Lot # 109: 1937 Yakyukai Magazine with Japan Pro Baseball Player Meikan & Sawamura, Starffin Photos

Category: Publications

Starting Bid: $150.00

Bids: 1 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Auction 54 Ended 10/28/2018",
which ran from 10/5/2018 4:00 PM to
10/27/2018 11:00 PM



For decades, Yakyukai Magazine was the preeminent baseball monthly in Japan. Yakyukai was a high quality magazine with black and white photo galleries among the hundreds of photos in each issue. The April 1937 issue is special because it contains a player meikan (photo directory) which includes a headshot of every player and manager active in Japan Pro Baseball that year. Moreover, one of the pages contains rare full body images of Victor Starffin (HOF) and the immortal Eiji Sawamura (HOF) while they were members of the Yomiuri Giants. Normally, late 1930s baseball magazines, including Yakyukai, focused nearly all of their attention on Big Six League University baseball, which was far more popular at the time than pro baseball. Thus, there are very few magazines published at the time that allow us now to see images of the stars of early Japan Pro Baseball, which was founded in 1936. This is a rare opportunity to glimpse the dawn of Japan Pro Baseball.

Size: 7 1/4" x 10 1/8".

Condition: Front and back covers are Vg, but the inner pages are in high grade.

Views: 640