In 1949, there were three East-West All Star Games featuring Japan's top players. The games were played on December 2, 4, and 6 at Korakuen, Chunichi and Koshien Stadiums respectively. The East-West games had been a tradition since 1937, but 1949 was to be the last year for these contests. After the formation of the Pacific League in 1950, all future all star games were contested between all star teams of the two leagues.

From the jerseys the players are wearing, it can be seen that Victor Starffin (left) and Michio Nishizawa (center) were members of the East team, while Fumio Fujimura (right) was a member of the West team. We are not sure why Starffin is holding a scroll and the other two are holding bases. We know that Starffin was not the winning pitcher in any of the games. We do know that Shigeru Chiba and Tokuji Iida were MVPs of the series. For their efforts, Chiba was presented with a piglet, and Iida received a salmon. In any case, this is a Type 1 photo emanating from one of the three games of the series.

Size: 4 5/8" x 6 1/2"

Condition: Good, due to a crease at lower left. The photo has at one time been glued into an album.