Hiroshi Ohshita is one of them. He had a hall of fame career beginning in 1946 in which he won three batting titles, three home run crowns and one Pacific League MVP award.
But the oddest thing about his biography is that in 1945 he was serving in the Imperial Japanese Army and volunteered to join the "Special Attack Unit" (Tokubetsu Kougeki Tai), more commonly known in English as the Kamikaze units. He actually underwent training in how to pilot your airplane directly into an enemy ship and get yourself deliberately killed in the process.
Thankfully for Ohshita and Japanese baseball, the war ended before he had to go on his suicide mission. The Japanese military in the last months of the war was actually safeguarding its kamikaze pilots, saving them up to defend against an expected invasion of the Japanese main islands which never came thanks to the surrender. So oddly enough a lot of kamikaze pilots like Ohshita actually survived the war.
That gives Ohshita's career a very odd origins story which is hard to wrap your mind around. In August he would have found himself sitting in the cockpit of a plane that he planned to die in. A mere three months later, he signed his first professional baseball contract and five months after that he made his pro debut. From terrified suicide pilot to happy pro ball player in the span of 8 months. Crazy, but also kind of an inspiring reminder that sometimes one's fortunes in life can take radical turns for the better even when you don't expect them to. One minute you think you are going to die horribly, but the next you are saved from that fate and given one that sees you enjoy a long and happy life and career instead (relatively speaking, he passed away in 1979 after suffering a stroke).
The above card is from the 1949 JCM 108 set. I like that set a lot, all the cards are horizontally oriented which gives them a cool look. The card has Ohshita holding a yellow bat, but he is famous for having used a blue bat during the 1947 season in contrast to his rival Tetsuharu Kawakami who used a red one. Their colorful bats were a hit with fans, but were banned after that season so by the time this card came out he would have been using a regular bat, though I'm curious if there are any cards of him out there depicting him holding a blue bat!
Oh wow! Cool biography and menko. That is crazy how he had a great turn of fortune if you will.
ReplyDeleteYeah, he was really saved by the bell there!
DeleteI've often thought about doing a post on Ohshita's wartime experience. IIRC there were a couple players interviewed in Rob Fitts' oral history "Remembering Japanese Baseball" who talked about Ohshita. Apparently his reprieve caused him to take a much less serious approach to his career - he was much more into drinking and gambling than was normal for a baseball player at the time. He managed the Flyers in the late 60's and was somewhat unique in that he didn't have a curfew for his players. Of course, the team finished last and he was fired after only one year.
ReplyDeleteThere's a couple Japanese players with interesting stories of their World War II experiences. Eikichi Nagamochi took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor - not sure if he was a pilot or just stationed on one of the attacking aircraft carriers. He had a 13 year career with the Flyers and Carp. Hall Of Fame manager Shigeru Mizuhara spent several years after the war in a Soviet POW camp - he wasn't released until 1949!
Yeah, just about every time I read a player's biography from that era I find myself kind of amazed by these little details.
DeleteOhshita's Wikipedia entry in Japanese says he was quite gregarious and very popular with the ladies. I guess it would be reasonable to assume that an experience like his would in the War would explain a lot about that!
Great story to go along with a really neat looking card!
ReplyDeleteThanks, I think its a neat looking card too!
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