Takeshi Nakayama

Takeshi Nakayama (中山 武)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 140 lb.
• High School Kyoei Shogyo High School
• Born May 17, 1916 in Kakegawa, Shizuoka Japan
• Died August 18, 1975

BR register page

Biographical Information

Catcher Takeshi Nakayama played sparingly in Nippon Professional Baseball in 1936, 1938 and 1939. He had been on the Japanese team that toured the US in 1935. Suiting up for Tokyo Kyojin, he was 9 for 27 with two doubles, three walks, three runs and three RBI in the spring of 1936, the first season of pro baseball in Japan. He hit .219/.324/.250 in 25 games in the fall and led the Japanese Professional Baseball League with 7 sacrifice hits. He caught the first no-hitter in Japanese pro ball history, as Eiji Sawamura no-hit the Osaka Tigers September 25.

While in the military in 1937, he was injured when a bullet hit his thigh, limiting his mobility from there out. He would only play four games in 1938 and 1939 combined, going 0 for 4, due to the injury. He later coached high school ball (1948-1949) and managed Nippon Light Metal in the industrial leagues (1950-1957).

Sources include Japanese Wikipedia entry