This is the first Calbee or Matsuo Caramel JF 62b John Britton card that we have ever offered!

John Britton and Jimmy Newberry were the first two African American ex-Negro leaguers to play in Japan Pro Baseball. Both made their debuts in 1952 with the Hankyu Braves. The two players had been teammates with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League during the mid to late 1940s, and more recently had been St. Louis Browns farmhands. Bill Veeck, the Browns' owner, loaned both players to the Hankyu Braves for the 1952 season. Britton, a third baseman, performed especially well in 1952 batting .316, making the All-Star team. He returned stateside after the 1953 season, having batted a robust .293 during his time in Japan.

The JF 62b Calbee or Matsuo Caramel set has been assigned a scarcity factor of R5 in Japanese Baseball Cards Checklist & Price Guide, Vintage Edition 4.0 by Gary Engel. This means that five or fewer examples of this card are known. JF 62b card fronts contain the same text and images as JF 62a Type 2, but the images are cropped slightly differently because JF 62b images are a bit larger in the vertical dimension. There are two types of JF 62b cards. In one type, the Matsuo Caramel (offered here), "Baseball Card Awase" is printed on the back in Japanese near the top. In the other version, "Calbee Caramel" is printed on the back near the top.

This is the only example of this card ever graded by SGC.

Size: 1 15/32” x 2 1/4”

Condition: SGC 1 (Poor)