Akio Kanemitsu

Akio Kanemitsu (金光 彬夫)
known as Young-jo Kim in South Korea

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• School Waseda University
• High School Teikyo Shoko High School

• Born March 15, 1923 in Jinan, North Jeolla Empire of Japan
• Died August 25, 1981 in Seoul South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Akio Kanemitsu was a catcher and infielder for one year with Asahi, hitting .248/.325/.345 in 30 games in 1944. Kanemitsu made history, though, on April 22, when he became the first player in Nippon Pro Baseball history to homer in his first at-bat, doing so against Hideo Fujimoto. Kanemitsu would hit one more home run in his career. After returning to South Korea, he represented his nation in the 1954 Asian Championship (winning Bronze in the first Asian Championship), 1955 Asian Championship (Bronze) and 1959 Asian Championship (Silver). He then managed them in the 1962 Asian Championship (Silver) and 1971 Asian Championship (Gold).

Source: Japanbaseballdaily.com by Gary Garland