Bay Stars!

[Aaron Gerow]

Wow!  The Yokohama Bay Stars (formerly Yokohama Taiyo Whales), the 
perennial losers of the Central League, have finally won their first 
league championship in 38 years.  As a Yokohama resident, I can only 
cheer.

Not really film news, you say?  Well, as a bit of trivia, you might like 
to know that the Bay Stars/Whales were, during the 1953-54 seasons, known 
as the Taiyo Shochiku Robins after the Taiyo (owned by Maruha) merged 
with the Shochiku Robins.  It's not included in most of the histories of 
Japanese cinema, but most of the film studios in the 1950s, being 
corporate giants in those days with money to burn, owned their own 
professional baseball teams.

The most successful was the Toei Flyers, which is now Nippon Ham.  Daiei 
(no relation to the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks) owned the Stars (called the 
Unions for one year), which changed its name to the Mainichi Daiei Orions 
when it merged with the Mainichi Orions (eventually turning into the 
Lotte Chiba Marines).  Hankyu, Toei's parent company, owned the Hankyu 
Braves, which is now the Orix Blue Wave.  Only Nikkatsu, it seems, did 
not get into the baseball business.

So being all good Japanese film fans, we should root for the Bay Stars in 
their coming battle against the Seibu Lions who, I must point out, have 
no cinematic connection (excepting the fact their mascot is from _Jangaru 
Taitei_).

Aaron Gerow
Associate Professor
International Student Center
Yokohama National University
79-1 Tokiwadai
Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501
JAPAN
E-mail: gerow at ynu.ac.jp
Phone: 81-45-339-3170
Fax: 81-45-339-3171