Description: 1948 JRM20 (JRM-20) 'Mostly Red Background' Japanese Round Menko Card (the larger more realistic drawing card in the pic with both) & c1950 JRM Unc. (JRM-Uncatalogued) Japanese Round Menko Card (the smaller card with a '2 in Hearts') Tadashi Henry Wakabayashi 若林 忠志 pitcher born and raised in Wahiawa on Oahu, Hawaii Japanese Baseball Hall of Famer These Round Baseball Menko Cards were made in the late 1940's to c1950. The larger card sets is Catalogued as 1948 JRM20 'Mostly Red Background' The smaller card is Uncatalogued. *some call the unidentified player HOFer Hideo Fujimoto, I added pictures of Bozo that show he more resembles the player. (see image) Tadashi Henry 'Bozo' Wakabayashi 若林 忠志is in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame Bozo was a player from 1936-1953, 1944 & 1947 MVP He was also a manager from 1942-1953Wakabayashi's parents had immigrated to Hawaii from Hiroshima, Japan, and Wakabayashi was born in Hawaii, giving him dual citizenship between the United States and Japan. Wakabayashi attended Oahu's William McKinley High School, and his powerful fastball made him the ace pitcher of the school's baseball team. In 1928, he was chosen to participate in an exhibition baseball tournament held in Japan, and he traveled from Hawaii to Japan for the first time that year. Professional baseball did not exist in Japan at that time, and Wakabayashi's amateur team played against university teams in the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League. Wakabayashi's pitching abilities did not go unnoticed, and Hosel University was particularly active in recruiting him. Wakabayashi himself was not opposed to the idea of remaining in Japan, and it seemed only a matter of time before he was admitted into Hosei University, and then onto Pro Baseball. He renounced his Japanese citizenship in 1928, but revived it when he moved to Japan. When the Osaka Tigers played their first season in 1936, jersey numbers were given out in alphabetical order. Wakabayashi was assigned number 4, but he refused to wear the number because it is considered unlucky in Japan. He was given the first available number instead, which was 18. His subsequent success in the professional leagues made it a custom for a Japanese team's ace pitcher to be given the number 18. both nice mid grade collector grade the 1948 JRM20 is 2-5/8" wide the c1950 JRM Unc. is 2-1/4" wide Great for the PreWar 'type card collector', Hawaii Collector, or Japanese Card collector.... guaranteed authentic and unaltered. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~My BLOCKED BIDDER List...meobsol-3
Price: 20 USD
Location: Keaau, Hawaii
End Time: 2024-08-29T07:39:51.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
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Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Graded: No
Sport: Baseball
Set: JRM
Player/Athlete: Tadashi Wakabayashi
Season: 1948
