The Disappearance of the Nippon Cup: Early Japanese Participation in Australian Baseball

The only known photo of the Nippon Baseball Club, taken in approximately 1918. (THE SYDNEY SUN)

 

In 1919, Japanese migrants living in Sydney donated a silver cup to the New South Wales (NSW) Baseball Association “[i]n appreciation of the friendship and good feeling accorded the Nippon [Baseball] Club since it joined the Association.”1 The Cup was for the annual winner of the District competition in Sydney, NSW.2 Known as the Nippon Cup, after the team who presented it, it was the goal of District competition over the next two decades. The Nippon Cup has erroneously been identified by Joe Clark in A History of Australian Baseball as a gift from the Japanese consul, but contemporary records including news reports and the annual reports of the NSW Baseball Association show this was not the case.3 By World War II, the origins of NSW Baseball’s most treasured trophy had become of a problem. Following discussion at the Annual General Meeting of the NSW Baseball Association in 1941, the Nippon Cup disappears from the records. It is not mentioned in subsequent baseball reports by state associations, internet searches provide no details on its existence, and enquiries with the last club to win the Nippon Cup have gone unanswered. The Nippon Cup vanishes.

The absence of the Nippon Cup in Australian baseball after 1941 reflects the limited recognition of the role Japanese players and Japanese expatriate community played in Australian baseball in the first two decades of the twentieth century, history that was actively erased during and immediately after World War II. The major but forgotten element of that history is the Nippon Baseball Club, who played in Sydney from 1917 to 1919. Their players gave the NSW Baseball Association and its members the Nippon Cup as a gesture of the positive relations that existed between the Japanese residents and the wider baseball community.

Drawing from archival research, utilizing more than three hundred contemporary news reports from the National Archives of Australia, and the Brian Davis Collection and Davis Sporting Collection in the NSW State Library, the story of a Japanese team welcomed in Australia at the height of the White Australia immigration policy is revealed. Contemporary sources show that the Nippon Baseball Club and its players were a popular addition to local baseball competition. The past two decades have seen growing recognition of the role of Japanese migrants in baseball’s history in the United States and Canada, but their role in Australia has been overlooked. Acknowledging the forgotten role of the Nippon Baseball Club is a step in correcting that omission.

When Australia’s colonies formed a nation of federated states in 1901, one of the first acts of the new Australian parliament was the Immigration Restriction Act 1901. The Immigration Restriction Act was an extension of earlier policies seeking to restrict who could migrate to Australia, and in particular severely limit the immigration of people from Asia to Australia, with the goal of creating a primarily white country (similar to Great Britain). Until this point, Japanese migration to Australia had largely been driven in response to emerging pearl and sugar cane industries.

The first recorded Japanese immigrant to Australia was Sakuragawa Rikinosuke in 1871.4 Rikinosuke was an acrobat who settled in Queensland. The White Australia policy, reflected in the Immigration Restriction Act 1901, significantly limited Japanese immigration after federation.5 Japanese migrants were permitted to enter Australia, but the number was modest. After 1904 Japanese migrants were exempted from the dictation test—a requirement in the Immigration Act that was used to exclude non-Europeans from entering Australia by requiring them to dictate a 50-word passage—when seeking an extension of their visa. The 1911 census records that there were 3281 Japanese-born men and 208 Japanese-born women resident in Australia.6 Spread across the continent, very few lived in New South Wales: only 125 Japanese-born men and 14 Japanese-born women were resident in New South Wales as recorded in the 1911 census.7 By 1921, the number of Japanese-born men in New South Wales more than doubled to 302.8

As the Australian government sought to prevent permanent migration from Asia to Australia, most Japanese people resident in Australian cities before WWII were here temporarily, some as representatives of Japanese businesses. Despite these restrictions, limited numbers of immigrants from Japan had resettled in Australia. Because Australian migration policy severely restricted immigration, the umbrella term “migrant,” defined by the UN as “a person who moves away from his or her place of usual residence, whether within a country or across an international border, temporarily or permanently, and for a variety of reasons,” will be used to identify them.9 While Australian attitudes to Japan had been mostly positive at the beginning of the 20th century, and particularly supportive of Japan in its 1904–05 war with Russia, historians have typically identified an increasingly negative attitude by Australians towards Japan from 1907 onwards.10

Baseball’s history in Australia is almost as long as its history in the United States. While stories of prospectors playing baseball in Victoria’s Gold Rush (which started around 1851) are almost certainly apocryphal, there is evidence of a baseball game in Melbourne as early as 1855.11 However, interest in baseball remained modest in Australia over the next several decades. The prospects for baseball in Australia were strong enough, however, to encourage Albert Goodwill Spalding to bring his baseball world tour to Australia in 1888–89, which generated significant local interest. In 1913–14 the New York Giants and Chicago White Sox included Australia in their world tour. Again, this event was met with significant interest and widely covered in local media. Local baseball was a regular feature of Sydney’s sports calendar, too.

The NSW Baseball Association had been formed in 1898, and regular district competitions, as well as a suite of lower grades, were competed each winter (and some in the summer as well).12 Daily newspapers in Sydney included numerous articles about local baseball competition and the names and details of players were shared with sufficient familiarity to indicate that the sport had a relatively popular following. By the 1910s, local Sydney games could draw more than three thousand paying spectators.

THE NIPPON BASEBALL CLUB STEPS UP TO THE PLATE

In 1917, NSW Baseball Association officials had been attempting to arrange a game between a NSW representative team and visiting officers from Japanese naval ships who were there as World War I allies.13 When it became impossible to schedule such a game, Japanese residents in Sydney agreed to play. The game was to raise funds for the “War Chest”—money in aid of Australia’s involvement in World War I. The positive nature of the event was evident in media coverage. Referee noted that “[t]here is no doubt about sport for fostering the Imperial spirit, and this was exemplified [at the game].”14 Conditions for the game were appalling and the ground was largely underwater, however such a large crowd had turned up to watch that the game went on anyway. It was noted that “the pavilion was uncomfortably packed, and large crowds stood in the rain, until the finish.”15 It was reported that attendance would have broken records but for the poor conditions.16 The wardrobe of the Nippon team received considerable attention: “The Nippon team looked particularly smart in their neat grey uniforms.”17 Their jerseys sported “Nippon” in red lettering.

The appearance of the Nippon Baseball Club at this point in the season was advantageous. One of the district teams, Burwood, had to withdraw because they were unable to regularly field a team. Nippon were invited to play Burwood’s remaining schedule, reducing the interruption to the league. In their first regular season game, Nippon defeated Paddington at Waverley Oval, 15 to 13.18 The offensive performance of Nippon was strong, though weaknesses in fielding were evident.19 This should not have been surprising, however, as only four players in the Nippon team had previously played baseball.20 Still, they were noted to “have plenty of energy” and “their enthusiasm counts for much.”21 The game offered “great excitement,” as Nippon batted in six runs in the bottom of the ninth to take the game from Paddington.22,23

There was a week’s enforced break for Nippon as a result of professional obligations: “Business prevents Nippon from playing to-day.”24 This issue would plague Nippon’s involvement and was later reported as the reason Nippon would leave the league.25 Nippon played the remainder of the season, with their games highly attended and often used to raise funds for the war effort.26 After their third game in the league, the NSW Baseball Association chairman M.A. Noble expressly welcomed Nippon’s own delegate K. Watanabe at an Association meeting, and the event was significant enough to be covered in Sydney newspapers.27

Nippon’s final game of the season pitted them against the reigning champions, Petersham No. 2.28 Despite a loss, reports still found positive things to say about Nippon, reflecting the overall positive attitude to the team in their first season. As the Sydney Sportsman reported, Nippon “displayed keenness and improvement which augurs well for future efficiency.”29 As further evidence of their widespread interest and support in Sydney, a large crowd paid to watch the game between Nippon and Petersham No. 2.30

The welcoming attitude of the Sydney baseball community to the Japanese players was also evidenced in the NSW Baseball Association’s annual report following the 1917 season. The report gave special mention to Nippon and stated that:

The entrance of the Nippon team marks an epoch in the game in Australia, this being the first occasion of the appearance of the Japanese in baseball circles in Australia. Under the able captaincy of Mr. M Mukuhara, they made a very creditable showing, and it is sincerely to be hoped that the coming season will see ‘Nippon’ properly enrolled in the Competition and in a position to play continuously.

The inclusion of a team of Japanese residents in Sydney to play regularly was a milestone in Australian baseball, and Australian sports more generally. Japanese teams had begun to play in the US West Coast, but this marked the first time a dedicated team made up of Japanese migrants participated in Australian competition. News reports of Nippon that first season were universally supportive. Even when losing, articles found positive dimensions of their play to highlight. Surviving reports from the season suggest an immense amount of affection from local baseballers and sports journalists towards the Nippon team.

 

Albert Goodwill Spalding brought his baseball world tour to Australia in 1888–89. (WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

 

NIPPON CLUB IN THE FINAL YEAR OF WORLD WAR I

The 1918 season started with the NSW Baseball Association expressing deep gratitude to Nippon. That their involvement in the District competition was welcomed would be an understatement. Ahead of the season, the NSW Baseball Association made a special presentation to the Nippon team in appreciation of their contributions.31 A “handsomely framed illuminated address” was presented to team members “couched in panegyric terms, not only in regard to the advent of the Japanese locally as baseballers, but glowingly appreciative of their invaluable service as an ally.”32 The text of the address read:

The New South Wales Baseball Association, on behalf of all interested in the sport, desire to express the appreciation of the part taken by the representatives of the Japanese Empire resident in Sydney, in the baseball games played during the season 1917, also of the chivalrous manner in which the operations generally of the Nippon team were conducted. Japan and Australia have many common interests which are enhanced by association of this description.33

There was much anticipation about Nippon’s performance in the upcoming season. Nippon, however, lost their first two games by large margins.34 When given the opportunity to spend time practicing, however, Nippon improved considerably, and later games saw Nippon provide a tougher challenge for opposing teams.35,36 One game saw Nippon’s numbers bolstered by the addition of Japanese navy sailors visiting Sydney.37 Their performance “made it torrid” for their opponents, and their performance “greatly pleased a big crowd of local supports [sic], who were most impartial [in favor of Nippon].”38,39 Contemporary news reports suggest that Nippon continued to receive a welcome and supportive reception wherever they went. Spectators had a genuine interest in watching local baseball, especially Nippon, and were eager to support the Japanese team in addition to the teams from their own districts.

Nippon’s greatest success in 1918 was their defeat of St. Elmo: “At Waverley Oval Nippon found their batting clothes, and combined with effect.”40 The Sun reported that “the Japanese won their first game, and in doing so displayed knowledge of what is called ‘inside dope,’ which was a surprise to their opponents and the onlookers at Waverley Oval.”41 Nippon beat St. Elmo 11 to 3.42 Nippon’s pitcher, G. Tsuchiya, and their catcher M. Mukuhara, “were very good on this occasion, while Watanabe at first base played his best to date.”43 Nippon players were frequently identified in local baseball coverage. This included discussion of players such as Mukuhara— whom some outlets nicknamed Mike O’Hara—in such familiar terms that it can be assumed their audience were as aware of Nippon players as they were those from other teams. However, first names were never used, and their first initials were seldom used. Not even a pictorial spread of the team in 1918 used their first names, identifying them only by first initial and last name. Confirmation of their first names through immigration records has thus far been unsuccessful.

During the 1918 season, the coverage by Sydney Sportsman of the Nippon v. University game, which Nippon lost 9–3, is perhaps the most striking. The Sportsman appears to have been the most likely news outlet to use offensive language, and to generally express more qualified praise than the general support of other newspapers. Their report of the game was extensive, relative to coverage of other baseball games in Sydney newspapers. The article began with “Banzai! Banzai! Banzai! In common vernacular, Hip! Hip! To the nippy Nippon’s excellent display against Almer Mater at Uni. It was fine.”44 The article provided a slang-heavy description of the game, describing Sugita as “some short-stop” with “fine throw[s]” and that Watanabe performed very well despite his broken glasses, which had been damaged following a collision with a runner at first. Ikeda at third base was “no slouch,” and special mention was made of the center fielder Takeshita who made an amazing catch to deny Tim Yates a home run for University.45 Nippon also demonstrated “fleetness of foot on the bases” and stealing eleven bases.46 The article closed with the promise that “Keep on doing it you Banzai crowd, and there are fruits of victory ahead.”47

Following the University game, Nippon would next play Petersham No. 2, losing 14 to 7 in a game in which Mukuhara hit one of the longest home runs seen at Petersham Oval.48 Subsequent weeks, however, were not positive for Nippon. They forfeited their first game the following week against Petersham No. 1, then lost 19–2 against St. Peters the week after.49,50 Nippon would next lose to St. George 23 to 7.51 The loss against St. George, and the earlier forfeit and loss to Petersham, were explained later that week in an article in Referee: the “Japanese, owing to the migration of their men, are finding it difficult to keep moving with a complete outfit.”52 Personnel challenges because of migration would become an ongoing problem for the Nippon Club. This would later be compounded by the flu pandemic of 1919 and the workloads of Japanese migrants for their Japanese employers.

Nippon continued to face challenges fielding a nine. They forfeited the next two weeks, first against Bondi, then against St. Elmo53,54 Nippon played University in their last game of the season, losing 9 to 1.55 Nippon were depleted, and the team was supplemented by third grade (lowest level) players from the Bondi club. Key Nippon personnel were absent, such as Sugita at shortstop. Arrow would recount the problem first reported by Referee that migration had impacted Nippon’s ability to play. This time, however, it would end Nippon’s season: “The Japanese owing to the migration of a few of their best players are reluctantly compelled to drop out of the remaining fixtures.”56 Nippon ended the season with a .071 record, winning only one of their 14 games. Of those games, three losses were due to forfeit and several of the others occurred when Nippon had difficulty fielding a full team. Several of the games had been close encounters, and Nippon’s season could easily have matched St. Elmo or St. Peters, who recorded 2 and 5 wins in the season respectively.57

A baseball carnival was held after the end of the season, in part to raise funds for the war effort.58 A representative side with players drawn from the district teams played Petersham No. 2 as part of the festivities. Significantly, Mukuhara was selected to play right field for the representative team.59 The inclusion of a Nippon player in a district representative side indicates that the team were well integrated into local competition, and their players considered sufficiently talented and part of the community that they would be selected with the best from other teams.

At the conclusion of the 1918 season The Sun published a lengthy article on the Nippon Baseball Club, with a large photo of the complete team. The article detailed the growth of baseball in Japan and plainly stated that the quality of players in Japan “is better than Australia has so far produced.”60 Details of each player were shared, and a narrative of how the team was formed. The Sun’s article is an example of how local sports reports demonstrated considerable knowledge of Nippon’s players. In particular, it made clear that only Tsuchiya (pitcher), Mukuhara (catcher), Watanabe (first base), and Sugita (short stop) had played baseball in Japan, meaning less than half of Nippon’s players had played baseball before coming to Australia. Like most coverage, this final article from 1918 made sure to stress the positives of the Nippon team. “Their team work on the bases is alert, speedy and commendable” and they “evince keen enthusiasm.”61

Nippon’s inclusion in the 1919 season was met with great anticipation. The Sydney Sportsman believed that Nippon “will be far from easy money” with new “players who have graduated through the high schools of Japan, which reach the high water mark in the sport.”62 Mukuhara, who was instrumental in forming the team in 1917, had been sought by the paper for comment, though had not been directly quoted. Nippon had been practicing regularly at North Sydney Oval No. 2, but in an indication of things to come, Mukuhara was forced to return to Japan “to attend to some private business” before the season commenced.63,64 No date is given for his return, but his next mention in the media is in the May 12, 1919, edition of the Sydney Morning Herald.65 The absence of Mukuhara, even in preparations for the season, would be a considerable loss.66

The 1919 season would be different to the 1917 and 1918 seasons due to the merger between the District competition and the National League, which had been run by different organizing bodies. Nippon had played in the wintertime District competition overseen by the NSW Baseball Association. The National League had played a summer competition as opposed to the District competition that took place in the winter. As such, additional teams would play in the District competition in 1919, while some clubs were relegated to play in lower leagues. St. Peters and St. Elmo would not play in the same competition this season as they had in the past, while four new teams were added. This appears to have had the immediate effect of increasing the competitiveness of the league, particularly as two of the new clubs would finish first and second at the end of the season. In retrospect, this no doubt decreased Nippon’s chances for success, particularly given the challenges they were about to face.

The absence of Mukuhara in the preparations for the 1919 season had indeed been a harbinger of the difficulties the team would face. Nippon turned up to play Waverley at Rushcutter’s Bay Oval only for the teams to be denied use of the field.67 A lower grade game was also scheduled at the same venue and all four teams and their supporters arrived at the oval only to be told by authorities that permission to play was refused.68 The Daily Telegraph reported that this was due to a misunderstanding.69 The Sydney Sportsman, never a publication inclined to moderation, was more explicit: “some spoil sport in authority or his myrmidons forbade the use of Rushcutter Bay Oval ‘because baseball is a dangerous game and would cut up the ground.’”70 They continued:

Gadzooks! If baseball is dangerous so is a new born babe. And football [Rugby League] is played there. Ain’t it sickening? Wonder whether the Johnny who issued the edict ever went to a Sunday School picnic and played kiss in the ring with the girls. That’s more dangerous, especially these “flu days.”71

The observation of the presence of influenza is important. Aside from its nationally and internationally devastating impact, it would also severely curtail Nippon’s participation and likely contributed to 1919 being the last baseball season in Australia with significant migrant involvement before World War II.

Nippon would lose their first game of the season to Bondi, 7 to 0.72 The press made much of Nippon being “Chicagoed”: kept scoreless. The Sun reported that “Tipped as the dark horses that were going to upset calculations, they are the weakest line-up in a bunch of mostly evenly-matched outfits.”73 Describing the other teams as evenly matched was premature, as teams such as Newtown would prove equally out-matched. The following day’s Daily Telegraph would point out that there had been a record number of scoreless games in the season already and was “a clear indication of the inequality of the teams engaged.”74 It was their view that Newtown, University, Nippon, and Petersham No. 1 were all at a disadvantage in the league.

Nippon would miss their next game against Leichardt due to wet weather, before losing 16 to 0 the next week to St. George.75,76 This was followed by a game against Petersham No. 1, where “Nippon broke their run of cyphers by scoring two runs,” but lost 11 to 2.77 Nippon scoring for the first time in the season was significant enough news that it was reported in multiple outlets.78 But the failure of NSW teams to score continued to be a cause of surprise for the sporting press: “‘Chicagoes’ continue to be the order of the day—a feature quite unusual in the history of the game in New South Wales.”79 This does put Nippon’s performance in context. While their inability to score many runs was noted, it was not unique in the league that season. Nippon’s attitude, in contrast, was considered a good influence on the league, particularly its respectability. The Arrow, while noting the improvement of Nippon’s play, remarked “Their natty uniforms of white are an object lesson. Most of the clubs would do well to take a leaf out of Nippon’s book. Some of the teams dress worse than badly, and this leaves a very bad impression on the spectators.”80

During the 1919 season Nippon was severely depleted by influenza as the global pandemic spread across Australia. The Daily Telegraph reported that “Nippon had several players ill, and were compelled to forfeit to Newtown; the latter thus registers its first win of the season.”81 The Sydney Sportsman would record that “Nippon nipped by flu, forfeited to Newtown.”82 Influenza continued to hamper Nippon’s participation, forcing them to forfeit their next game against Petersham No. 2, and it was also taking a significant toll on other teams.83,84 The NSW Baseball Association was forced to pass a resolution as a result:

That it be an expression of opinion that during the influenza pandemic, club captains should not take advantage of the rules in regard to shortage of players, i.e., if teams are short handed they are to be permitted to fill up their teams with players from lower grades, up to three men.85

This rule almost certainly presented a greater problem for Nippon than other teams. Nippon had no lower grades to draw from. Consequently, any absence, even just of a single player, might result in a forfeited game due to an inability to field a nine. It also meant that illness likely had a more profound impact on practice and team cohesion than for other clubs. This would have compounded the difficulty noted in other sources that Nippon had in finding time to practice within their professional schedules. Owing to Australia’s severe restrictions on immigration from Asia during the White Australia Policy, there was a relatively modest Japanese community to draw players from. As the 1919 season marched on, Nippon was forced to forfeit repeatedly and play without training. This generated some disappointment in the press and criticism of their on-field performance.86 The singling out of Nippon, however, seems unfair. There were numerous poor results in the 1919 season, with inconsistent standards and lackluster performances observed on multiple occasions. In one article critical of Nippon’s performance, The Sun describes the previous week’s games as “inferior,” when in fact Nippon did not play.87

By mid-July 1919, Nippon’s health appeared to be improving. The Daily Telegraph reported that:

Nippon, which has had to forfeit for the past three Saturdays, expects to have no difficulty in getting a team together for next Saturday. The team will be helped by the return from Japan of Mr. G Tsuchiya, who will be remembered as its pitcher, and one of the best players for the past two seasons. The club, as a token of the good feeling existing, is presenting the association with a handsome trophy for annual competition in the district division.88

Nippon’s 6–3 loss to Leichardt would prove that the team was capable of strong performances, and that circumstances had impacted their season rather than a lack of ability. Coverage of their game against Leichardt—the competition leaders—was a return to the favorable and positive coverage evident almost every week Nippon was in the league. The Sunday Times noted that Leichardt “were hard pushed, Nippon surprising everyone by their improved form.”89 “Surprise” was the most common description of the result that week. The Sun said that “Nippon put up their best display of the season… [and] surprised the home nine. Everything catchable was taken by the Japs [sic], the improvement most notable.”90 The Sydney Morning Herald called the Nippon performance “a mild sensation” and declared “that team work of the Japanese defensively was vastly better than anything hitherto revealed by them, and they let nothing within reach escape. At the bat, too, they were more effective than usual.”91

Nippon finished the season with the worst record in the league (0–18). Newtown, however, had a similarly poor record (2–16) and much greater resources to draw from. Due to the merger of the National League and the NSW Baseball Association’s District Competition, talent was now concentrated at the top of the restructured league, increasing the difficulty for clubs with less depth. The lack of depth in the Nippon Club’s roster had a significant impact on their performance. When players like Mukuhara had to return to Japan, their absence was clearly evident. Whereas other clubs had rosters to supplement their nine when illness, travel, and work schedules depleted the pool of available players, Nippon were not so fortunate, negatively impacting their ability to practice and perform well on the field.

In the final weeks of the 1919 season, members of the Nippon Club gave to NSW Baseball Association the Nippon Cup. Its presentation received wide coverage in the Sydney press. The sentiment in news reports was affectionate and appreciative. In their annual general report for the 1919–20 financial year, the NSW Baseball Association reported that:

Your Association desired to extend its very sincere thanks to the Nippon Baseball Club for the handsome silver club [sic] present for competition in the District Division. The relations existing between our Japanese friends and the Association have always been of the most cordial nature, and this graceful act on their part serves to bind the ties more closely. The value of a thorough understanding between Australia and Japan cannot be overestimated in view of the future administration of affairs in the Pacific Ocean, and your Association feels it is on the right track in thus helping to build up a firm friendship with the Sydney representatives of the “little brown people [sic]” who are surely destined to become a great nation.92

It was disappointing that the Association chose to include such a racially offensive description when recognizing the gift of the Nippon Cup. That the gratitude was genuine, however, seems indisputable given the overall discussion of the gift in contemporary reports.

NIPPON CLUB AND CUP IN THE 1920S AND BEYOND

While it was hoped that Nippon would return to play in 1920, they had to leave the competition.93 Surviving contemporary reports do not provide an explanation, though the challenges faced in 1919 were likely to be influential. It may be that insufficient players were available for the 1920 season. Two years after their last appearance, Nippon Club were still remembered fondly. The Daily Telegraph recalled in 1921 that:

For several years the Nippon nine took part in the New South Wales Association’s competitions. Unfortunately, owing to unavoidable changes they could never work up a combination, an essential factor to success in baseball, and they were easily beaten. There were several capable exponents, especially the battery, and they were intensely enthusiastic.94

The article also called on local baseball officials to do more to include Japanese players, particularly in having a Japanese university team tour.

Say! ye local administrators. What’s the matter with trying to get a Japanese University team to visit Australia. They would find foemen worthy of their steel in club and interstate teams, and the invasion would keep an impetus to the game. It would probably be a paying proposition, too. Perhaps Billy Hughes [Australia’s then-prime minister] might be persuaded to initiate overtures. Not a bad diplomatic move.—Eh, what!95

In 1923, the press was hopeful that the Nippon club would return. The Sun declared that:

Summer baseball promises, to be interesting this year. First of all, the Japs [sic] are thinking of coming back. There are enough Japanese players, living in Sydney now to get together a good, sound team. The only difficulty is— time. Can they find enough time for practice and play? A couple of years ago they found they couldn’t—that’s why they had to give it up. It was simply business or baseball—and they had to choose business. It couldn’t be helped, of course, but they regret it now. They’re keen on the game and they want to be back in it. So they’re going to do their best to put Nippon into the competition this summer.96

The participation of Nippon in the summer league (rather than the higher profile winter league) was also reported in the Sydney Mail.97 Sadly, no further mention of the Nippon Club appears that season. It can only be surmised that Nippon’s participation did not happen. This is further affirmed by coverage the next year when a Japanese naval training vessel visited Australia. During that trip representatives from the team played several games, including against state representative sides. The Sun observed that “[a] Japanese nine will not be a novelty to baseball fans in Sydney. The Nippon team, composed of residents here, played for several seasons during the winter, and presented the association with a fine silver cup.”98 That there was no mention of them playing in the current summer season (1923–24) indicates that efforts to include Nippon again were unsuccessful.

1924 is the second to last year the Nippon team is mentioned in news reports on baseball in Australia. The Nippon Cup was noted annually in the news when it was awarded to the champions of the District Competition. NSW Baseball Association’s annual reports also make regular mention of the Nippon Cup, but do not mention the team. It is not until 1941 that the team is mentioned again for the final time. This is in relation to the Nippon Cup they gave to the NSW Baseball Association. The Cup’s name and origins had proved controversial for NSW Baseball Association once Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and entered World War II. The fate of the Nippon Cup was national news, appearing in newspapers outside of Sydney and New South Wales. Melbourne’s Argus newspaper told its readers that:

Japan’s entry into the war has set a problem for the State baseball association. One of its most treasured trophies, the Nippon Cup, was presented by Japanese residents before the last war. The cup was presented for competition in the first grade, now the major league, when the Nippon team played regularly here. Since then it has been the most prized trophy in the district competitions. Mr. H. C. Steele, honorary secretary of the association, said that Marrickville club, which won the premiership last year, will hold the trophy until next August. What will become of it then is conjecture. As the profits of the organization are devoted to war funds, one suggestion is that it be melted down, sold, and the money given to the national war effort.99

Later headlines declared “Nippon Cup for Melting Pot.”100 At the NSW Baseball Association Committee meeting in February 1941 the Nippon Cup’s fate was debated. Reports from that meeting demonstrated the depth of ill-will NSW baseball’s community now felt towards Japan.

Twenty-three [sic] years ago the Japanese presented the New South Wales Baseball Association with the Nippon Cup. Its intrinsic value is £3/7/9 [$335.71AUD in 2024, or $215.71USD]. It has not yet gone into the melting pot. At the annual meeting this week a committeeman suggested that the cup should be preserved, and the following inscription engraved:—”This trophy was presented by the Japs [sic] when they had a little appreciation of sportsmanship left.”101

At the last mention of the Nippon Cup in news report—February 28, 1941—no decision had still been made regarding what was to be done with it. NSW Baseball Association’s annual reports make no further mention of the Nippon Cup. The Nippon Cup vanishes from the records. With it, any mention of the Nippon Club also disappears. The Cup or the Club are not mentioned again after 1941.

THE NIPPON CLUB AND LOCAL ATTITUDES

News coverage of Nippon Club’s games and their players was widespread, and that coverage was almost universally supportive. The offensive slur “Japs” does appear in the coverage, as previously quoted in this article. In 303 contemporary news reports reviewed for this project the term appears 16 times in 13 articles. On one of those occasions, it is a quotation from a source during World War II.102 It seems unlikely that the term was intended to be offensive, though that has little bearing on how it might have been received. Significantly, 10 out of the 16 uses of the term appear in seven articles by the Sydney Sportsman, which was more likely than other publications to be critical of the Nippon Club and to result to jingoism and puns based on the name Nippon. In context, none of the uses of the word appear, on face value, to have been intended to insult members of the Nippon team or the Japanese community in Sydney. Despite the use of that offensive slur, reports regularly thank the Japanese for their participation in the game. When Nippon won, it appears there was near universal celebration. When Nippon lost, the press regularly found something positive to note in their performance.

More problematic, however, is the description of Nippon players by reference to their skin color and height. Whether the intention of the journalists was to be offensive is also now lost. But again, that has little bearing on how it might have been received, and the discussion is clearly offensive to modern audiences. There are only five instances in the more than 300 articles where Nippon players, or the team, are described as “little brown men.”103 On one other occasion the word “brown” is used in reference to the team.104 The surrounding discussion, however, almost always includes praise. The use of these offensive descriptors, though rare in the sporting press at the time, indicates the prevailing prejudice that informed the popular White Australia policy.

What is evident in the contemporary coverage of the Nippon Club is that they were well liked. Local sports journalists appreciated the involvement of the Nippon team in local competition. The NSW Baseball Association was also very grateful to Nippon and made that position clear on several occasions. The challenges faced by Nippon in regularly fielding a team only slightly diminished the esteem with which the team and its players were held. Their participation in the NSW Baseball Association, one of the premier baseball competitions in Australia of its time, is an important milestone in baseball’s development in Australia. This occurs during the same period that Japanese teams, or teams of Japanese migrants and players of Japanese heritage, were participating in baseball leagues on the West Coast of the United States. It has been overlooked that similar efforts and contributions (though more modest) were made by Japanese migrant communities to baseball in Australia.

That a team of Japanese baseball players was so popular in Sydney during the White Australia policy suggests two things. As contemporary news reports pointed out, sport could play a significant role in overcoming prejudice and providing opportunities for integration and interaction between communities. The status of Japan and Australia as allies in World War I also likely contributed to goodwill between Australians and Japanese migrants resident in Sydney. The influence of global events was perhaps most significant. When Japan and Australia became adversaries in World War II, Australians quickly extended those hostilities to the memories of the Nippon Baseball Club and the Nippon Cup they gave as a gift of friendship.

That the Nippon Cup or the team that gave it is never mentioned again demonstrates the efforts baseball authorities made to diminish the role of Japanese in early Australian baseball. By the 1950s, Japanese baseball and ballplayers were still sufficiently controversial that a 1954 tour by the Tokyo Giants was protested by the Returned Servicemen’s League and subsequently cut short.105 That tour had been deliberately arranged to foster goodwill between Australia and Japan, who had only resumed bilateral relations in 1952. It would not be until the 1960s when baseball relationships between Australia and Japan would improve. Tours by Japanese teams to Australia would happen frequently in the second half of the twentieth century. The Nippon Baseball Club, however, would not be mentioned in coverage of those tours. Any memory of the team and their participation in Australian baseball had been almost completely erased, and their thoughtfully gifted Nippon Cup appears entirely lost.

RAY NICKSON is Deputy Head of School (Research and Research Training) at the Newcastle School of Law and Justice where he teaches Criminology and Sport and the Law.

 

Acknowledgments

The author gratefully acknowledges the State Library of New South Wales special collections and the materials included in their sporting collections. Without these resources this research would not be possible.

 

Notes

1. ‘Baseball Gossip,’ Referee (Sydney), April 30, 1919, 12.

2. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, April 30, 1919, 3.

3. Joe Clarke, A History of Australian Baseball: Time and Game (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003). While Clark’s book provides an authoritative oral history of baseball in Australia for the last half of the 20th century, it draws from incomplete sources to inform its discussion of earlier Australian baseball history.

4. ‘Japan-born Community Information Summary’, Department of Home Affairs, https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/mca/files/2016-cis-japan.PDF (accessed October 10, 2024).

5. ‘Japan’, National Archives of Australia, https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/immigration-and-citizenship/migrant-stories/japan (Accessed October 10, 2024).

6. ‘Japan-born Community Information Summary’, Department of Home Affairs, https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/mca/files/2016-cis-japan.PDF (accessed October 10, 2024).

7. Australian Bureau of Statistics, ‘Census of the Commonwealth of Australia 1911—Volume II Part II Birthplaces’, https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/2112.0 (accessed October 10, 2024).

8. Australian Bureau of Statistics, ‘Census of the Commonwealth of Australia 1921—Volume I Part II Birthplaces’, https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/2111.0 (accessed October 10, 2024).

9. ‘Key Migration Terms,’ International Organization for Migration, https://www.iom.int/key-migration-terms (accessed September 8, 2025).

10. Ben McInnes, “Assessing Australian Attitudes to Japan in the Early Twentieth Century—A New Approach,” New Voices 1 (2006): 13–22.

11. Ray Nickson, “An Epoch in Australian Baseball: Stanford University’s Tour of 1928.” SABR Baseball Research Journal 47, Spring (2018): 23–28.

12. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Morning Herald, May 27, 1898, 12.

13. ‘Baseball,’ Referee, June 27, 1917, 3.

14. ‘Baseball,’ Referee June 27, 1917, 3.

15. ‘Baseball,’ Referee , June 27, 1917, 3.

16. ‘Baseball,’ Arrow (Sydney), June 30, 1917, 8.

17. ‘Baseball,’ Arrow , June 30, 1917, 8.

18. ‘Baseball,’ Sunday Times (Sydney), 1 July 1917, 5; ‘Baseball,’ Sun (Sydney), July 1, 1917, 7; ‘Baseball,’ Daily Telegraph (Sydney), July 1, 1917, 8.

19. ‘Baseball,’ Referee , July 4, 1917, 11.

20. ‘Baseball,’ Sun, September 1, 1918, 9.

21. ‘Baseball,’ Referee, July 4, 1917, 11.

22. ‘Baseball,’ Arrow, July 7, 1917, 7.

23. Nippon scored six in the bottom of the ninth against Paddington when they only needed five runs to win, and while the reason isn’t recorded, it wasn’t uncommon at the time for games to be played outside the rules. Australian baseball before WWII did not always follow the traditional rules set in the United States, due to ignorance or their inability to get an up-to-date copy of the rules from the US.

24. ‘Baseball,’ Arrow, July 7, 1917, 7.

25. ‘Baseball,’ Sun, July 3, 1923, 5.

26. ‘Baseball,’ Referee, July 18, 1917, 11; ‘Baseball,’ Arrow, July 21, 1917, 8; ‘Baseball,’ Sunday Times, August 5, 1917, 5; ‘Baseball,’ Daily Telegraph, August 6, 1917, 8; ‘Baseball,’ Referee, August 8, 1917, 13; ‘Baseball,’ Arrow, August 11, 1917, 7; ‘Baseball,’ Referee, August 29, 1917, 13.

27. ‘Baseball,’ Referee, July 25, 1917; ‘Baseball,’ Arrow, July 27, 1917, 8.

28. ‘Baseball,’ Sunday Times, September 2, 1917, 5.

29. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, September 5, 1917, 2.

30. ‘Baseball,’ Referee, September 5, 1917, 13.

31. ‘Baseball,’ Arrow, March 22, 1918, 8.

32. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, April 6, 1918, 5.

33. ‘Baseball,’ Sun, September 1, 1918, 9.

34. ‘Baseball,’ Sunday Times, May 5, 1918, 4; ‘Baseball,’ Referee, May 8, 1918, 9; ‘Baseball,’ Arrow, May 10, 1918, 5; ‘Baseball,’ Sun, May 12, 1918, 8; ‘Baseball,’ Sunday Times, May 12, 1918, 4; ‘Baseball,’ Arrow, May 17, 1918, 8.

35. ‘Baseball,’ Arrow, May 24, 1918, 8.

36. ‘Baseball,’ Arrow, May 24, 1918, 8.

37. ‘Baseball,’ Arrow, May 24, 1918, 8.

38. ‘Baseball,’ Sunday Times, May 26, 1918, 4.

39. ‘Baseball,’ Arrow, May 31, 1918, 8.

40. ‘Baseball,’ Sunday Times, June 9, 1918, 4.

41. ‘Baseball,’ Sun, June 9, 1918, 7.

42. ‘Baseball,’ Daily Telegraph, June 10, 1918, 3.

43. ‘Baseball,’ Referee, June 12, 1918, 12.

44. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, June 22, 1918, 7.

45. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, June 22, 1918, 7.

46. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, June 22, 1918, 7.

47. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, June 22, 1918, 7.

48. ‘Baseball,’ Sunday Times, June 23, 1918, 16.

49. ‘Baseball,’ Daily Telegraph, July 1, 1918, 8.

50. ‘Baseball,’ Sunday Times, July 7, 1918, 4; ‘Baseball,’ Sun, July 7, 1918, 9.

51. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Morning Herald, July 15, 1918, 8.

52. ‘Baseball,’ Referee, July 17, 1918, 12.

53. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, July 20, 1918, 2; ‘Baseball,’ Daily Telegraph, July 22, 1918, 7.

54. ‘Baseball,’ Sunday Times, July 28, 1918, 4; ‘Baseball,’ Sun, July 28, 1918, 9.

55. ‘Baseball,’ Sunday Times, August 4, 1918, 8; ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Morning Herald, August 5, 1918, 9; ‘Baseball,’ Referee, August 7, 1918, 12.

56. ‘Baseball,’ Arrow, August 9, 1918, 8.

57. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, August 10, 1918, 2.

58. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, August 24, 1918, 5.

59. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, August 24, 1918, 5.

60. ‘Baseball,’ Sun, September 1, 1918, 9.

61. ‘Baseball,’ Sun, September 1, 1918, 9.

62. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, March 5, 1919, 5.

63. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, March 5, 1919, 5; ‘Baseball,’ Arrow, March 14, 1919, 4.

64. ‘Baseball,’ Arrow, March 14, 1919, 4.

65. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Morning Herald, May 12, 1919, 8.

66. ‘Baseball,’ Arrow, March 14, 1919, 4.

67. ‘Baseball,’ Sunday Times, May 4, 1919, 7.

68. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Morning Herald, May 5, 1919, 8.

69. ‘Baseball,’ Daily Telegraph, May 5, 1919, 7.

70. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, May 7, 1919, 5.

71. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, May 7, 1919, 5.

72. ‘Baseball,’ Sun, May 11, 1919, 8; ‘Baseball,’ Daily Telegraph, May 12, 1919, 8; ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Morning Herald, May 12, 1919, 8.

73. ‘Baseball,’ Sun, May 13, 1919, 4.

74. ‘Baseball,’ Daily Telegraph, 14 May 1919, 10.

75. ‘Baseball,’ Sun, May 20, 1919, 2.

76. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Morning Herald, May 26, 1919, 11.

77. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Morning Herald, June 2, 1919, 6.

78. ‘Baseball,’ Sunday Times, June 1, 1919, 8; ‘Baseball,’ Daily Telegraph, June 2, 1919, 9.

79. ‘Baseball,’ Daily Telegraph, June 2, 1919, 9.

80. ‘Baseball,’ Arrow, June 13, 1919, 3.

81. ‘Baseball,’ Daily Telegraph, June 23, 1919, 7.

82. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, June 25, 1919, 4.

83. ‘Baseball,’ Daily Telegraph, June 30, 1919, 9.

84. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Morning Herald, June 30, 1919, 5.

85. ‘Baseball,’ Daily Telegraph, June 28, 1919, 15.

86. ‘Baseball,’ Sun, July 8, 1919, 4.

87. ‘Baseball,’ Sun, July 8, 1919, 4.

88. ‘Baseball,’ Daily Telegraph, July 16, 1919, 11.

89. ‘Baseball,’ Sunday Times, July 20, 1919, 10.

90. ‘Baseball,’ Daily Telegraph, July 21, 1919, 5.

91. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Morning Herald, July 21, 1919, 5.

92. NSW Baseball Association, Annual General Report 1919–1920, 7. Davis Sporting Collection, NSW State Library.

93. ‘Baseball, Sydney Sportsman, April 14, 1920, 2.

94. ‘Sport v Diplomacy,’ Daily Telegraph, December 7, 1921, 12.

95. ‘Sport v Diplomacy,’ Daily Telegraph, December 7, 1921, 12.

96. ‘Baseball,’ Sun, July 3, 1923, 5.

97. ‘The Progress of Baseball in NSW,’ Sydney Mail, August 1, 1923, 15.

98. ‘Baseball,’ Sun, January 22, 1924, 5.

99. ‘Nippon Cup for Baseballers,’ Argus (Melbourne), February 14, 1941, 10.

100. ‘Nippon Cup for Melting Pot,’ Courier Mail (Brisbane), February 16, 1941, 4.

101. ‘P.S. to Nippon Baseball Cup,’ Daily Telegraph, February 19, 1941, 8.

102. ‘P.S. to Nippon Baseball Cup,’ Daily Telegraph, February 19, 1941, 8.

103. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, May 11, 1918, 8; ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, June 15, 1918, 7; ‘Baseball,’ Sun, September 1, 1918, 9; ‘Baseball,’ St. George Call, August 2, 1919, 2; ‘Baseball,’ Daily Telegraph, December 7, 1921, 12.

104. ‘Baseball,’ Sydney Sportsman, July 23, 1919, 2.

105. Ai Kobayashi, ‘Japan-Australia Friendship Through Bat and Ball: The Yomiuri Giants’ Baseball Tour of Australia in 1954,’ in Japan in Australia: Culture, Context and Connection, David Chapman and Carol Hayes, eds. (Routledge, 2019), 63–80.