Lot # 14: 1930 JRM 41 Red or Blue Border Round Menko--Toshiharu Inokawa 1934 Tour Member

Category: Baseball Cards

Starting Bid: $50.00

Bids: 3 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




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



There are currently seven cards known to be in the rare JRM 43 set. Each card has a number printed in Japanese on the front, and we have seen numbers as high as 11. Therefore, we presume that there are at least 11 cards in the set. The Inokawa card has the number 10 printed near the top. Interestingly, Inokawa's surname is printed incorrectly on this card in Japanese as Igawa. However, there was never a player on the Meiji U. team in the prewar era named Igawa. Obviously, since Inokawa was a star player at the time, he is the player represented on this card.

Toshiharu Inokawa started his catching career at Kansai Middle School in the mid-1920s. He moved on to Meiji University where he became a star player in the Tokyo Big Six University League. After graduation in 1932, he played Industrial League baseball. In 1934, he represented the All Japan team in their series of games against the U.S. Major League All Stars featuring Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Inokawa was the leading hitter for the Japanese team during the series, batting .348. He was one of only three players to homer off American major league pitchers during the Tour.

This card has been assigned a scarcity factor of R5 in Japanese Baseball Cards Checklist & Price Guide, Vintage Edition 3.0 by Gary Engel. This designation indicates that five or fewer examples of this card are known to exist.

Blank back card.

Size: 2" in diameter

Condition:  Ex/Mt.  All three examples of this card that we have ever seen are o/c left to right in exactly the same way as this card.

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