Monday, June 5, 2023

Some more Menko Discoveries

 

Another interesting recent pick up (from my guy in Hiroshima with the shampoo from the 70s) is this two card menko panel, featuring Hankyu Brave Akiteru Kono and Motoshi Fujita of the Yomiuri Giants.

This is from a very rare set that Engel catalogues as JCM 133, easily identified by the pictures of animals and the three digit number on the backs:

Engel gives these an R5 rating (fewer than 5 known copies of each in existence) and doesn't list a checklist since too few cards have been discovered.  The guide is also unclear about whether the set was released in 1956 or 1957.

I think the discovery of these cards clears up the latter question.  Fujita made his debut with the Giants in 1957, so the set most likely dates from that year rather than 1956.  

Kono was a speedy base runner who led the league in stolen bases three times  (1956, 1957 and 1962 with the Dragons) in a career that lasted from 1954 to 1967.

Fujita is a Hall of Famer, elected both based on his playing career (119-88, 2.20 career ERA) and his managerial career with the Giants in two stints, 1981 to 1983 and 1989 to 1992, each of which netted a Nippon Series championship.  


6 comments:

  1. Very cool. Yeah, I have the sumo equivalent catalogued at 1957 on these. Tough to find and I have never seen an uncut winner panel before. Awesome!

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    1. Oh cool, there is a sumo set too? The guy I bought this from had a couple of other 2-card panels available, otherwise I almost never see cards from this set available.

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  2. Nice detective skills on narrowing down the year. And that's super cool to own a vintage card of a hall of famer that is so rare.

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  3. Sometimes I like the backs of the menko's better than the fronts. This is one of those times.

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    1. I like the looks of the backs too, its often the only way you can tell sets apart!

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