A giant sized Japanese magazine from 1927 with John McGraw and Rogers Hornsby on the cover is a treasure, but this magazine is even more special. It contains rare contemporary information and photos pertaining to the 1927 Philadelphia Royal Giants Tour of Japan. The Royal Giants team was not from Philadelphia. It was composed of 13 players from the California Winter League. The Tour, unlike MLB tours of the era, was not sponsored by one of the major Japanese newspapers. Therefore, it received little press. The team itself consisted of players with a wide range of talent, ranging from Hall of Fame members Biz Mackey and Andy Cooper, to near HOFers like Rap Dixon, to virtual unknowns. 24 games were played against various teams, mostly consisting of Tokyo Big Six League University graduates, such as the Mita and Tomon teams. The Royal Giants went 23-0-1 on the Tour and were roundly praised for their ability by the Japanese baseball community.

Very few pieces of memorabilia pertaining to this Tour exist today. This magazine is one of them. In our more than 30 years buying, selling and auctioning Japanese baseball memorabilia, this is only the second copy that we have handled, and is in much stronger condition than the previous example. The Tour coverage is limited to one article and four large photos. One photo is a team shot. A second features the mayor of Tokyo throwing out the first ball. The other two images are game action sequences. The magazine contains other photo articles about U.S. baseball including photos of Tris Speaker, and one of the New York Yankees at spring training. The remainder of the magazine contains articles with photos about Japanese baseball and other sports including track and field, auto racing, basketball, etc., mostly featuring Western athletes.

Size: 10 3/8" x 15 1/8". 32 pages.

Condition: One small missing piece of the cover at the left border. Otherwise, generally Ex to Ex/Mt.