1951 NPB All-Star Game

The 1951 NPB All-Star Games were the first NPB All-Star Games ever. The Central League won the first two while the Pacific League won the other.

Game 1

Game 1 was held on July 4 at Koshien Stadium in front of 48,671 fans. Tetsuharu Kawakami took the lead for the CL in the first inning with a RBI single, and he won the MVP. Third baseman Junji Nakatani's error then gave the CL an insurance run. Nakatani made up for his error as he drove in a run in the 7th inning with a single for the first PL RBI in All-Star play, but Shigeru Sugishita still closed the door, and the CL got the first win in All-Star history.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pacific	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	2	1
Central	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	5	1

Players used

Pacific League Starting Lineup

1. Tokuji Iida, 1B (Nankai Hawks)
2. Kazuto Tsuruoka, 2B (Nankai)
3. Kaoru Betto, CF (Mainichi Orions)
4. Hiroshi Oshita, LF (Tokyu Flyers)
5. Junji Nakatani, 3B (Hankyu Braves)
6. Shigeya Iijima, RF (Daiei Stars)
7. Takeshi Doigaki, C (Mainichi)
8. Haruyasu Eto, P (Nankai)
9. Chusuke Kizuka, SS (Nankai)

Backups Used

• Shoshichi Ito, RF (Mainichi)
• Yoshimasa Takesue, P (Nishitetsu Lions)
• Giichi Hayashi, P (Daiei)

Manager

• Yoshio Yuasa

Coaches

• Shinji Hamazaki
• Osamu Mihara

Central League Starting Lineup

1. Noboru Aota, LF (Yomiuri Giants)
2. Shigeru Chiba, 2B (Yomiuri)
3. Yoshiyuki Iwamoto, RF (Shochiku Robins)
4. Fumio Fujimura, 3B (Osaka Tigers)
5. Tetsuharu Kawakami, 1B (Yomiuri)
6. Makoto Kozuru, CF (Shochiku)
7. Shoji Arakawa, C (Shochiku)
8. Takehiko Bessho, P (Yomiuri)
9. Saburo Hirai, SS (Yomiuri)

Backups Used

• Michinori Tsubouchi, RF (Nagoya Dragons)
• Akira Noguchi, C (Nagoya)
• Tokuzo Harada, PH (Nagoya)
• Michio Nishizawa, PH (Nagoya)
• Masaichi Kaneda, P (Kokutetsu Swallows)
• Shigeru Sugishita, P (Nagoya)

Manager

• Shunichi Amachi

Coaches

• Shigeru Mizuhara
• Kenjiro Matsuki

Umpires

• Hidenosuke Shima (Home), Saburo Yokozawa (1B), Osamu Tsutsui (2B), Fujio Ueda (3B), Jukichi Koshiba (LF), Takeo Kojima (RF)

Game 2

Game 2 took place before a crowd of 33,147 at Korakuen Stadium. Tokuji Iida and Takeshi Doigaki's two RBI singles gave the PL the lead, and they even loaded the bases with nobody out thanks to 3 straight walks in the 6th inning. However, Masaichi Kaneda of the CL struck out Nakatani and Shoshichi Ito, then retired Doigaki to escape the jam. The CL's catcher Akira Noguchi then hit a 2-run triple in the 7th inning, and Michio Nishizawa crushed a game-winning, 2-run shot. Sugishita saved it again, and the CL took the series. Noguchi was the MVP.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Central	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	4	6	0
Pacific	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	0

Players used

Central League Starting Lineup

1. Aota, LF
2. Chiba, 2B
3. Iwamoto, RF
4. Kawakami, 1B
5. F.Fujimura, 3B
6. Kozuru, CF
7. Arakawa, C
8. Bessho, P
9. Hirai, SS

Backups Used

• Tsubouchi, LF
• Harada, CF
• Noguchi, C
• Nishizawa, 1B
• Jiro Kanayama, PR (Hiroshima Carp)
• Hiroshi Nakao, P (Yomiuri)
• Ryohei Hasegawa, P (Hiroshima)
• Kaneda, P
• Sugishita, P

Pacific League Starting Lineup

1. Iida, 1B
2. Tsuruoka, 2B
3. Betto, CF
4. Oshita, LF
5. Nakatani, 3B
6. Iijima, RF
7. Doigaki, C
8. Takeshi Nomura, P (Mainichi)
9. Kizuka, SS

Backups Used

• Ito, RF
• Katsuki Tokura, PH (Hankyu)
• Yoshio Hamada, 2B (Tokyu)
• Kazuo Kageyama, 3B (Nankai)
• Shosei Go, PH (Mainichi)
• Hirokuni Kataoka, PH (Mainichi)
• Susumu Yuki, P (Nankai)
• Yasuo Yonekawa, P (Tokyu)
• Hayashi, P

Umpires

• Yokozawa (Home), Shima (1B), Kojima (2B), Koshiba (3B), Ueda (LF), Tsutsui (RF)

Game 3

Game 3 was July 8 at Korakuen Stadium; 40,378 turned out to see the PL's first win. Their starter Heishichi Sato faced control problems in the first inning, as he gave up a walk to catcher Shigeru Tokuami when the bases were loaded and the CL took the lead. The PL's Iijima crushed a solo shot in the 2nd inning, and Nakatani's solo shot tied the game in the 5th inning. Chiba took back the lead for his league with a homer in the bottom of the frame, and Kizuka tied it again when he hit a leadoff triple and scored by Kaoru Betto's grounder in the next inning. Iida hit a game-winning homer in the 8th inning, and the PL finally got a win. The MVP went to winning pitcher Giichi Hayashi, who shut out the CL for 2 1/3 innings.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pacific	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	4	6	1
Central	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	6	1

Players used

Pacific League Starting Lineup

1. Kageyama, 2B
2. Kizuka, SS
3. Iida, 1B
4. Betto, CF
5. Oshita, LF
6. Nakatani, 3B
7. Iijima, RF
8. Doigaki, C
9. Heishichi Sato, P (Mainichi)

Backups Used

• Ito, RF
• Tsuruoka, PH
• Hamada, 2B
• Tokuji Kawasaki, P (Nishitetsu)
• Nomura, P
• Hayashi, P

Central League Starting Lineup

1. Aota, LF
2. Chiba, 2B
3. Iwamoto, RF
4. Kawakami, 1B
5. F.Fujimura, 3B
6. Kozuru, CF
7. Shigeru Tokuami, C (Osaka)
8. Takao Fujimura, P (Osaka)
9. Hirai, SS

Backups Used

• Tsubouchi, LF
• Harada, CF
• Noguchi, C
• Nishizawa, PH
• Arakawa, LF
• Kanayama, PH
• Tsuneo Mitomi, P (Nagoya)
• Hiroyoshi Takano, P (Taiyo Whales)
• Hideo Fujimoto, P (Yomiuri)

Umpires

• Tsutsui (Home), Ueda (1B), Shimaa (2B), Yokozawa (3B), Koshiba (LF), Kojim (RF)

Players did not play

• Nobuo Oshima, P (Shochiku)
• Atsushi Aramaki, P (Mainichi)
• Keizo Tsutsui, C (Nankai)
• Choei Shirasaka, 2B (Osaka)
• Junzo Sekine, P (Kintetsu Pearls)

Sources

• NPB.com box
• Japanese Wikipedia entry