The JBR 44 set was a special gift to purchasers of Shonen Book magazine in October 1962. The cards were originally enclosed in a silver foil coated thin cardboard case. Each uncut panel of either two or three cards has a hole at the right edge where it was attached to a bolt inside the case. Attached card pairs or trios have a tab with the team name. All cards in a panel share the same card back. The set is rare and carries a scarcity factor of R4 in Japanese Baseball Cards Checklist & Price Guide, Vintage Edition 3.0, signifying that 10 or fewer copies of each panel are known.

This JBR 44 three card panel is special in that includes cards of both Sadaharu Oh (left) and Shigeo Nagashima (right). Moreover, the card in the middle depicts their Yomiuri Giants teammate and Japan Hall of Fame member Tatsuro Hirooka. The Japanese text on the back is a batting tip.

1962 was a rare down year for the Yomiuri Giants, as they finished fourth in the six team Central League. Nagashima batted .287 with 25 home runs, Oh hit .272 with 38 homers, and Hirooka batted only .214. In 1963, the Giants roared back to win the Central League pennant and Japan Series. Nagashima was league MVP and batting champion, and Oh led the league in homers again.

Size: The uncut panel is 4 1/4" x 2 3/8". Each card is 1 1/4" x 2".

Condition: Nm/Mt