Issei Baseball

Robert K. Fitts is the author of Mashi: The Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams of Masanori Murakami, the First Japanese Major Leaguer (Nebraska, 2015), Wally Yonamine: The Man Who Changed Baseball (Nebraska, 2008), and Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage, and Assassination during the 1934 Tour of Japan (Nebraska, 2012), winner of the Society of American Baseball Research’s Seymour Medal.

• List of IllustrationsList of TablesRecurring Japanese CharactersIntroduction1. Saisho the Dreamer2. The National Pastime in Japan3. The New World4. Issei Baseball5. Waseda Arrives6. Waseda Tour Continues7. Guy Green’s 1906 Japanese Base Ball Club8. The 1906 Barnstorming Tour9. The Mikado’s Japanese Base Ball Team10. Nanka and the Japanese Base Ball Association11. “Japanese Invasion”12. Ballplayers and Diplomats13. Barnstorming across America14. End of a Dream15. Japanese American Baseball Comes of Age16. IncarcerationAcknowledgmentsAppendix A: Schedules and Game ResultsAppendix B: Known Issei Baseball Clubs, 1904–10Appendix C: Partial Rosters of Selected Issei TeamsNotesBibliographyIndex

"Robert K. Fitts’s Issei Baseball meticulously tells the important story about the Japanese’s essential role in the history of baseball in a way that not only will inform its readers, but will also ensure that Issei’s story is never forgotten."-R. Zachary Sanzone, NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture "If you’re a baseball fan missing our national game right now or just someone who wants to learn more about the Issei immigrants and the battles they fought to get the JA community where it is today, I highly recommend Issei Baseball."-Bruce Rutledge, North American Post "Robert Fitts has made another important contribution to Japanese American history and to the role of baseball in that story, as well as to the history of the United States."-Richard Crepeau, New York Journal of Books "Fitts provides a historical account that illustrates the work happening within the Japanese American community to organize, promote, and cover Issei baseball."-Katherine Walden, Western Historical Quarterly "Issei Baseball is an excellent history of a lesser-known saga involving Japan, America, and the pastime they shared."-Andrew Milner, Inside Game "While baseball has a long history in Japan, the sport has just as rich of a pedigree in Japanese American communities. Issei Baseball is an encyclopedic look into a game that brought pride to a wider group of people."-JQ Magazine "For anyone who loves baseball or Japanese culture or, preferably, both . . . this is a fantastic book that covers a less regarded aspect of the origins of the game in Japan."-Ryne Clos, Spectrum Culture “A book rich in detail, Robert K. Fitts’s Issei Baseball adds a valuable piece to the story of the Japanese people in America and is a noteworthy contribution to the legacy of the Issei and the game they loved.”-Samuel O. Regalado, author of Nikkei Baseball: Japanese American Players from Immigration and Internment to the Major Leagues “Long before Ichiro Suzuki and Shohei Ohtani, Japanese Issei were trying to prove they were the best immigrant baseball players in America. During the Jim Crow era of Major League Baseball, a handshake and a victory on the field were their just reward. Rob Fitts majestically re-creates the mood of the era and sheds light on a glorious period of this epic American odyssey.”-Kerry Yo Nakagawa, author, filmmaker, and historian“Rob Fitts is not only an esteemed baseball historian; he’s also one of the top writers in the game today. He excels at painting pictures with words and taking the reader on a journey back in time with his prose. Issei Baseball is an enjoyable read for true baseball fans.”-Bill Staples Jr., coauthor of Gentle Black Giants: A History of Negro Leaguers in Japan