Ichiro Yoshikuni

Ichiro Yoshikuni (吉國 一郎)

• School Tokyo Imperial University

• Born September 2, 1916 in Kanagawa Prefecture Japan
• Died September 2, 2011 in Shibuya, Tokyo Japan

Biographical Information

Ichiro Yoshikuni was the 9th commissioner of Nippon Pro Baseball. He served from 1989 to 1998, the longest anyone has held that role. He introduced free agency to NPB and improved relationships both with Major League Baseball and Japan's amateur circuits. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999. He died of pneumonia on his 95th birthday.

Sources

• Japanball.com
• Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
• Yakyubaka.com