Japanese Baseball League

For the current Japanese Professional League, see Nippon Professional Baseball.

Japanese Baseball League

Sport	Baseball
Founded	1935
Inaugural season	1936
No. of teams	9 (1949) 12 (overall)
Country(ies)	Japan
Ceased	1950
Last champion(s)	Yomiuri Giants
Official website	None

The Japanese Baseball League (日本野球連盟, Nihon Yakyū Renmei^?) was a professional baseball league in Japan.

It was established on February 5, 1936 as "Japan Occupational Baseball League". Then it was renamed "Japanese Baseball League" in 1939. It was run until 1949. There was no League Play in 1945. The league played fall and spring seasons in 1937 and 1938.

Four of the franchises formerly in this league currently play in the Central League, and four others are in the Pacific League.

Teams

• Dai Tokyo (1936) → Lion Baseball Club (1937–1940) → Asahi Baseball Club (1941–1944) → Pacific Baseball Club (1946) → Taiyō Robins(1947–1949) → To the Central League (later renamed the Shochiku Robins; present: Yokohama BayStars, relocated)

• Korakuen Eagles (1937s) → Eagles Baseball Club (1938–1939) → Kurowashi Baseball Club (1940–1941) → Yamato Baseball Club (1942–1943) → Broken up

• Nagoya Baseball Club (1936–1943) → Sangyo Baseball Club (1944) → Chubu Nippon (1946) → Chubu Nippon Dragons (1947) → Chunichi Dragons (1948–1949) → To the Central League

• Nagoya Kinko (1936–1940) → Merged into the Tsubasa Baseball Club

• Osaka Tigers (1936–September 24, 1940, Nicknamed "Tigers") → Hanshin Baseball Club (September 25, 1940–1944) → Osaka Tigers (1946–1949, Nicknamed "Hanshin") → To the Central League (Present: Hanshin Tigers)

• Tokyo Kyojin (1936–1944; 1946) → Yomiuri Giants (1947–1949) → To the Central League

• Tokyo Senators (1936–1939) → Tsubasa Baseball Club (1940) → Taiyō Baseball Club (1941–1942) → Nishitetsu Baseball Club (1943) → Broken up

• Hankyu Baseball Club (1936–1944; 1946) → Hankyu Bears (January, 1947–April, 1947) → Hankyu Braves (April, 1947–1949) → To the Pacific League (Present: Orix Buffaloes)

• Nankai Baseball Club (1938f–May 31, 1944) → Kinki Nippon (June 1, 1944–December 31, 1944) → Kinki Great Ring (1946–May 31, 1947) → Nankai Hawks (June 1, 1947–1949) → To the Pacific League (Present: Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, relocated)

• Gold Star (1946) → Kinsei Stars (1947–1948) → Daiei Stars^[1] (1949) (present: Chiba Lotte Marines)

• Senators Baseball Club (1946) → Tokyu Flyers (1949) → Kyuei Flyers (1948) → Tokyu Flyers (1947) → To the Pacific League (Present: Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, relocated)

• Kintetsu Pearls (1949)^[2] → To the Pacific League (Present: Orix Buffaloes)

Yomiuri Giants, Chunichi Dragons and Hanshin Tigers are the only surviving major clubs that have always been based in their respective cities. Additionally, the current Orix Buffaloes is a merger of two clubs which never left their current hometown.

Defunct Japanese baseball teams

Former Japanese Baseball League teams:

• Nagoya Golden Dolphins 1936-1940 - formerly Tokyo Senators 1936-1940; Tsubusa 1940, merged with Nagoya Kinko to form Taiyo 1941-1942 (merged with Tsubasa^{[disambiguation needed ]} in 1940, Tsubasa later became Nishitetsu 1943.)
• Nishitetsu (dissolved in 1943.) Nishitetsu reestablished a team in 1950 for the new Nippon Professional Baseball circuit and it eventually moved to Tokorozawa, Saitama becoming the Seibu Lions.
• Yamato 1943-1944 - formerly Korakuen Eagles 1937-1938 and Eagles 1938-1940 and later Kurowashi (Black Eagles) 1940-1942 (dissolved in 1944.)

MVPs

• 1937 Spring: Eiji Sawamura, Tokyo Kyojin, P
• 1937 Fall: Harrison McGalliard, Korakuen Eagles, C
• 1938 Spring: Hisanori Karita, Tokyo Senators, 2B
• 1938 Fall: Haruyasu Nakajima, Tokyo Kyojin, OF
• 1939: Victor Starfin, Tokyo Kyojin, P
• 1940: Victor Starfin, Tokyo Kyojin, P
• 1941: Tetsuharu Kawakami, Tokyo Kyojin, 1B
• 1942: Shigeru Mizuhara, Tokyo Kyojin, 2B
• 1943: Shosei Go, Tokyo Kyojin, OF
• 1944: Tadashi Wakabayashi, Hanshin, P
• 1946: Kazuto Tsuruoka, Kinki Great Ring, 3B
• 1947: Tadashi Wakabayashi, Osaka Tigers, P
• 1948: Kazuto Tsuruoka, Nankai, 3B
• 1949: Fumio Fujimura, Osaka Tigers, OF

Champions

• 1936 (spring): No standings
• 1936 (summer): No standings
• 1936 (fall): Tokyo Kyojin
• 1937 (spring): Tokyo Kyojin
• 1937 (fall): Osaka Tigers
• 1938 (spring): Osaka Tigers
• 1938 (fall): Tokyo Kyojin
• 1939: Tokyo Kyojin
• 1940: Tokyo Kyojin
• 1941: Tokyo Kyojin
• 1942: Tokyo Kyojin
• 1943: Tokyo Kyojin
• 1944: Hanshin
• 1945: No league play because of World War II
• 1946: Kinki Great Ring
• 1947: Osaka Tigers
• 1948: Nankai Hawks
• 1949: Yomiuri Giants

References

1. ^ The Daiei Stars merged with the Takahashi Unions in 1956 to form the Daiei Unions, which later merged with the Mainichi Orions in 1957 to form the Daimai Orions
2. ^ The Pearls did not play the 1949 JBL season.

External links

• Japanese Baseball Data Archive at The Baseball Guru
• List of players at Japanese Baseball