Fumio Takechi

Fumio Takechi (武智 文雄)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 147 lb.

• High School Gifu Shogyo High School

• Born November 4, 1926 in Inaba-gun, Gifu Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Fumio Takechi pitched for 13 years for the Kintetsu Pearls.

Takechi was part of a Kamikaze corps during World War II but was not called on for such a mission. He joined the new Kintetsu club in 1950, going 2-3 with a 3.17 ERA. In 1951, he had a 15-15, 2.70 record and .221 opponent average. He fell to 9-18 with a 3.79 ERA in 1952 and led the Pacific League in both runs allowed (126) and earned runs allowed (91). The right-hander was only 4-15 with a 3.95 ERA and .288 opponent average in 1953.

Takechi turned it around in 1954, again losing 15 but increasing his win total from 4 to 26 and lowering his ERA to 2.17 and WHIP to 1.00, with just 41 walks in 307 1/3 innings. He led the PL with 23 complete games and also tied Motoshi Takuwa for the most wins. He made his first All-Star team and finished 5th in the circuit in ERA.

On June 19, 1955, the Pearls hurler tossed the first PL perfect game and second Nippon Pro Baseball perfecto (following Hideo Fujimoto). He blanked the Daiei Stars, 1-0. On the year, he had a 2.56 ERA but only a 10-16 record for a 60-80 club. He was 16-16 with a 2.43 ERA in 1956 and made his second and last All-Star team. He was 10th in the league in ERA.

Takechi fell to 9-13, 3.12 in 1957 and 4-10, 3.82 in 1958. He was 2-11 with a 3.78 ERA in 1959, 3-4 with a 2.72 ERA in 1960, 0-1 with a 2.76 ERA in 1961 and allowed three earned runs in 8 1/3 IP in 1962.

Overall, Fumio was 100-137 with a 2.97 ERA in 401 games in NPB. He later was a pitching coach for Kintetsu, then worked for a textiles manufacturer, becoming president there.

Source: Gary Garland's Japan Baseball Daily