|
A Very Brief
History
Japanese professional
baseball as we think of it, began in 1937 with one league of eight teams.
The first two years were divided into spring and fall seasons. In 1950, the
league expanded to fourteen teams and was divided into two leagues with some
teams from the original league going to each new league.
Several teams have
changed their nicknames over the years. The Bay Stars were once the Whales,
the Swallows started out with that name, changed to Atoms (from 1966 to 1973),
and changed back. The Marines were once the Orions, the Buffaloes were once
the Pearls, the Blue Wave were once the Braves, and the Fighters were once
the Flyers. Confused? The map below tells the complete
story.
Quick facts: The team named Lion(s) in 1937-1940 is a parent of today's
BayStars and is in no way related to today's Lions. Another interesting twist
comes with today's Marines, who are the result of three merged clubs.
 Download Team Franchise
Histories as Spreadsheet
The
Managers List
| Bay Stars |
|
Robins |
|
| 1950-1952 Whales |
|
1936 through 1937 Spring Dai Tokyo (no nickname) |
| 1953 merged with Robins |
|
1937 Fall –1940 Lion |
|
| 1953-1954 Robins |
|
1941-1944 Asahi (no nickname) |
|
| 1955-1992 Whales |
|
1946 Pacific (no nickname) |
|
| 1993-date Bay Stars |
|
1947-1952 Robins |
|
|
|
|
|
| Buffaloes |
|
Buffaloes |
|
| 1936-1946 Hankyu (no nickname) |
|
1950-1958 Pearls |
|
| 1947-1990 Braves |
|
1959-2004 Buffaloes |
|
| 1991-2004 Blue Wave |
|
|
|
| 2004 merged with Buffaloes |
|
|
|
| 2005-date Buffaloes |
|
|
|
| Carp |
|
|
|
| 1950-date Carp |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Dragons |
|
|
|
| 1936-1943 Nagoya (no
nickname) |
|
|
|
| 1944 Sangyo (no nickname) |
|
|
|
| 1946 Chubu Nihon (no
nickname) |
|
|
|
| 1947-date Dragons |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Eagles |
|
|
|
| 2005-date Eagles |
|
|
|
| Fighters |
|
|
|
| 1946 Senators |
|
|
|
| 1947-1973 Flyers |
|
|
|
| 1974-date Fighters |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Giants |
|
|
|
| 1936-1946 Kyojin |
|
|
|
| 1947-date Giants |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Hawks |
|
|
|
| 1938-June 30, 1944 Nankai
(no nickname) |
|
|
|
| July 1, 1944-end
of 1944 season Kinki Nippon (no nickname) |
|
| 1946-May 30, 1947 Kinki
Great Ring |
|
|
|
| June 1,
1947-date Hawks |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Lions |
|
Pirates |
|
| 1950 Clippers |
|
1950 Pirates |
|
| before 1951 season merged
with Pirates |
|
|
|
| 1951-date Lions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Marines |
|
Unions |
Stars |
| 1950-1957 Orions |
|
1954-1957 Unions |
1946-1956 Stars |
| merged with Unions after
1957 season |
|
merged with Stars after 1956 season |
|
| 1958-1991 Orions |
|
|
|
| 1992-date Marines |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Swallows |
|
|
|
| 1950-1965 Swallows |
|
|
|
| 1966-1973 Atoms |
|
|
|
| 1974-date Swallows |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Tigers |
|
|
|
| 1936-1940 Tigers |
|
|
|
| 1941-1946 Hanshin (no
nickname) |
|
|
|
| 1947-date Tigers |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Defunct Franchises |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Senators |
|
Nagoya Kinko |
|
| 1937-1939 Senators |
|
1937-1940 Nagoya Kinko |
|
| 1940 Tsubasa |
|
|
|
| merged with
Tsubasa after 1940 season fo form Taiyo |
|
| 1941-1942 Taiyo |
|
|
|
| 1943 Nishitetsu |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Eagles |
|
|
|
| 1937-1939 Eagles |
|
|
|
| 1940-1941 Kurowashi |
|
|
|
| 1942-1943 Daiwa |
|
|
|
Sources
Jim Allen’s 1999 Guide to Japanese Baseball
by Jim Allen
The managers list
at:
http://www.lint.ne.jp/~lucky/brm/lists/manager-e.html
Japanese Baseball:
A Statistical
Handbook by Daniel Johnson
|
Jim
Albright /
the
japanese insider
