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I picked up these two from Robert Kleven's most recent auction at Prestige Collectibles. I won the auction for these two lots on Tuesday and received them yesterday. I was very impressed with his customer service and I highly recommend him.

Although I don't generally collect Japanese baseball items I love the colors and graphic design of their oversized posters depicting members of their HOF. Thankfully these are pretty scarce because I'm addicted to them and cannot afford them often. I loved Godzilla movies and baseball as a kid and these are the perfect blend of the two.

The first is a movie poster from 1957 measures 10.5" X 28.5" and features Tetsuharu Kawakami March 23, 1920 – October 28, 2013 was a Japanese baseball player and manager. Born in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto, he played for the Yomiuri Giants between 1938 and 1958, being nicknamed (dageki no kamisama, "the God of Batting/Hitting") In 1951, he whiffed only 6 times, which is the Japanese single-season tie record. He was a professional player for 18 years, winning the batting title five times, two home run crowns, three RBI titles, and had six titles for the most hits in a season. He was the first player in Japanese pro baseball to achieve 2,000 hits and was named the league's MVP three times. As a manager, he was known for his ruthless, tough-love style, but he led the Yomiuri Giants to nine consecutive championships

The second poster is circa 1953, advertises whiskey, measures 14.75" X 21" and features Fumio Fujimura. Fujimura was born August 14, 1916 in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, died May 28, 1992. He played for the Osaka Tigers in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. In the 1933 National High School Baseball Championship, Fujimura's team reached the quarterfinals but his opponent Masao Yoshida pitched a shutout in the game. In the final of 1934 National High School Baseball Championship, he faced Tetsuharu Kawakami and had three strikeouts in three at bats. He won the championship. In 1950, he recorded 191 hits. This record remained unbroken for 44 years, until Ichiro Suzuki in 1994. He was inducted to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. His number, 10, is retired with the Hanshin Tigers.