Masaru Kageura
Encyclopedia
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player from Matsuyama, Ehime
Matsuyama, Ehime
is the capital city of Ehime Prefecture on the Shikoku island of Japan. It is located on the northeastern portion of the Dōgo Plain. Its name means "pine mountain." The city was founded on December 15, 1889....
. His team reached the final in the 1932 National High School Baseball Championship
National High School Baseball Championship
The National High School Baseball Championship of Japan, commonly known as "Summer Kōshien" , is an annual nationwide high school baseball tournament...
, but his team was defeated by Masao Yoshida
Masao Yoshida
was a Japanese amateur pitcher originally from Ichinomiya, Aichi. He had 23 wins at Spring and Summer Koshien. In the National High School Baseball Championship between 1931 and 1933, he won 14 consecutive games at Koshien Stadium and he became the only pitcher to win three consecutive...
in the final. He joined Tigers
Hanshin Tigers
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly...
and he was a good rival for Eiji Sawamura
Eiji Sawamura
Eiji Sawamura was a Japanese professional baseball player...
in Giants
Yomiuri Giants
The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the...
. He was killed in the battle of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a Museum which includes a library, reference rooms and Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame ....
in 1965. He is one of two baseball players (Eiji Sawamura
Eiji Sawamura
Eiji Sawamura was a Japanese professional baseball player...
is the other) who was inducted into the Hall of Fame after being killed in World War II.