A wooden apartment building used to stand behind Koshien Stadium. At that time, an apartment where the rooms came with a toilet and kitchen was called "cultural housing," but Hanshin fans apparently called it, with affection, a "tenement house."
It was the residence of Gene Bacque, who pitched for the Hanshin Tigers in the 1960s. He commuted to the stadium by bike and had no interpreter as he joined the team after a tryout. Like other Americans, he made a lot of jokes, but using the Japanese he learned through much effort on his own, he made everyone laugh.
Needless to say, his personality was not the only thing people admired about Bacque. In 1964, he won 29 games and received the Sawamura Award as the best pitcher. He died recently at 82 in Louisiana, where he spent his last years.
When hearing his name, many longtime baseball fans will surely recall the brawl during a game against the Giants. Bacque threw brushback pitches at Sadaharu Oh, angering Giants hitting coach Hiroshi Arakawa, who dashed from the dugout and kicked Bacque. The Hanshin pitcher retaliated with a fist to Arakawa's head, but broke a finger in the process, which eventually led to his retirement. His refreshing departure was rather impressive: "I made up with Oh-san and Arakawa-san quickly. There was no ill will."
The brawl happened on Sept. 18, 51 years ago today. What was the fierce Tigers ace's lasting legacy to Japan's professional baseball?
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
