Video: Oakland A's Celebrate Zenimura Field 70th Anniversary

The Oakland A's Tribute to Japanese American Baseball on March 7, 2013 -- the 70th Anniversary of Zenimura Field at Gila River, AZ -- was a success.

According to the Oakland Tribune: The A's saluted the three remaining Japanese Americans who built Zenimura Field, a baseball facility at the Gila River Internment Camp that opened 70 years ago. The camp was about 40 miles south of Phoenix, and the three -- shortstop Masao Iriyama, second baseman Kenso Zenimura and pitcher Tets Furukawa -- all threw out first pitches.

Said A's reliever Hideki Okajima, "I was honored to be here to salute what they did." Shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima said he knew the history, and called the celebration "a very good thing."


Phoenix-based photographer George Nakamura was kind enough to create this photo-montage video of the game. The soundtrack features "The National Anthem" by Yuko Elliot and "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" by Ken Koshio.