Ichiro Togawa

Ichiro Togawa (戸川 一郎)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 145 lbs.

• High School Yanai High School

• Born April 2, 1935 in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
• Died October 15, 2018

BR register page

Biographical Information

Ichiro Togawa pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball for 6 years.

Togawa was signed by the Nankai Hawks in 1954, and he soon joined the bullpen. He had a solid 2.10 ERA in 26 appearances in his rookie year, then improved to 12-5 with a 2.37 ERA in 44 relief outings in 1955. Togawa shined in the 1955 Nippon Series, relieving Motoji Takuwa in Game 3 and pitching 5 shutout innings to get the win over Hiroshi Nakao and the Yomiuri Giants. Togawa was a long reliever again the next game, as he succeeded Taisei Nakamura in the 5th inning, pitching 5 innings with only one run allowed to collect another win. The Hawks named him as their starter in the win-or-go-home Game 7, and he pitched 4 innings with a run allowed by Yuko Minamimura's sacrifice fly. However, the Giants won the title with Takehiko Bessho's shutout, and Togawa won the fighting spirit award (the MVP of the losing team).

The Yamaguchi native extended his reliable performance, having a 10-4 record with a 2.07 ERA in 31 games in 1956. Had he qualified, he would have been 8th in the Pacific League in ERA. However, Togawa's ERA rose to 4.09 in 1957 due to a knee injury, and he had a solid 1.67 ERA in 16 appearances in 1957. He jumped to the Toei Flyers in 1958, but Togawa only pitched 4 games for them, and he announced his retirement.

Overall, Togawa was 33-14 with a 2.19 ERA, struck out 216 and pitched 401 1/3 innings in 6 years in the NPB.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio