Shiro Tsuda

Shiro Tsuda (津田 四郎)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 4", Weight 136 lb.
• High School Kanzei High School
• Born September 6, 1908 in Kaibara, Hyogo Japan
• Died February 23, 1965 in Minato, Tokyo Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Shiro Tsuda played in Nippon Pro Baseball and later was an umpire there as well.

He played for Hoten Den Den in the industrial leagues before pro baseball came to Japan. He was part of a Japanese team that toured the US in 1935. When the Japanese Professional Baseball League was formed, he was a member of the Tokyo Kyojin in 1936 and 1937, the first two years. He hit .220/.281/.237 with no home runs and six RBI in 36 games. He hit .303/.343/.333 in '37, between the spring and fall campaigns. He was a catcher and infielder. He made his NPB debut as a pinch-runner for Takeshi Nakayama.

Tsuda served in the Japanese military for a couple years then became an umpire. He was an ump in the JPBL from 1941-1944 and 1948-1949. When the Central League was formed in 1950, he was part of the first umpiring staff, a role he held until his death of cancer 15 years later. During that time, he worked the 1953 NPB All-Star Game, 1959 Emperor's Game (covering 1B) and 1964 NPB All-Star Game.

Sources include Japanese Wikipedia entry