Nishitetsu Baseball Club
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| Nishitetsu Baseball Club | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| League | Japanese Baseball League |
| Ballpark | Korakuen Stadium |
| Established | 1936; 1943 as Nishitetsu |
| Former name(s) | Tokyo Senators (1936–1939) Tsubasa Baseball Club (1940) Taiyō Baseball Club (1941–1942) |
| Ownership | Yoriyasu Arima (1941–1942) Nishitetsu (1943) |
| Manager | Saburo Yokozawa (1936–1937) Shuichi Ishimoto (1942–1943) |
The Nishitetsu Baseball Club was a team in the Japanese Baseball League (JBL). Founded in 1936 as the Tokyo Senators, the team went through a number of name changes and mergers before being dissolved before the 1944 season.
Franchise history
The Senators were founded by a group that included politician Yoriyasu Arima.
For the 1940 season, the team was renamed the Tsubasa Baseball Club (Tsubasa meaning "wing."). (In October 1940, responding to rising hostility toward the West due to World War II, the league outlawed the use of English in Japanese baseball.)[1]
After they merged with Nagoya Kinko following the 1940 season, the team was wholly acquired by Yoriyasu Arima. Renamed the Taiyō Baseball Club, the franchise had its best season in 1942, finishing with a winning percentage of .606, in second place in the league.
Financial instability led to the team being acquired in 1943 by Nishi-Nippon Railroad, and it being renamed the Nishitetsu Baseball Club. Despite finishing with a .513 winning percentage that year, Nishitetsu was dissolved before the 1944 season.
1950 Reestablishment
The team was reestablished in 1950 as the Nishitetsu Clippers for the Nippon Professional Baseball circuit and eventually moved to Tokorozawa, Saitama, becoming the Seibu Lions.
Team season-by-season records
| Year | Team name | Wins | Losses | Ties | Win/Loss Percentage | Standings | Games behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 (fall) | Senators | 12 | 16 | 0 | .429 | 5 | 11 |
| 1937 (spring) | Senators | 30 | 26 | 0 | .536 | 3 | 12 |
| 1937 (fall) | Senators | 20 | 27 | 1 | .426 | 5 | 18.5 |
| 1938 (spring) | Senators | 13 | 21 | 1 | .545 | 4 | 10 |
| 1938 (fall) | Senators | 19 | 20 | 1 | .487 | 4 | 11 |
| 1939 | Senators | 49 | 38 | 9 | .563 | 4 | 14.5 |
| 1940 | Tsubasa | 56 | 39 | 10 | .589 | 4 | 15.5 |
| 1941 | Taiyo | 47 | 37 | 3 | .560 | 3 | 15 |
| 1942 | Taiyo | 60 | 39 | 6 | .606 | 2 | 12.5 |
| 1943 | Nishitetsu | 39 | 37 | 8 | .513 | 5 | 12.5 |
References
- ^ "Kurowashi," Baseball-Reference.com. Accessed Mar. 7, 2015.