Tetsuharu Kawakami

Tetsuharu Kawakami's batting in 1951

Tetsuharu Kawakami (川上 哲治, Kawakami Tetsuharu, born March 23, 1920) is a former Japanese baseball player and manager. Born in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto, he was nicknamed "God of batting" as a player. In 1951, he had whiffed only 6 times, which is the Japanese single-season tie record. He was ruthless as a manager, but it made his team strong. He led Yomiuri Giants to nine consecutive championships as a manager.

Filmography

Tetsuharu Kawakami played in 3 films:

• 人生選手 (1949)
• (川上哲治物語　背番号１６ Kawakami Tetsuharu monogatari sebangō 16) (1957) as himself
• ＢＩＧ−１物語　王貞治 (1977)
• Kawakami is referred to by name in the baseball game scene from film director Akira Kurosawa's "Stray Dog" (1949); aka "Nora Inu"

External links

Media related to Tetsuharu Kawakami at Wikimedia Commons

• Nippon Professional Baseball career statistics from Japanesebaseball.com

Awards
Preceded by Victor Starffin	Japanese Baseball League MVP 1941	Succeeded by Shigeru Mizuhara
Preceded by Makoto Kozuru Shigeru Sugishita	Central League MVP 1951 1955	Succeeded by Takehiko Bessho Takehiko Bessho
Sporting positions
Preceded by Shigeru Mizuhara	Yomiuri Giants manager 1961–1974	Succeeded by Shigeo Nagashima