As seen on the clothbound cover page, this photo album is entitled, "1951 Japan World Series Victory Commemoration, Tokyo Yomiuri Giants Team". It was produced by the Yomiuri Shimbun (Newspaper), owners of the Giants. The album is reminiscent of similar volumes produced by the sponsors of the various U.S. All Star Tours of Japan during the 1950s. However, it is the first of this type that we have seen commemorating a Japan Series. The album consists of 30 large, professionally taken black & white photos of late 1951 action. The back of the album cover contains the text, "Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd." We therefore assume that the images were taken with Fuji film, and that Fuji may have produced the album for the Giants team. In any case, the album was expensive to create, and we assume that distribution was limited to Giants players, other team personnel and selected dignitaries.
The 1951 Japan Series pitted the Yomiuri Giants against the Nankai Hawks. The Giants had won the Central League title with a record of 79-29-6. They were led by future Hall of Famers Tetsuharu Kawakami (.377 B.A., Central League MVP), Takehiko Bessho and Rookie Wally Yonamine. Rookie pitcher Kiyoshi Matsuda won 23 games while losing only three! The Hawks were led by player-manager and Pacific League MVP Kazuto Tsuruoka. The Giants prevailed in five games, hence the publication of this album by the team's ownership.
The most important photos found in the album are the two images in which American Wally Yonamine is featured. 1951 was Yonamine's rookie year, so his immense contribution to the evolution of Japan Pro Baseball was just beginning. In one image, he appears to have a contract or some other document in front of him. In the other, he is shown sliding into home plate.
The album is quite Giants centric. Hawks players are included in only a few of the photos. There are a number of different Giants team photos, followed by individual photos of such top stars as Hall of Famers Kawakami, Bessho, Shigeru Chiba, Hideo Fujimoto, Hiroshi Nakao and manager Shigeru Mizuhara. At the back of the album, there are several photos, unrelated to the Japan Series, of the All Japan team that faced various international opponents during the 1951 post season, including an American contingent featuring Joe and Dom DiMaggio among others.
This is a truly special piece that would be welcome in even the most discriminating collection of Japanese baseball memorabilia.
Size: 14" x 10 1/2"
Condition: The album cover cloth has some scratches, a minor tear, peeling at corners etc. There is foxing on the photo pages, but this foxing does not affect the photos, which are still sharp and beautiful.