Wally Yonamine

Wally Yonamine

Author: Robert K. Fitts

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2008-09-01

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 0803213816

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Wally Yonamine was both the first Japanese American to play for an NFL franchise and the first American to play professional baseball in Japan after World War II. This is the unlikely story of how a shy young man from the sugar plantations of Maui overcame prejudice to integrate two professional sports in two countries. ø In 1951 the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants chose Yonamine as the first American to play in Japan during the Allied occupation. He entered Japanese baseball when mistrust of Americans was high?and higher still for Japanese Americans whose parents had left the country a generation earlier. Without speaking the language, he helped introduce a hustling style of base running, shaking up the game for both Japanese players and fans. Along the way, Yonamine endured insults, dodged rocks thrown by fans, initiated riots, and was threatened by yakuza (the Japanese mafia). He also won batting titles, was named the 1957 MVP, coached and managed for twenty-five years, and was honored by the emperor of Japan. Overcoming bigotry and hardship on and off the field, Yonamine became a true national hero and a member of Japan?s Baseball Hall of Fame.


Book Synopsis Wally Yonamine by : Robert K. Fitts

Download or read book Wally Yonamine written by Robert K. Fitts and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2008-09-01 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wally Yonamine was both the first Japanese American to play for an NFL franchise and the first American to play professional baseball in Japan after World War II. This is the unlikely story of how a shy young man from the sugar plantations of Maui overcame prejudice to integrate two professional sports in two countries. ø In 1951 the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants chose Yonamine as the first American to play in Japan during the Allied occupation. He entered Japanese baseball when mistrust of Americans was high?and higher still for Japanese Americans whose parents had left the country a generation earlier. Without speaking the language, he helped introduce a hustling style of base running, shaking up the game for both Japanese players and fans. Along the way, Yonamine endured insults, dodged rocks thrown by fans, initiated riots, and was threatened by yakuza (the Japanese mafia). He also won batting titles, was named the 1957 MVP, coached and managed for twenty-five years, and was honored by the emperor of Japan. Overcoming bigotry and hardship on and off the field, Yonamine became a true national hero and a member of Japan?s Baseball Hall of Fame.

Wally Yonamine

Wally Yonamine

Author: Robert K. Fitts

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2008-01-01

Total Pages: 366

ISBN-13: 080321782X

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Wally Yonamine was both the first Japanese American to play for an NFL franchise and the first American to play professional baseball in Japan after World War II. This is the unlikely story of how a shy young man from the sugar plantations of Maui overcame prejudice to integrate two professional sports in two countries. In 1951 the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants chose Yonamine as the first American to play in Japan during the Allied occupation. He entered Japanese baseball when mistrust of Americans was high and higher still for Japanese Americans whose parents had left the country a generation earlier. Without speaking the language, he helped introduce a hustling style of base running, shaking up the game for both Japanese players and fans. Along the way, Yonamine endured insults, dodged rocks thrown by fans, initiated riots, and was threatened by yakuza (the Japanese mafia). He also won batting titles, was named the 1957 MVP, coached and managed for twenty-five years, and was honored by the emperor of Japan. Overcoming bigotry and hardship on and off the field, Yonamine became a true national hero and a member of Japan s Baseball Hall of Fame.


Book Synopsis Wally Yonamine by : Robert K. Fitts

Download or read book Wally Yonamine written by Robert K. Fitts and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wally Yonamine was both the first Japanese American to play for an NFL franchise and the first American to play professional baseball in Japan after World War II. This is the unlikely story of how a shy young man from the sugar plantations of Maui overcame prejudice to integrate two professional sports in two countries. In 1951 the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants chose Yonamine as the first American to play in Japan during the Allied occupation. He entered Japanese baseball when mistrust of Americans was high and higher still for Japanese Americans whose parents had left the country a generation earlier. Without speaking the language, he helped introduce a hustling style of base running, shaking up the game for both Japanese players and fans. Along the way, Yonamine endured insults, dodged rocks thrown by fans, initiated riots, and was threatened by yakuza (the Japanese mafia). He also won batting titles, was named the 1957 MVP, coached and managed for twenty-five years, and was honored by the emperor of Japan. Overcoming bigotry and hardship on and off the field, Yonamine became a true national hero and a member of Japan s Baseball Hall of Fame.

Hawai'i Sports

Hawai'i Sports

Author: Dan Cisco

Publisher: University of Hawaii Press

Published: 1999-01-01

Total Pages: 684

ISBN-13: 9780824821210

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Traces the history of Hawaiian sports and lists local records


Book Synopsis Hawai'i Sports by : Dan Cisco

Download or read book Hawai'i Sports written by Dan Cisco and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 684 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces the history of Hawaiian sports and lists local records

Remembering Japanese Baseball

Remembering Japanese Baseball

Author: Fitts, Robert K.

Publisher: SIU Press

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 9780809389735

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Book Synopsis Remembering Japanese Baseball by : Fitts, Robert K.

Download or read book Remembering Japanese Baseball written by Fitts, Robert K. and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Banzai Babe Ruth

Banzai Babe Ruth

Author: Robert K. Fitts

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2018-08-01

Total Pages: 491

ISBN-13: 149621000X

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In November 1934 as the United States and Japan drifted toward war, a team of American League all-stars that included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, future secret agent Moe Berg, and Connie Mack barnstormed across the Land of the Rising Sun. Hundreds of thousands of fans, many waving Japanese and American flags, welcomed the team with shouts of "Banzai! Banzai, Babe Ruth!" The all-stars stayed for a month, playing 18 games, spawning professional baseball in Japan, and spreading goodwill. Politicians on both sides of the Pacific hoped that the amity generated by the tour--and the two nations' shared love of the game--could help heal their growing political differences. But the Babe and baseball could not overcome Japan's growing nationalism, as a bloody coup d'état by young army officers and an assassination attempt by the ultranationalist War Gods Society jeopardized the tour's success. A tale of international intrigue, espionage, attempted murder, and, of course, baseball, Banzai Babe Ruth is the first detailed account of the doomed attempt to reconcile the United States and Japan through the 1934 All American baseball tour. Robert K. Fitts provides a wonderful story about baseball, nationalism, and American and Japanese cultural history.


Book Synopsis Banzai Babe Ruth by : Robert K. Fitts

Download or read book Banzai Babe Ruth written by Robert K. Fitts and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2018-08-01 with total page 491 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In November 1934 as the United States and Japan drifted toward war, a team of American League all-stars that included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, future secret agent Moe Berg, and Connie Mack barnstormed across the Land of the Rising Sun. Hundreds of thousands of fans, many waving Japanese and American flags, welcomed the team with shouts of "Banzai! Banzai, Babe Ruth!" The all-stars stayed for a month, playing 18 games, spawning professional baseball in Japan, and spreading goodwill. Politicians on both sides of the Pacific hoped that the amity generated by the tour--and the two nations' shared love of the game--could help heal their growing political differences. But the Babe and baseball could not overcome Japan's growing nationalism, as a bloody coup d'état by young army officers and an assassination attempt by the ultranationalist War Gods Society jeopardized the tour's success. A tale of international intrigue, espionage, attempted murder, and, of course, baseball, Banzai Babe Ruth is the first detailed account of the doomed attempt to reconcile the United States and Japan through the 1934 All American baseball tour. Robert K. Fitts provides a wonderful story about baseball, nationalism, and American and Japanese cultural history.

Alou

Alou

Author: Felipe Alou

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press

Published: 2020-04-01

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 1496214048

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Growing up in a tiny shack in the Dominican Republic, Felipe Alou never dreamed he would be the first man born and raised in his country to play and manage in Major League Baseball—and also the first to play in the World Series. In this extraordinary autobiography, Alou tells of his real dream to become a doctor, and an improbable turn of events that led to the pro contract. Battling racism in the United States and political turmoil in his home country, Alou persevered, paving the way for his brothers and scores of other Dominicans, including his son Moisés. Alou played seventeen years in the Major Leagues, accumulating more than two thousand hits and two hundred home runs, and then managed for another fourteen years—four with the San Francisco Giants and ten with the Montreal Expos, where he became the winningest manager in franchise history. Alou’s pioneering journey is embedded in the history of baseball, the Dominican Republic, and a remarkable family. Purchase the audio edition.


Book Synopsis Alou by : Felipe Alou

Download or read book Alou written by Felipe Alou and published by University of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2020-04-01 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Growing up in a tiny shack in the Dominican Republic, Felipe Alou never dreamed he would be the first man born and raised in his country to play and manage in Major League Baseball—and also the first to play in the World Series. In this extraordinary autobiography, Alou tells of his real dream to become a doctor, and an improbable turn of events that led to the pro contract. Battling racism in the United States and political turmoil in his home country, Alou persevered, paving the way for his brothers and scores of other Dominicans, including his son Moisés. Alou played seventeen years in the Major Leagues, accumulating more than two thousand hits and two hundred home runs, and then managed for another fourteen years—four with the San Francisco Giants and ten with the Montreal Expos, where he became the winningest manager in franchise history. Alou’s pioneering journey is embedded in the history of baseball, the Dominican Republic, and a remarkable family. Purchase the audio edition.

Issei Baseball

Issei Baseball

Author: Robert K. Fitts

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2020-04-01

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 1496220870

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Baseball has been called America's true melting pot, a game that unites us as a people. Issei Baseball is the story of the pioneers of Japanese American baseball, Harry Saisho, Ken Kitsuse, Tom Uyeda, Tozan Masko, Kiichi Suzuki, and others--young men who came to the United States to start a new life but found bigotry and discrimination. In 1905 they formed a baseball club in Los Angeles and began playing local amateur teams. Inspired by the Waseda University baseball team's 1905 visit to the West Coast, they became the first Japanese professional baseball club on either side of the Pacific and barnstormed across the American Midwest in 1906 and 1911. Tens of thousands came to see "how the minions of the Mikado played the national pastime." As they played, the Japanese earned the respect of their opponents and fans, breaking down racial stereotypes. Baseball became a bridge between the two cultures, bringing Japanese and Americans together through the shared love of the game. Issei Baseball focuses on the small group of men who formed the first professional and semiprofessional Japanese baseball clubs. These players' story tells the history of early Japanese American baseball, including the placement of Saisho, Kitsuse, and their families in relocation camps during World War II and the Japanese immigrant experience.


Book Synopsis Issei Baseball by : Robert K. Fitts

Download or read book Issei Baseball written by Robert K. Fitts and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2020-04-01 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Baseball has been called America's true melting pot, a game that unites us as a people. Issei Baseball is the story of the pioneers of Japanese American baseball, Harry Saisho, Ken Kitsuse, Tom Uyeda, Tozan Masko, Kiichi Suzuki, and others--young men who came to the United States to start a new life but found bigotry and discrimination. In 1905 they formed a baseball club in Los Angeles and began playing local amateur teams. Inspired by the Waseda University baseball team's 1905 visit to the West Coast, they became the first Japanese professional baseball club on either side of the Pacific and barnstormed across the American Midwest in 1906 and 1911. Tens of thousands came to see "how the minions of the Mikado played the national pastime." As they played, the Japanese earned the respect of their opponents and fans, breaking down racial stereotypes. Baseball became a bridge between the two cultures, bringing Japanese and Americans together through the shared love of the game. Issei Baseball focuses on the small group of men who formed the first professional and semiprofessional Japanese baseball clubs. These players' story tells the history of early Japanese American baseball, including the placement of Saisho, Kitsuse, and their families in relocation camps during World War II and the Japanese immigrant experience.

Mashi

Mashi

Author: Robert K. Fitts

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press

Published: 2020-04-01

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 1496219511

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In the spring of 1964, the Nankai Hawks of Japan’s Pacific League sent nineteen-year-old Masanori Murakami to the Class A Fresno Giants to improve his skills. To nearly everyone’s surprise, Murakami, known as Mashi, dominated the American hitters. With the San Francisco Giants caught in a close pennant race and desperate for a left-handed reliever, Masanori was called up to join the big league club, becoming the first Japanese player in the Major Leagues. Featuring pinpoint control, a devastating curveball, and a friendly smile, Mashi became the Giants’ top lefty reliever and one of the team’s most popular players—as well as a national hero in Japan. Not surprisingly, the Giants offered him a contract for the 1965 season. Murakami signed, announcing that he would be thrilled to stay in San Francisco. There was just one problem: the Nankai Hawks still owned his contract. The dispute over Murakami’s contract would ignite an international incident that ultimately prevented other Japanese players from joining the Majors for thirty years. Mashi is the story of an unlikely hero caught up in an American and Japanese baseball dispute and forced to choose between his dreams in the United States and his duty in Japan.


Book Synopsis Mashi by : Robert K. Fitts

Download or read book Mashi written by Robert K. Fitts and published by University of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2020-04-01 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the spring of 1964, the Nankai Hawks of Japan’s Pacific League sent nineteen-year-old Masanori Murakami to the Class A Fresno Giants to improve his skills. To nearly everyone’s surprise, Murakami, known as Mashi, dominated the American hitters. With the San Francisco Giants caught in a close pennant race and desperate for a left-handed reliever, Masanori was called up to join the big league club, becoming the first Japanese player in the Major Leagues. Featuring pinpoint control, a devastating curveball, and a friendly smile, Mashi became the Giants’ top lefty reliever and one of the team’s most popular players—as well as a national hero in Japan. Not surprisingly, the Giants offered him a contract for the 1965 season. Murakami signed, announcing that he would be thrilled to stay in San Francisco. There was just one problem: the Nankai Hawks still owned his contract. The dispute over Murakami’s contract would ignite an international incident that ultimately prevented other Japanese players from joining the Majors for thirty years. Mashi is the story of an unlikely hero caught up in an American and Japanese baseball dispute and forced to choose between his dreams in the United States and his duty in Japan.

Crossing Sidelines, Crossing Cultures

Crossing Sidelines, Crossing Cultures

Author: Joel Franks

Publisher: University Press of America

Published: 2009-12-02

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0761847456

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Since Crossing Sidelines, Crossing Cultures was originally published in 2000, new findings in Asian Pacific American sports have come to light. Moreover, Americans of Asian Pacific ancestry have made the sports world incredibly more exciting than before. Crossing Sidelines, Crossing Cultures tells intriguing tales of athletes, now often forgotten-such as aquatic legend Duke Kahanamoku, diving gold medalist Vicki Manalo, courageous female golfer Jackie Liwai Pung, and baseball pioneer Buck Lai. It explores how Asian Pacific Americans have asserted a vibrant, joyful sense of community through sports, while encountering racism and nativism. Since 2000, talented athletes of Asian Pacific ancestry have emerged-athletes such as the great Tiger Woods, but also Tim Lincicum, Troy Polamalu, Bryan Clay, Natasha Kai, and Logan Tom. These athletes have chipped away at prevailing stereotypes, and their stories, too, will be told in this second edition of Crossing Sidelines, Crossing Cultures.


Book Synopsis Crossing Sidelines, Crossing Cultures by : Joel Franks

Download or read book Crossing Sidelines, Crossing Cultures written by Joel Franks and published by University Press of America. This book was released on 2009-12-02 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since Crossing Sidelines, Crossing Cultures was originally published in 2000, new findings in Asian Pacific American sports have come to light. Moreover, Americans of Asian Pacific ancestry have made the sports world incredibly more exciting than before. Crossing Sidelines, Crossing Cultures tells intriguing tales of athletes, now often forgotten-such as aquatic legend Duke Kahanamoku, diving gold medalist Vicki Manalo, courageous female golfer Jackie Liwai Pung, and baseball pioneer Buck Lai. It explores how Asian Pacific Americans have asserted a vibrant, joyful sense of community through sports, while encountering racism and nativism. Since 2000, talented athletes of Asian Pacific ancestry have emerged-athletes such as the great Tiger Woods, but also Tim Lincicum, Troy Polamalu, Bryan Clay, Natasha Kai, and Logan Tom. These athletes have chipped away at prevailing stereotypes, and their stories, too, will be told in this second edition of Crossing Sidelines, Crossing Cultures.

Japanese Baseball

Japanese Baseball

Author: Daniel E. Johnson

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2015-08-13

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 147660410X

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This book—the first in the English language to contain an exhaustive collection of Japanese baseball data—presents basic statistical information and listings for every Japanese professional baseball season from 1936 through 1997. The first part contains yearly breakdowns of team standings; qualifiers for batting and earned run championships; leaders in home runs, runs batted in, wins and strikeouts; all-star game results; Japan Series results; Best Nine selections; Gold Glove selections; and award winners. Sections on career records and single-season records are provided in the second part of this work. Appendices list no-hit, no-run games, Japanese Hall of Famers, and records of foreign tours of Japan by professional teams.


Book Synopsis Japanese Baseball by : Daniel E. Johnson

Download or read book Japanese Baseball written by Daniel E. Johnson and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-08-13 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book—the first in the English language to contain an exhaustive collection of Japanese baseball data—presents basic statistical information and listings for every Japanese professional baseball season from 1936 through 1997. The first part contains yearly breakdowns of team standings; qualifiers for batting and earned run championships; leaders in home runs, runs batted in, wins and strikeouts; all-star game results; Japan Series results; Best Nine selections; Gold Glove selections; and award winners. Sections on career records and single-season records are provided in the second part of this work. Appendices list no-hit, no-run games, Japanese Hall of Famers, and records of foreign tours of Japan by professional teams.