1949 JCM50 'Seals Tour' MENKO Card~ LEFTY O'DOUL & HENRY WAKABAYASHI ~both HOFer

Description: 1949JCM 50 (JCM-50) 'Red Border S.F. Seals Tour' Japanese Baseball Menko Card (Red Ink back variation) Tadashi Henry 'Bozo' Wakabayashi 若林忠志 Pitcher born and raised in Wahiawa on Oahu, HawaiiU.S.A. & Frank 'Lefty' O'Doul レフティオドール former MLB/PCL Pitcher Outfielder lifetime .349 hitter in MLBSan Francisco Seals P.C.L. Manager both of these Americans are Japanese Baseball Hall of Famers These Color Baseball Menko Cards were made during the S.F. Seals tour of Japan in 1949. This set is Catalogued as JCM 50 in the Japanese Baseball Card Catalog. The backs are found in red, green, or brown ink. They are fairly Scarce overall. Tadashi Henry 'Bozo' Wakabayashi 若林忠志is in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame Bozo was a player from 1936-1953, 1944 & 1947 MVP He was also a manager from 1942-1953 Wakabayashi's parents had immigrated to Hawaii from Hiroshima, Japan, and Wakabayashi was born in Hawaii, giving him dual citizenship between the United States and Japan. Wakabayashi attended Oahu's William McKinley High School, and his powerful fastball made him the ace pitcher of the school's baseball team. In 1928, he was chosen to participate in an exhibition baseball tournament held in Japan, and he traveled from Hawaii to Japan for the first time that year. Professional baseball did not exist in Japan at that time, and Wakabayashi's amateur team played against university teams in the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League. Wakabayashi's pitching abilities did not go unnoticed, and Hosel University was particularly active in recruiting him. Wakabayashi himself was not opposed to the idea of remaining in Japan, and it seemed only a matter of time before he was admitted into Hosei University, and then onto Pro Baseball. He renounced his Japanese citizenship in 1928, but revived it when he moved to Japan. When the Osaka Tigers played their first season in 1936, jersey numbers were given out in alphabetical order. Wakabayashi was assigned number 4, but he refused to wear the number because it is considered unlucky in Japan. He was given the first available number instead, which was 18. His subsequent success in the professional leagues made it a custom for a Japanese team's ace pitcher to be given the number 18. & Frank 'Lefty' O'Doul レフティオドールSan Francisco born O'Doul is in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. He played in the Major Leagues with Yankees, Red Sox, Giants, Phillies, and Dodgers.He started out in 1919 as New York Yankees Pitcher, then was converted to the Outfield.A Lifetime .349 MLB hitter Winning 2 Batting Titles (1929 & 1932).In 1929 he has 254 hits while batted .398 for the Philadelphia Phillies. He then became Manager of the San Francisco Seals in the Pacific Coast League from 1935 to 1951,managing stars like Joe DiMaggio in his early career. Along with fellow American, the Hawaiian Henry 'Bozo' Wakabayashi, O'Doul helped promote Pro Baseball in Japan post-WWII. Red Ink back variation thick stock medium heavy wear stains, etc. collector grade about 1-5/8" by 2-9/16" Great for the 'type card collector', or Japanese Card collector.... guaranteed authentic and unaltered. ~SHIPPING~ I have to start charging for shipping on items over $20. On $20+, It cost me $4.36 to send a small 3oz USPS tracked envelope. On mid-range items in the $20-$50 range  I need to charge for a part of this fee so have a new $2 Shipping Charge on some items.  Mahalo

Price: 39 USD

Location: Keaau, Hawaii

End Time: 2025-01-17T14:41:31.000Z

Shipping Cost: 2 USD