FRESNO,
Calif., (October 29, 2014) -- The Nisei Baseball Research Project (NBRP;
niseibaseball.com), a non-profit organization founded to preserve the history
of Japanese American baseball, is proud to announce today the public release of
rare, never-before-seen footage of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Japanese American
all-stars from 1927.
As Japanese
American ballplayers Travis Ishikawa, Jeremy Guthrie and Royals' bench coach
Don Wakamatsu take the field for the 2014 World Series, the NBRP proudly
unveiled rare 18mm film shot 87 years ago when Ruth and Gehrig barnstormed the
west coast after the 1927 World Series.
The film
includes highlights from October 29, 1927, when Fresno's Japanese American
all-stars Johnny Nakagawa, Kenichi Zenimura, Fred Yoshikawa and Harvey Iwata
joined Gehrig on his Larrupin Lou's squad to defeat the Bustin' Babes, 13-3.
The presence
of Ishikawa, Guthrie and Wakamatsu in the 2014 World Series honors to the
legacy of all Japanese American ballplayers, not just the all-stars featured in
this rare footage. Many had the tools and passion to play the game at the
highest level, but never received the opportunity. Instead they played in
leagues of their own and became America's baseball ambassadors across the
Pacific.
To learn
more about the legacy of Japanese American baseball, visit www.NiseiBaseball.com or join our
Facebook community at www.facebook.com/niseibaseball.
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