If the media was frenzied, Gale was in for a bigger surprise when he started pitching in front of Japanese fans.
“I’ve said this many times, but I joked that Noah Webster had the Japanese baseball fan in mind when he wrote the definition of ‘fanatic,'” Gale said. “We averaged a little over 40,000 a game and the Giants average (was) a little over 45,000 a game. They opened the gates four hours before the game, and within 10 or 15 minutes there were between 20,000 and 25,000 fans in the stands. Guys with big banners and headbands going up and down the (stands), they had choreographed chants and songs… for each player. It was a great atmosphere.
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Americans have played professional baseball in Japan for nearly 100 years. The first players were on all-star teams that played exhibition games, when Japanese professional baseball was in its infancy. What struck me was how black players from the United States were very well received by Japanese society.
According to Ted Knorr, a member of the Society for American Baseball Research who has conducted extensive research on Negro League players: “Prior to 1927, American baseball teams of all levels had made 37 trips to Japan, winning 90.7 percent. of these matches. These squads were, as might be expected, all white.
In 1927, the Philadelphia Royal Giants, champions of the 1926-27 California Winter League, toured Japan, going undefeated in 24 games. The Royal Giants were all black.
“The Royal Giants (1926-27) were led, in California, by a roster that included six Hall of Famers,” Knorr said. They were: (Norman) “Turkey” Stearnes, (Wilber) “Bullet Joe” Rogan (.328 and 6-2), Willie Foster (6-0), Willie Wells (.181), Andy Cooper (5 -2) and (Raleigh) “Biz” Mackey (.316). “Only Cooper and Mackey stayed with those Giants for the Japan tour,” Knorr said.
“Also on the team was my favorite Negro Leaguer (Herbert) ‘Rap’ Dixon, who hit .349 that winter while leading the circuit in doubles,” said Knorr, who led a campaign to have Dixon be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. .
The most famous “tour” was the 1934 12-city trip to Japan, during which Connie Mack led the All-Star team that included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmy Foxx, Earl Averill, Charlie Gehringer, Lefty Gomez, Moe Berg and other American League players, with the National League refusing to allow its players to participate. This team won every game they played.
The first successful professional team in Japan was Dai Nippon, established in 1935, said Bill Staples, chairman of the Asian Baseball Research Committee for SABR. “There were attempts in the early 1920s (to create a professional league), but they failed for various reasons. In that 1935 club was Japanese-American outfielder Jimmy Horio of Hawaii. He is recognized as the first American to play professionally in Japan,” said Staples, who added that the first Japanese league was established in 1936.
The following year, James Bonner was credited with being the first black player to play professionally in Japan, Staples said.