held the Pirates to five hits while Falcons’ leadoff man B. Hoshino led the way with three hits as the Falcons won by a score of 9-4.

The Pirates quickly got back on their horse—or ship—moving on to play the Esquires. Pirate hitters flexed their muscles going on an 18-run attack, routing the Esquires 18-6. Pirate hitter F. Ono banged out four hits in his five trips to the plate.

With few games remaining in the schedule, the Royal Flush compiled a winning streak of their own culminating in a tight late August 13-12 win over the Base Runners. The Royal Flush held a 6-4 lead after two innings. The Base Runners answered, scoring seven runs in the top of the third. Not to be outdone, the Royal Flush countered in the bottom of the third inning with five runs to deadlock the game at 11-11. Going into the bottom of the fifth inning down by one run, two hits and an error gave the Royal Flush the win.

Toward the end of the Owens League season, Manzanar Free Press sports editor Roy Hoshizaki gave his opinion of the Owens League as follows: “The slowest starting league, but the best hitting league…Pedro Pirates boast 10 players batting over .400…Falcons the most inconsistent team, upsetting potent teams, while being upset by the weaker sisters…Scorpions reputed for sportsmanship in few games…Diehards really dying out after a few surprise upsets…Royal Flush can be proud of K. Oba’s hitting…he’s always on the pedestal…Base Runners have Maeda and J. Mitsuuchi in the batting average…Esquires found unesquired…not as sleeky as we found them…Bulldogs next to Pirates, have the strongest team with Izumida, Nakagawa, and Yamigawa supporting the team with their big maces.”

As the calendar flipped from August to September, the Pirates achieved a narrow 11-9 victory over the Scorpions while the Royal Flush were a 3-1 victim of one of those few Diehard surprise upsets. The Falcons found themselves on the wrong end of an 11-9 extra-inning loss as the Base Runners took advantage of Falcons’ pitcher Tak Kuse’s wildness.

With the end of the season and potential to claim the Owens League championship, as well as a ticket to the Little World Series in sight, Pirates’ chucker George Mio mastered the Royal Flush, throwing a 5-0 shutout. The Bulldogs, however, did not help their cause in challenging the Pirates for first position as they fell victim to a heartbreaking 7-6 upset loss at the hands of the Esquires.

Sensing the finish line, Pirates’ pitcher George Mio put on another superb showcase against the lowly Diehards, allowing them just two hits in a September 4-2 win, giving the Pirates the Owens League championship and a place in the Little World Series. The Bulldogs picked themselves up following their loss to the Esquires, beating the Falcons 4-2 to become the Owens League runners-up.

Though the final published Owens League standings could not be located, the camp newspaper indicated that the Pirates moved on to the Little World Series with the Bulldogs finishing as runners-up.

According to the final Owens League batting statistics published by the Manzanar Free Press, the Scorpions’ K. Sano won the league batting crown with a .520 average, 20 points higher than the second-place finisher, Pirate K. Kubota (.500). Others who finished at the top of the leaderboard included Bulldog K. Nakata (.469), Pirate T. Seko (.460), and Esquire T. Uyeda, and Falcon T. Kuse, who both finished with a .459 average.

Published pitching records or all-star selections could not be located.

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.

 

SOURCES

Unless otherwise noted, all information used to construct the 1942 Manzanar men’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=1942.

 

NOTES

1 Ryan Reft, “Diamonds Separated by Oceans: Baseball, Japanese Americans, and Southern California’s Pacific Rim,” January 10, 2014, PBS SoCal, http://www.pbssocal.org/history-society/diamonds-separated-by-oceans-baseball-japanese-americans-and-southern-californias-pacific-rim.

2 “Pete Mitsui Obituary,” Legacy.com, accessed December 14, 2025, http://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/pete-mitsui-obituary?id=20281313.