Lot # 69: 1961 JA 1 Union Oil Taiyo Whales Team Card

Category: Baseball Cards

Starting Bid: $40.00

Bids: 1 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Auction 62: Ended 11/14/2021",
which ran from 10/30/2021 8:00 PM to
11/13/2021 11:00 PM



It has been decades since the last time we have seen the Union Oil Taiyo Whales team card. 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 backs of the other cards in the set broadcast from Hawaii. On the back of this team card, there is a short history of the Taiyo Whales team and the 1961 team roster. Both are printed in English.

In 1960, the Whales captured their first and only Japan Series Championship after having been perennial cellar dwellers since their founding in 1950. The team skipper was Hall of Fame member Osamu Mihara, known as the Magic Manager, who led the Whales to the title during his first season in charge. Unfortunately, the magic ended in 1961, when the Whales once again finished last in the Central League. Mihara did lead the Whales to two second place finishes during his tenure. However, from the mid 1960s until the team became the Yokohama Bay Stars in 1993, the Whales never came close to another title.

Size: 3" x 4"

Condition: Vg

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