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Tadashi (Bozo) Wakabayashi Cards

Tigers 1936-49, Orions 1950-53

HOF 1964

Henry Tadashi Wakabayashi, nicknamed "Bozo," was born in Hawaii and learned baseball at the neighboring U.S. military base. In 1929, he toured Japan with a Nisei team from Stockton, CA, and was recruited to pitch for Hosei University. In 1935, a year after graduating, he signed with the Osaka Tigers. During most of his 16-year professional career, Wakabayashi was one of the top hurlers in Japanese baseball. From 1939 to 1947, he won 20 or more games six times, and had six seasons with ERAs under 1.81. His best season came in 1944 when he went 22 and 4, led the league with a 1.56 ERA, and won the MVP Award. Overall, he led the league twice in wins, ERA, complete games and shutouts. Wakabayashi’s lifetime 1.99 ERA is the fourth best in the history of Japanese baseball. He also currently ranks ninth on the all-time list for career shutouts, seventh in complete games, twelfth in wins, and eleventh in winning percentage.

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A detailed biography of Wakabayashi and a selected checklist of his cards is available in Japanese Baseball SuperStars by Robert Fitts and Gary Engel which can be purchased below

	1948 JRM19 Wakabayashi (HOF) Code: 1BRM13 Price: $10.00 Quantity in Basket: none
	1948 JRM 20 Wakabayashi (HOF) Code: 1BRM20 Price: $10.00 Quantity in Basket: none
	1949 Dreaming of Baseball Karuta (JK 1) Bozo Wakabayashi Code: 1brdreamingwakabayashi Price: $50.00 Quantity in Basket: none
	Wakabayashi 2000 BBM Century's Best #123 Code: 1brwakabayashi00a Price: $5.00 Quantity in Basket: none
	"Wakabayashi, Bozo 1949 JK1 2 NM" Code: 1brwakabayashijk1a Price: $50.00 Quantity in Basket: none

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