Saburo Yokozawa (横沢 三郎, Yokozawa Saburō) (1904–1995) is a Japanese former professional baseball manager and umpire.[1] He was involved in various iterations of Japanese professional baseball from 1929 through 1959.
Saburo Yokozawa | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 December 1904 |
| Died | 28 November 1995 (aged 90) |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Alma mater | Meiji University |
| Occupation(s) | Japanese Baseball League manager Nippon Professional Baseball umpire |
| Years active | 1929–1959 |
|
Baseball career | |
| Member of the Japanese | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1988 |
Born in Taiwan under Japanese rule, Yokozawa graduated from Meiji University.[1] He umpired for Japan's nascent professional league in the years 1929-1935; he also helped the Tokyo-based team to four victories in Japan's Intercity baseball tournament.[2]
At the beginning of the Japanese Baseball League (JBL), Yokozawa managed the Tokyo Senators in 1936–1937.[1] Yokozawa played second base for the team in one game in 1937, and had one plate appearance.[1]
Leaving managing, Yokozawa became an umpire in the JBL in 1938, working in that capacity through the 1944 season. Meanwhile, his old team the Senators, after a number of ownership and name changes, disbanded following the 1943 season. In 1946, Yokozawa looked to revive the franchise and soon founded the new Senators. He assembled a team of ready and able players, but as a newly formed team the Senators faced strict fiscal management and resorted to using hand-me-down uniforms from the Hankyu Railway's pre-war team, the Hankyu Club (who would eventually become the modern-day Orix Buffaloes). Former Japanese statesman Kinkazu Saionji, grandson of the influential Kinmochi Saionji, became the team's owner, and Noboru Oride, borrowing heavily from a Ginza cabaret proprietor, became the team's sponsor. Trapped by a lack of funds, Yokozawa was forced to resign as the team's manager after one season.[citation needed]
Returning again to umpiring, Yokozawa remained in that position until 1959. When the JBL reorganized into Nippon Professional Baseball in 1950, Yokozawa was named umpire-in-chief of the Pacific League division.[citation needed]
He was elected by the Special Committee to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Saburo Yokozawa Register Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Yokozawa, Saburo". The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
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