Akihito Kondo, a second baseman, was the most valuable player of the 1960 Japan Series, as attested to by the text on the back of this card. He enjoyed a 14 year career with the Taiyo Whales, followed by a managerial stint with the Whales, and their successors, the Chiba Lotte Marines. This card was part of a set of three cards featuring Taiyo Whales players produced by the Union Oil Co., whose most well known product is Union 76 gasoline. Apparently, the cards were produced for the Hawaiian market, as the radio stations referred to on the card back broadcast from Hawaii. We presume that the games mentioned on the card are not Taiyo Whales games, but AAA Hawaiian Islander games. The Islanders' first season was 1961. However, it does mention that the games broadcast are also available in Japanese on station KOHO. Do any of you know whether the games being advertised on this card were PCL games or NPB games?

Size: 3" x 4"

Condition: Ex to Ex/Mt