Sadayoshi Fujimoto

Sadayoshi Fujimoto (藤本 定義)

• School Waseda University
• High School Matsuyama Commercial High School

• Born December 20, 1904 in Matsuyama, Ehime Japan
• Died February 18, 1981

BR register page

Biographical Information

Sadayoshi Fujimoto was one of the most famous managers in Nippon Pro Baseball history. The original manager of the Yomiuri Giants, he led his club to seven first-place finishes in nine years (they were second the other two teams) before finishing his time with the team in 1942, being replaced by Haruyasu Nakajima. He had less success after leaving the team, managing Pacific (42-60-3 in 1946), Taiyo (50-64-5 in 1947), the Kinsei Stars and Daiei Stars (never finishing higher than third from 1948-1956), the Hankyu Braves (1957-1959) and the Hanshin Tigers (1961-1968); with Hanshin he finally won pennants again, in 1964 and 1967. Overall his managerial track record was 1,647-1,450-93. As of 2005, he is third all-time in NPB managerial wins behind Kazuto Tsuruoka and Osamu Mihara and tied with Mihara for the most losses. Fujimoto was known for his especially grueling work-outs, which many teams adopted either when he managed them or due to the success of his early Yomiuri clubs. The workouts were deemed "vomit practice" for the physical toll they took on his players. In 1974, Fujimoto was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.

Sources include The Meaning of Ichiro by Robert Whiting