<Begin Segment 8>

TI: I'm curious, going back to Japan and so the judo part, but I want to talk about the baseball. What was the quality of baseball in Japan during this period?

ET: Okay, I went to, actually, when the family came back, I changed the school to another school. But this is one school, the Koyo, played very similar game we play as a good team, professionals, so hardball.

TI: So when you say, so like the Koyo High School baseball team, would that be sort of equivalent to, like, the Broadway High School baseball team? Would it be kind of like that?

ET: Oh, yeah, yeah. Every bit. In fact, I played a little bit at the Broadway, but I played more with a Japanese league. They call it, they had a newspaper name.

TI: The Courier League.

ET: Courier, yeah.

TI: But in Japan, were you able to see, like, professional baseball? Was there really good baseball being played?

ET: Oh, yeah, you bet. You know, I had a picture taken with Babe Ruth, because he came to Koshien Kyujo. That's where I played most of the baseball. And then, of course, our own school had baseball.

TI: So wait a minute. So you're talking about, you had your picture taken with Babe Ruth, the famous Yankee baseball player?

ET: Uh-huh.

TI: Do you still have that picture?

ET: No, no, I looked all over in Japan, and I couldn't find it.

TI: Oh, that would have been precious to have.

ET: That would be precious. Not only me, but...

TI: Now, so how did you meet Babe Ruth? I mean, explain that again.

ET: Well, actually, we were fairly well-known baseball, high school in those days, and I was only a freshman, so you know, not even varsity team. So I used to practice catcher for my friend, same class, but he was a year older than I. And he later was called the Babe Ruth of Japan. He was a pitcher, he had the biggest batting average, most home runs, and then he was called Babe Ruth of Japan. And I was just a catcher for practice only. I don't think I ever played in a baseball game or we used to call it regular, like a championship, national championship type of thing. We did become national champions after I left Japan, but Betto came to visit me here in Spokane, and that's quite a nice... we were quite good friends, but then he was, immediately he was playing for varsity as a freshman. But yeah, no one could get to that.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.