In honor of #stpatricksday, here is a shout-out to Jimmy Hallinan, one of 47 baseball players who hail from Ireland. Jimmy was born on May 27, 1849 in Ireland. He has the distinction of playing in the National Association in 1871 for the Fort Wayne Kekiongas, making him one of the first players to play in a professional league.
Hallinan played just 5 games in Fort Wayne in ‘71, came back to play in the NA’s final season in 1875, and then played in the National League from its start in 1876 until 1878. He died when he was just 30 years old on October 28, 1879. Official cause of death was reported to be inflammation of the bowels, but “former dissipation and excess had made a physical wreck of him.” Translation: he drank a lot. A LOT.
In his 5-year career, he played for 8 teams and had a lifetime .287 batting average. He also hit 5 home runs in an era when that was a pretty impressive total. He is buried... somewhere in Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Evanston, Ill. He’s in an unmarked grave, sharing an ignoble fate with a whole bunch of other 19th Century players who are buried there. The last time I was at Calvary, it was a frustrating, largely fruitless expedition. I’ll get back there someday and try to get at least an approximation of where Hallinan and the others are. Until then, “Sláinte, Jimmy!”
Here lies Wally Yonamine, one of Hawaii’s greatest athletes and a trail-blazer in two sports. He was the 1st person of Japanese descent to play in the @nfl and the 1st American-born baseball player in Japan after World War II. His play earned him a ticket into Japan’s Baseball Hall of Fame. Yonamine played football for the San Francisco 49ers (1947) before switching to baseball and the Yomiuri Giants (1951-60) and Chunichi Dragons (1961-62). He also managed the Dragons from 1972-77.
Wally Kaname Yonamine was born on June 24, 1925 in Olowalu, Hawaii. He grew up as a multi-talented athlete, and he seemed destined for fame in pro sports. At first, it was football. He was a high school star running back and kicker. He played so well in an exhibition game in Portland, Ore. that the 49ers signed him to a contract.
In 12 games as a halfback/defensive back in 1947, he had 19 rushes for 74 yards and caught 3 passes for 40 yards. He broke his hand after that first season while playing baseball, and the 49ers released him.
Switching to baseball, Yonamine played outfield with the Salt Lake City Bees in 1950 and was sensational. Rather than stay in the minors, Yonamine went to Japan to play for the Giants.
Yonamine is often compared to Jackie Robinson, with good reason. He endured racism everywhere except his Hawaii home. The US fans saw him as Japanese, and Japan saw him as Americans, and he was hated either way. Tensions were still high so soon after WWII. In Japan, it didn’t help that he didn’t speak Japanese and didn’t play baseball the way they did. He played American ball — aggressive. He ran out ground balls, broke up double plays & dove for balls. He would win over his teammates and Japanese baseball fans by his play and his class.
He topped the .300 mark in each of his first 8 seasons, including a career-high .361 in 1954. He helped lead the Giants to 8 Central League pennants and 4 Japan Series titles and was selected to 7 All-Star teams. He won 3 batting titles and an MVP award.
(See the comments for more or my blog for MUCH more.)
Here lies Steere Noda, a businessman, community servant & politician in his native Hawaii. However, the reason that he was inducted into the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame in 1998 was that he was the founder of the Asahi Nisei Baseball Team, one of the oldest baseball teams west of the Rockies.
Steere Gikaku Noda was born in Ewa, Hawaii, on February 16, 1892. His parents had emigrated from Japan to Hawaii less than a year before to work in the sugar cane fields.
Noda founded the Asahi Nisei Baseball Team in 1905 and was its first pitching and hitting star. He played the infield – mostly second base – when he wasn’t pitching.
Noda was a southpaw pitcher and led the Asahis against all-Chinese, Hawaiian and Portuguese clubs, as well as American teams from the 25th Infantry. Noda said that the team played “inside baseball,” meaning lots of bunts and squeeze plays to score runs.
The Asahis became the team to beat, winning 15 championships in the Hawai’i Baseball League. They traveled throughout the Pacific, playing in Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan. Teams from around the world came to play them, too. Noda booked the House of David, the Philadelphia Royals negro-league team and the Filipino All-Stars team from Manilla for games.
Noda became the first Nisei (child of Japanese parents born outside of Japan) to work for the U.S. government in Hawaii, becoming a deputy collector and interpreter for the IRS. He was also one of the first Japanese-Americans to join the U.S. military when he joined the National Guard during World War I. Noda worked in the Honolulu District Court in 1916 as an interpreter and later as a lawyer once he earned his law degree.
In 1948, Noda was elected to the Territorial House of Representatives, and he served 5 consecutive 2-year terms. He was also a delegate to the first Hawaii State Constitutional Convention and went to Washington D.C. to lobby for statehood. When Hawaii was admitted into the Union in 1959, Noda served as an elected member of the state Senate from 1959 until 1962, as a Democrat.
Steere Noda died on March 29, 1986 at the age of 94. He was survived by four children, nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
