Nobu "Nobe" Kawano (April 16, 1923 – July 27, 2018) was an American baseball clubhouse manager, best known for being the clubhouse manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1959 to 1991.

Early life

Kawano was born in Seattle, Washington on April 16, 1923 to Japanese immigrant parents. His older brother was

Yosh Kawano Yosh Kawano (June 4, 1921 – June 25, 2018) was an American clubhouse manager for the Chicago Cubs baseball team who retired in 2008 and was known for his trademark white fishing hat. Kawano's long service and dedication to the team made him a ...

who later became the clubhouse manager for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. The family moved to Southern California a few years after Kawano was born. Both brothers were enthusiastic baseball fans but, due to their Japanese heritage, opportunities to play were few. During World War II, the two brothers and their family were interned at the

Poston War Relocation Center The Poston Internment Camp, located in Yuma County (now in La Paz County) in southwestern Arizona, was the largest (in terms of area) of the ten American concentration camps operated by the War Relocation Authority during World War II. The sit ...

in Arizona following the signing of

Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. This order authorized the secretary of war to prescribe certain ...

. Yosh was, at the time, working as the

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

bat boy for the Chicago White Sox; the team negotiated the brothers' release from the camps. After being released, Nobe served in the United States Merchant Marine, working on ships which ran supplies between the United States and Great Britain. In 1948, Kawano began to work the Hollywood Stars of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

as a clubhouse assistant, taking care of team equipment. He then worked one year for the Salt Lake City Bees of the Pioneer League.

Career with the Dodgers

The

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

moved to Los Angeles in 1958. Kawano began to work for them, taking over as clubhouse attendant after the death of Charlie DiGiovanna, the attendant who came over from Brooklyn. When the Dodgers won the

1959 World Series The 1959 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers beating the American League champion Chicago White Sox, 4–2. Each of the three games played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum drew record crowds, Game 5's atte ...

, Kawano was voted half of a World Series share by the players. Kawano played a significant part in the career of Sandy Koufax. After the 1960 season, Koufax threw his equipment into the garbage pile afte recording an abysmal 8–13 record, telling Kawano, "There it is. Do whatever you want with it." After cooling down over the off-season Koufax returned to

and found that Kawano had saved in equipment, and who remarked to Koufax: "I thought you might need these." In 2022, during his statue-unveiling ceremony, Koufax thanked Kawano, calling him a "good friend". His job involved keeping uniforms clean, preparing post- and pre-game meals, ordering gloves and equipment, and sorting out mails for players. By all accounts, Kawano was beloved by players and by the organization. He worked with the Dodgers until 1991, retiring at the age of 68.

Personal life

Kawano was married to his wife Chizuko, nicknamed "Cheesy". They had three children together: Ellen, Hana, and Frank. He and his brother Yosh both lived in a nursing home in

Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles Lincoln Heights is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was originally called "East Los Angeles" from 1873 to 1917. It is a densely populated, mostly Latino and Asian neighborhood. It includes many histori ...

towards the end of their lives. Nobe died on July 24, 2018 due to complications from dementia and respiratory problems, one month after his brother.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawano, Nobe 1923 births 2018 deaths American people of Japanese descent Deaths from dementia in California Japanese-American internees Los Angeles Dodgers personnel People from Seattle People from Los Angeles Respiratory disease deaths in California