| Shochiku Robins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| League | Nippon Professional Baseball *Central League |
| Ballpark | Shimonoseki Baseball Stadium (1950–1952) |
| Established | 1936; 89 years ago (1936) |
| Division championships | 1 (1950) |
| Former name(s) | Dai Tokyo (1936) Lion Baseball Club (1937–1940) Asahi Baseball Club (1941–1944) Pacific Baseball Club (1946) Taiyō Robins (1947–1949) |
| Former league(s) | Japanese Baseball League (1936–1949) |
| Former ballparks | Kinugasa Stadium |
| Colors | dark olive green, red |
| Ownership | Kokumin Shimbun (1936) Komajiro Tamura (1937–1952) |
| Manager | Tokuro Konishi (1936–1938, 1950, 1952) Kyouichi Nitta (1951–1952) |
TheShochiku Robins (Japanese:松竹ロビンス,romanized: Shōchiku robinsu) were aJapanese baseball team that played inNippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The franchise originated in theJapanese Baseball League (NPB's predecessor) and existed from 1936–1953, when it merged with theTaiyo Whales. Originally based in Tokyo, the club moved toOsaka in 1941.
The club was founded asDai Tokyo before the 1936Japanese Baseball League season, with ownership by the Tokyo daily newspaperKokumin Shimbun. The team made history that year by signing anAfrican-American player,Jimmy Bonner, 11 years beforeJackie Robinson broke theMajor League Baseball color barrier.[1]
The worst team in the league its first year, the club improved in spring 1937.
On August 31, midway through the 1937 fall season, the team changed its name to theLion Baseball Club when it was acquired byKomajiro Tamura, with sponsorship byLion Toothpaste.[citation needed]
Late in the 1940 season, the Japan Baseball League outlawed English nicknames (due to rising tensions with the West).[citation needed] Owner Tamura refused to change the team's name, insisting that "Lion" is Japanese (In actuality, he wanted to honor the team's sponsorship contract with the Lion Corporation.)[citation needed] The team completed the season as Lion, finishing in last place, 50 games behindTokyo Kyojin.
In 1941 the team moved from Tokyo toOsaka and acquiring new sponsorship fromAsahi Shimbun; from 1941 to 1944 it was called theAsahi Baseball Club. In 1943 the team had its first winning season, finishing at 41-36-7.[citation needed]
After the resumption of the Japanese Baseball League in 1946 (after World War II), the team changed its name toPacific Baseball Club (popularly known asTaihei — "peace").[citation needed] Meanwhile, team ownerKomajiro Tamura started another franchise that season,Gold Star, which signed many of Asahi's former players, as well as Asahi's former managerMichinori Tubouchi.[citation needed]
To fill out its roster, Pacific signed long-timeTokyo Kyojin/Yomiuri Giants pitcherVictor Starffin, as well as some other famous players. These signings led to a serious conflict, and Pacific was forced to forfeit four games that season.[citation needed]
One homegrown player who rose to prominence was pitcher and part-time infielderJuzo Sanada (later known as Shigeo Sanada), who eventually became a four-time 20-game-winner and a member of theJapanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
English nicknames returned to Japanese baseball after the 1946 season, and the team changed its name to theTaiyo Robins.[citation needed] Still owned by Komajiro Tamura, "Taiyo" came from Tamura's fabric store Taiyo Rayon, and "Robins" from Tamura's personal nickname, "Koma" ("robins" in Japanese).[citation needed] Thekanji for "Taiyo" (太陽) has connotations of the sun, and for a brief confusing period the team featured the words "Suns" on its road uniforms and "Robins" on its home uniforms.[citation needed]
Starffin left after the 1947 season, and none of the name variations helped improve the team's play. The JBL reorganized after the 1949 season; the franchise ended its Japanese Baseball League run with a losing season every single year except 1943.
In 1950, when the JBL reorganized to becomeNippon Professional Baseball, the Robins joined NPB'sCentral League. A share of the team was sold to theShochiku Corporation and it became theShochiku Robins. Amazingly, that year the team won 46 more games than the year before, totaling 98 wins and coming in first in their division. Led by league MVPMakoto Kozuru and his 51 home runs and still-league record 163 RBI, as well as Sanada's 39 victories, the Robins played in the inauguralJapan Series, ultimately falling to theMainichi Orions, 4 games to 2.
After a mediocre year in 1951, they lost 84 games in 1952. It was decided that any Central League teams ending the season with a winning percentage below .300 would be disbanded or merged with other teams. The Robins fell into this category, and were merged with theTaiyo Whales to become theTaiyo Shochiku Robins in January 1953. The resulting franchise is now known as theYokohama DeNA BayStars.
| Year | Team name | Wins | Losses | Ties | Win/Loss Percentage | Standings | Games behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 (spring) | Dai Tokyo | 0 | 13 | 1 | .000 | 7 | N.A. |
| 1936 (fall) | 5 | 21 | 2 | .192 | 7 | 17 | |
| 1937 (spring) | 21 | 31 | 4 | .404 | 6 | 19 | |
| 1937 (fall) | Lion | 19 | 29 | 1 | .396 | 6 | 20 |
| 1938 (spring) | 9 | 26 | 0 | .257 | 8 | 20 | |
| 1938 (fall) | 19 | 20 | 1 | .487 | 6 | 11 | |
| 1939 | 33 | 58 | 5 | .363 | 8 | 32.5 | |
| 1940 | 24 | 76 | 4 | .240 | 9 | 50 | |
| 1941 | Asahi | 29 | 59 | 1 | .298 | 8 | 37 |
| 1942 | 49 | 50 | 4 | .495 | 4 | 23.5 | |
| 1943 | 41 | 36 | 7 | .532 | 3 | 11 | |
| 1944 | 12 | 22 | 1 | .353 | 5 | 15.5 | |
| 1946 | Pacific | 42 | 60 | 3 | .412 | 8 | 21.5 |
| 1947 | Taiyō Robins | 50 | 64 | 5 | .439 | 8 | 28 |
| 1948 | 61 | 74 | 5 | .452 | 6 | 25.5 | |
| 1949 | 52 | 81 | 0 | .391 | 8 | 33 |
| Year | Team name | Wins | Losses | Ties | Win/Loss Percentage | Central League Standings | Games behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Shochiku Robins | 98 | 35 | 4 | .737 | 1 | -- |
| 1951 | 53 | 57 | 5 | .482 | 4 | 27 | |
| 1952 | 34 | 84 | 2 | .288 | 7 | 48 |