In 1961, the World's Greatest Slugger was still a year away from winning his first of 13 consecutive Central League home run crowns. In fact, he hit only 13 dingers for the year, while scuffling to a .253 batting average. He did, however, appear for the first time on a Tachibana Seika card. This card has received a scarcity factor of R5 in the Japanese Baseball Card Checklist & Price Guide, Vintage edition, signifying that three or fewer copies of this card are known to exist. The same image of Oh was used for both this card and the 1962 JCM 32 card (see next lot).

Tachibana cards were often pasted to sheets which the collector sent in to claim a prize from the issuer. Moreover, the redemption point section (non-picture portion) of the card was often cut off by collectors. This scarce card is complete with the redemption point section still attached. This is a truly rare early Sadaharu Oh card.

Size: 1 19/32" x 2 9/32"

Condition: Vg to Vg/Ex