Lot # 116: 1949 Uncatalogued Large Bromide Signed by Henry Tadashi "Bozo" Wakabayashi (HOF) (Hawaii)

Category: Autographs

Starting Bid: $200.00

Bids: 1 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
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This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Auction 65 Ended 3/18/2023",
which ran from 2/27/2023 5:00 PM to
3/18/2023 11:00 PM



This large sized card was signed in Japanese by Bozo Wakabayashi (1908-1963) in blue fountain pen while he was a pitcher/manager for the Osaka Tigers.  

Bozo Wakabayashi was the first American superstar player in Japan. Born on a pineapple plantation in Hawaii, he learned baseball as a child on the playing fields of a nearby US military base. He toured Japan with a Nisei team from Stockton, CA, impressing Big Six University scouts. Hosei U. tried to enroll him, but the other schools objected, as Wakabayashi's Japanese language skills and overall academic knowledge did not meet Big Six U. entrance standards. A compromise was reached, and after nine months attending a Japanese prep school, Wakabayashi was admitted to Hosei.

As a pro (1936-53), Wakabayashi, a pitcher, starred with the Tigers and Orions, compiling a lifetime ERA of 1.99 to go with a career won-loss mark of 237-144. His best season was 1944, when he went 22-4, 1.56. Wakabayashi pitched throughout World War II in Japan, despite the fact that he was an American! In 1964, he became the first American inducted into the Japan Baseball Hall of Fame.

Blank backed card

Size:  2 3/4” x 4 1/4”

Condition:  Autograph—7 out of 10.  Card—Vg

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