Nobuaki Nidegawa (1901-1989) was a fast, good hitting outfielder who played for Meiji U. in the Tokyo Big Six University League from 1922 to 1924, and later for the All Osaka team. In 1934 he was selected to play for the All Nippon team against the touring U.S. Major League All Star team which included Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Following his retirement as an active player, he was an umpire during the first 27 years of Japan Pro Baseball (1936-1962), including a stint as the Pacific League's first umpire-in chief.

There were no cards issued that depict Nidegawa during his playing career. As with U.S. cards, cards featuring umpires are few and far between. Fortunately, there were at least two, very scarce cards issued of Nidegawa as an umpire. This card is one of them. Only two examples of this card are known in the hobby. This card depicts Nidegawa during the first year of the Pacific League (1950). Please note that in the image, his name in English is embroidered on the shirt pocket! "Pacific League" and "Nidegawa Umpire" are printed in Japanese near the card bottom. This is a rare opportunity to obtain a card of this Hall of Famer. Blank backed.

Size: 1 7/8" x 2 1/8"

Condition: Vg/Ex