This is the earliest Sadaharu Oh shitajiki that we have ever encountered. Moreover, it is the only example known. A shitajiki is a colorful plastic sheet that is placed between a student's writing paper and school desk, so as not to scratch the desk while the student is writing.

From the image and facsimile autograph on the front, we see that this shitajiki dates from very very early in Sadaharu Oh's career. He is shown in an "at bat" position, but he is not in his flamed flamingo batting stance, which he did not adopt until 1962. The image on the shitajiki and facsimile autograph style appear to be from 1959. The back features two rulers, the English text "Giants", and Oh's name and position in Japanese at the bottom. We do not know anything about the ART company that produced the item.

Size: 7 1/8" x 10 1/8"

Condition: Ex