was a Japanese

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB)

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. During his over 26-season playing career mostly spent with the

Nankai Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

(now the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks), he became one of NPB's greatest offensive catchers. He was awarded the

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

MVP Award five times, became the first NPB batter to win the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

in 1965, and holds the record for second-most home runs and RBIs in NPB history. Nomura was a

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

for the last eight years he was with the Hawks, leading them to the Pacific League title in 1973. After playing, he became a full-time manager and served led the

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...

to four league titles and three

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...

championships from 1990 to 1998. Later, he managed the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

for three seasons and the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...

for four seasons until his retirement in 2009. As a manager, Nomura recorded 1,565 wins, the fifth-most wins of any manager in NPB history. He was elected to the

Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame The is a museum which includes a library, reference rooms and . It first opened in 1959 next door to Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. In 1988, the museum moved to a new site within the Tokyo Dome. The Hall of Fame and Museum was created as a ...

in 1989.

Biography

Early life

Nomura was born in the coastal fishing village of Amino (now

Kyōtango is a city located in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 52,683 in 22,886 households and a population density of 110 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kyōtango is located on the coast o ...

) in Kyoto Prefecture. When he was three years old, his father died of disease while serving in China during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

. Nomura grew up in poverty with his mother and older brother. With the help of his brother, he was able to attend high school.

Playing career

After graduating from Mineyama High School, Nomura joined the

after a tryout in 1954. The team's manager at the time believed he'd at least be useful as a catcher for pitching practice. That year, Nomura played in nine games and went hitless for the season. The Hawks discussed cutting him from the team, however, he was given another chance reportedly after Nomura offered to play for free and even threatened to throw himself in front of a train if he was let go. During a career that spanned four decades from 1954 to 1980, Nomura hit 657 home runs and led the

in homers eight straight seasons. (However, it should be taken into consideration that his home park, Osaka Stadium, measured only 276 feet down the lines until 1972, and 300 feet from 1972 onward, and 380 feet to straightaway center—tiny dimensions by

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

standards.) He finished his career with 2901 hits. In 1965, Nomura won the league's first

. He was a player-manager between 1970 and 1977. He played for 26 years, the longest NPB playing career until Kimiyasu Kudo pitched in his 27th season in 2008; Kudo retired in 2010 having played 29 seasons.

Managerial career

Nomura began his 24-year managerial career as

of the Hawks in 1970. During his eight year stint as Hawks manager, he led the team to the Pacific League title in 1973. After his playing career, Nomura went on to become a full-time manager. From 1990 to 1998, he managed the

, leading them to four league titles and three

championships. While managing the Swallows, Nomura mentored the team's catcher, Atsuya Furuta. Under Nomura, Furuta flourished and became a hall of fame catcher in his own right. Following his role as Yakult manager, Nomura joined the

and managed the team from 1999 to 2001. The team finished last in the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

all three seasons. On December 5, 2001, his wife, television personality Sachiyo Nomura, was arrested for

tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...

. Nomura resigned from his managerial position the next day. His wife was accused of hiding ¥45 million of his income, however Nomura was not accused of any criminal responsibility. Copy of IMG 8106

After the scandal, Nomura managed the amateur corporate league team Shidax from 2003 to 2005. He left after three seasons to return to NPB. The

had a poor showing during their inaugural 2005 season. It was the first PL club in 40 years to lose at least 90 games in one season. They finished with a 38-97-1 record. Hoping to improve for their second season, the team hired Nomura to manage the club because of his experience. Over the next four season, he helped turn Rakuten around. By his final season with the team, the Eagles finished the regular season in with their best-ever showing up to that point in time, second place, securing them a position in the

Climax Series The is the current annual playoff system implemented by Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). It determines which team from the Central League (CL) and from the Pacific League (PL) will advance to compete for the championship in the Japan ...

. After losing in the final stage of the 2009 Pacific League Climax Series, Nomura retired from managing at the age of 74. As a manager, Nomura recorded 1,565 wins, the fifth-most wins of any manager in NPB history.

Legacy

During his playing time, Pacific League games were rarely televised. Because of this, Nomura was often overshadowed by his Central League contemporaries such as superstars

Sadaharu Oh Sadaharu Oh (Japanese: , ''Ō Sadaharu''; born May 20, 1940), also known as Wang Chen-chih (), is a Japanese-born former baseball player and manager Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Ō Sadaharu"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 758. who ...

and

Shigeo Nagashima is a Japanese former professional baseball player and manager. Biography Nagashima played baseball at his local high school, and on the Rikkyo University baseball team from 1954–1957. He joined the Yomiuri Giants in 1958. His jersey number ( ...

of the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

. He openly resented this and felt he never received the attention that he deserved as a player. Over 26-season playing career, however, Nomura amassed a number of awards, titles and records. During his time with the Hawks, he won five Pacific League MVP Awards – the most of any PL player and second-most all-time. Nomura also led the PL in home runs for nine seasons, eight of which were consecutive and won 19

Best Nine Award The Best Nine Award is awarded annually to the best player at each position in both the Central League and Pacific League of Japanese professional baseball as determined by a pool of journalists. History While the Best Nine Award was first presen ...

s for best catcher in the league. He accumulated 657 home runs, 1,988 RBIs and 2,901 hits in 3,017 games, all of which are 2nd in the all-time rankings. He was elected into the

by the Selection Committee for Players in 1989.; his copper plaque depicts him wearing his cap backwards with no team logo visible.

Personal life

While married to his first wife from 1960, Nomura started having an affair with Sachiyo in 1971, cohabited in 1972. became pregnant and gave birth to future NPB player

Katsunori Nomura is currently a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) coach for the Hanshin Tigers. Before coaching, he played in NPB from 1996 to 2006, primarily as a second or third-string catcher. Nomura was drafted in 1995 by the Yakult Swallows, the team manage ...

in 1973.Yoichi Nomura. "野村監督長男の独占手記" xclusive memoir by Nomura's eldest son.''

Shūkan Bunshun is a Japanese weekly news magazine ( Shūkanshi) based in Tokyo, Japan, known for its investigative journalism and frequent clashes with the Japanese government. It is considered one of the most influential weekly magazines in the country. Hist ...

''(in Japanese.) 3 June 1999. pp. 26-30. Nomura remarried Sachiyo after divorced the first wife in 1978. The two remained married until her death in 2017 at age 85. Note that, The first wife died of

Subarachnoid hemorrhage Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is bleeding into the subarachnoid space—the area between the arachnoid membrane and the pia mater surrounding the brain. Symptoms may include a severe headache of rapid onset, vomiting, decreased level of consci ...

in 1982. Sports agents Kenny and

Don Nomura is a sports agent who primarily represents Japanese baseball players. Early life Nomura was born Donald Engel at St. Luke's International Hospital in Chūō, Tokyo, to a Japanese mother, Yoshie Itō and a Jewish American father, Alvin George En ...

, Sachiyo's children from her previous marriage, are Nomura's step-children. His granddaughter, Saya Nomura is an employee with the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. Nomura died of heart failure on February 11, 2020, at age 84.

References

External links

*Career statistics and player information fro
Baseball-Reference
o

(in Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Nomura, Katsuya 1935 births 2020 deaths Baseball people from Kyoto Prefecture Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball catchers Nankai Hawks players Lotte Orions players Seibu Lions players Managers of baseball teams in Japan Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks managers Tokyo Yakult Swallows managers Hanshin Tigers managers Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles managers Baseball player-managers Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductees