Baseball In Hawai I

Nikkei Baseball examines baseball's evolving importance to the Japanese American community and the construction of Japanese American identity. Originally introduced in Japan in the late 1800s, baseball was played in the United States by Japanese immigrants first in Hawaii, then San Francisco and northern California, then in amateur leagues up and down the Pacific Coast. For Japanese American players, baseball was seen as a sport that encouraged healthy competition by imposing rules and standards of ethical behavior for both players and fans. The value of baseball as exercise and amusement quickly expanded into something even more important, a means for strengthening social ties within Japanese American communities and for linking their aspirations to America's pastimes and America's promise. With World War II came internment and baseball and softball played behind barbed wire. After their release from the camps, Japanese Americans found their reentry to American society beset by anti-Japanese laws, policies, and vigilante violence, but they rebuilt their leagues and played in schools and colleges. Drawing from archival research, prior scholarship, and personal interviews, Samuel O. Regalado explores key historical factors such as Meji-era modernization policies in Japan, American anti-Asian sentiments, internment during World War II, the postwar transition, economic and educational opportunities in the 1960s, the developing concept of a distinct "Asian American" identity, and Japanese Americans' rise to the major leagues with star players including Lenn Sakata and Kurt Suzuki and even managers such as the Seattle Mariners' Don Wakamatsu.

Alexander Cartwright, who invented the game of baseball in New York in the 1840s, soon took his bag of tricks to Hawai'i--where adoption of the pastime predates most other American locales. Pineapple plantation teams played rival sugar refinery clubs with Chinese, Korean and Japanese teams. Barnstorming big-leaguers landed during the winter, and Pearl Harbor brought the biggest names in the sport to paradise: Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, John McGraw and many more. Barry Bonds and Tony Gwynn played for the Hawai'i Islanders before heading up to "the Show." Homegrown talents are on display here along with the legends, as author Jim Vitti shows that Hawai'i's baseball history is as rich and diverse as anywhere on the mainland..

Presents the history, geography, people, politics and government, economy, social life and customs, state events and attractions, and notable people of Hawaii.

While the Hawaiian Islands, a pre-war paradise that became a scene of death and destruction in December 1941, was being transformed into a vital staging post in the Pacific war, baseball played an essential role as a morale booster for thousands of servicemen and civilians. With at least a dozen future hall of famers on the rosters of Army, Navy and Marine Corps teams - including Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Stan Musial - for a few short years, the best baseball in the world was played in Hawaii. Brought to you by the author of two previous books on World War II baseball and a recognized expert on the subject for over 25 years, this is the first complete account of baseball in Hawaii between 1941 and 1945. Featuring never-before seen photographs and numerous personal accounts, baseball in wartime Hawaii is brought to life - every victory and every tragedy.

Offering a fresh approach to the familiar concept of all-time baseball teams, this exhaustive work ranks more than 2,500 players by state of birth and includes both major league and Negro League athletes. Each chapter covers one state and opens with the all-time team, naming a top selection for each position followed by honorable mentions. Also included are all-time stat leaders in nine categories--games, hits, average, RBI, home runs, stolen bases, pitching wins, strikeouts and saves--a brief overview of the state's baseball history, notable player achievements, historic baseball places to see, potential future stars, a comprehensive list of player nicknames, and the state's all-time best player.

Crossing Sidelines, Crossing Cultures crosses disciplines in order to examine an unexplored facet of American racial and ethnic experiences-Asian Pacific American participation in sports. Joel S. Franks examines the experiences of famous and not so famous Asian Pacific American athletes from the late 1800s to the present. Through the stories of athletes such as swimmer Duke Kahanamoku and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, Franks demonstrates how Asian Pacific Americans have overcome discrimination and stereotypes to cross the cultural barriers that separate them from other American racial and ethnic groups. This book reveals how the struggles that Asian Pacific Americans face in their desire to assert their cultural citizenship are often expressed through sports.

Traces the history of Hawaiian sports and lists local records

During the summer of 1940, in contrast to the downwardly spiraling political relationship between Japan and the United States, the Keio University baseball team traveled from Tokyo to the Hawaiian Islands. Aloha and Sayonara tells the story of the last Japanese baseball team to visit the Hawaiian Islands - a tradition that dated back to 1908 - before the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor. With game-by-game, and almost day-by-day coverage, this is a never-before-told insight into the lives of 15 young Japanese college students who came to play baseball, the game they loved, and were soon to be in deadly conflict with their new-found friends. Aloha and Sayonara explores their early years, their time in Hawaii and then follows the young players' journey back to Japan. For some, the journey continues to post-war professional baseball. For others it ends on the battlefields of the Pacific islands. Brought to you by the author of Baseball in Hawaii During World War II and a recognized expert on World War II baseball for over 25 years, this is the first complete account of the 1940 Keio University baseball tour of Hawaii. Featuring photographs that haven't been seen for over 80 years, Aloha and Sayonara takes you back to the summer of 1940, when baseball was the number one game in town.