"The Natural" Tokyo Giants

Japan's answer to the New York Yankees, a dominant team throughout history which has ignited more passions (negative and positive) than any other club. Formed originally in 1934 by Matsutaro Shoriki to promote his newspaper, the Giants have long benefited from being owned by a media company that televises its games and gives it extra coverage in the papers. The team (then known as The Great Japan Tokyo Baseball Club, Dai Nippon Tokyo Yakyu Kurabu) toured the US in 1935, beating minor-league and semipro teams in 93 of 102 games. In 1936 when Japan had its first professional baseball league form, the Tokyo Giants emerged as a force. They won the first pennant and 7 of the first 9. When Japan went to a 2-league format in 1950 they joined the Central League. They became even more dominant later, winning nine consecutive Japan Series from 1965 to 1973 behind the offensive prowess of Sadaharu Oh and Shigeo Nagashima. During that period, the team refused to play foreigners, not changing their policy till Nagashima retired and they signed Davey Johnson to replace him. This was a far shift from past team behavior, as they had brought the first foreigners in after World War II, led by Wally Yonamine. Overall, they have won 30 of the first 56 Central League titles, despite failing to win one in the past 3 years.

50/50 WOOLEN FABRIC

FELT FRONT LOGO

SATIN UNDER BILL

LEATHER STRAP W/ BUCKLE