was a Japanese

baseball manager ''Baseball Manager'' is a 1963 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein. The magna on canvas measures 68 x 56 inches. The painting is visible at Marlins Park (Promenade Level, Section 19), located in Miami, Florida. See also *1963 in art Even ...

, most notably as the first manager of the

Tokyo Kyojin 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 ...

, which was later renamed to the Yomiuri Giants. With the Kyojin, he won the

Japanese Baseball League was a professional baseball league in Japan which operated from 1936 to 1949, before reorganizing in 1950 as Nippon Professional Baseball. The league's dominant team was Tokyo Kyojin (renamed the Yomiuri Giants in 1947), which won nine league c ...

pennant seven times. He was also the manager of the Pacific Baseball Club (renamed to the Taiyo Robins during his tenure), the

Hankyu Braves The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

, and 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 Railway ...

. Fujimoto is third all-time for Japanese baseball managers in terms of career wins, with 1,655. He was inducted 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 1974.

Early life

Fujimoto was born on December 20, 1904, in

Matsuyama file:Matsuyama city office Ehime prefecture Japan.jpg, 270px, Matsuyama City Hall file:Ehimekencho-20040417.JPG, 270px, Ehime Prefectural Capital Building is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan ...

. He attended Ehime Prefectural Matsuyama Commercial High School, where he played baseball as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

. He participated in the

Japanese High School Baseball Championship The of Japan, commonly known as , is an annual nationwide high school baseball tournament. It is the largest scale amateur sport event in Japan. The tournament, organized by the Japan High School Baseball Federation and ''Asahi Shimbun'', t ...

each of the four years he attended. He then attended

Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...

, also playing baseball. He graduated from Waseda in 1929.

Managerial career

Tokyo Kyojin

In 1936, Fujimoto was appointed manager of the Tokyo Kyojin, also known as the Giants, for its inaugural year. The Japanese Baseball League was initially played in series of half-seasons, the first being the fall season of 1936. Under Fujimoto, the Kyojin finished the season with a record of 18–9, finishing second in the league, behind the

Osaka 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 Railway ...

. The Kyojin and the Tigers played a best-of-three playoff series to determine the champion of the half-season. The Kyojin won, 2–1. The Kyojin would win the next half-season as well, with a record of 41–13–2, beating the Tigers by a half-game. The Kyojin wouldn't win the next two half-seasons, but won the 1938 fall season in convincing fashion, beating the Tigers by 3.5 games. The league did away with the half-season format in 1939 and installed a full-season format, which would be used from then on. The Kyojin continued winning seasons under Fujimoto, winning the 1939 season with a 66–26–4 record, the 1940 season with a 76–28 record, the 1941 season with a 62–22–2 record, and the 1942 season with a 73–27–5 record. The 1940 and 1942 seasons are considered especially dominant in regards to the history of Japanese baseball. The team won by 10.5 and 12.5 games, respectively. Fujimoto resigned as manager in 1943, to serve in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Fujimoto was unable to regain his position following the war. During his tenure, Fujimoto became infamous for his harsh practice routines, which teams adopted following the success of the Kyojin. The routines were dubbed "vomit practice", due to players regularly vomiting due to exhaustion.

Osamu Mihara was a professional Japanese baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beg ...

was quoted in his memoir: Several members of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame served under Fujimoto while he managed the Kyojin.

Shigeru Chiba , known by the stage name , is a Japanese actor, voice actor, talent and sound director from Kikuchi, Kumamoto. He is affiliated with the talent management firm 81 Produce. He is most known for the roles of Yoshihiro Kira from '' JoJo's Bizarre ...

Shosei Go Shosei Go (; Japanese: ''Go Shōsei''; June 28, 1916 – June 7, 1987) was a two-way baseball player from Taiwan. Go was a leadoff man who played for the Tokyo Giants (1937–1943, now the Yomiuri Giants), Hanshin Tigers (1944–1949) and Maini ...

, Tetsuharu Kawakami,

Shigeru Mizuhara is a former professional baseball infielder and manager in Japan's Japanese Baseball League (JBL) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). As a player his team won nine JBL championships; as a manager his teams won five Japan Series championships ...

Haruyasu Nakajima Haruyasu Nakajima (中島治康 June 28, 1909 – April 21, 1987) was a Japanese baseball player. An outfielder with a strong throwing arm, he played an active part in the beginning of professional baseball in Japan. Nakajima attended Waseda U ...

Eiji Sawamura Eiji Sawamura (沢村栄治; February 1, 1917 – December 2, 1944) was a Japanese professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he played in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants. Early life On November 20, 1934, the 17-year-old Sawamura fa ...

, Victor Starffin, and

Kazuhiro Yamauchi was a Japanese baseball player and manager. He played for the Mainichi Orions, the Hanshin Tigers and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp over the span of an 18 season-long career (1952–1970). Yamauchi was the first Japanese professional baseball playe ...

all played for Fujimoto and went on to be inducted to the Hall of Fame.

Pacific Baseball Club/Taiyo Robins

Fujimoto got another chance to manage a baseball team in 1946. The offer was from the Pacific Baseball Club, formerly named the Asahi Baseball Club. The team had poor records since its inception, with only one winning season in its ten-year history. Under Fujimoto, the team finished with a 42–60–3 record for the 1946 season. The team renamed itself as the Taiyo Robins for the 1947 season, but the newly named team failed to achieve a winning season this year either, finishing 50–64–5. Hall of Famer

Juzo Sanada was a Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to eithe ...

spent time under Fujimoto during his tenure with the club.

Kinsei/Daiei Stars

Fujimoto took the helm of the Kinsei Stars in 1948. The Stars were a fairly new team that was in its third season. Under Fujimoto, the team finished the season with a record of 60–73–7. 1949 saw the team change its name to the Daiei Stars, with the fortunes changing as well. The team finished 67–65–2. This was the first time a Fujimoto-managed team finished with a winning record since he left the Kyojin.

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 ...

replaced the Japanese Baseball League in 1950, and the Daiei Stars were one of the founding members of its

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 ...

. The team continued its winning ways, finishing 62–54–4. The team then entered a two-year losing skid, finishing 41–52–8 in 1951 and 55–65–1 in 1952. 1953 saw a 63–53–4 record, but the last three Stars seasons under Fujimoto proved to be abysmal, finishing 43–92–5 in 1954, 53–87–1 in 1955, and 57–94–3 in 1956.

Hankyu Braves

Fujimoto took the helm of the Hankyu Braves for the 1957 season. The team finished with a winning record for the first two seasons under Fujimoto, with an 71–55–6 record in 1957, and a 73–51–6 record in 1958. 1959 was a poor season for the team, finishing 48–84–2.

Hanshin Tigers

Following a two-year hiatus from managing, Fujimoto acted as the

interim manager Interim management is the temporary provision of management resources and skills. Interim management can be seen as the short-term assignment of a proven heavyweight interim executive manager to manage a period of transition, crisis or change with ...

for the Hanshin Tigers and was later appointed as the manager in 1961. The team finished 60–67–3 for the season. 1962 saw great success for the Tigers. They won 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 ...

with a record of 75–55–3 and faced the

Toei Flyers The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a ...

in the

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 ...

. After winning the first two games of the series and tying the third, the Tigers dropped the next four and the Flyers, led by former player Shigeru Mizuhara, won the series. 1963 was an off year for the Tigers, finishing 69–70–1. The Tigers once again reached the Japan Series in 1964, after going 80–56–4 in the regular season and capturing the Central League pennant. The Tigers played 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. ...

in a competitive series, with it coming down to a game 7, which the Tigers lost 3–0. The Tigers, under Fujimoto, failed to reach the Japan Series again. The team went 71–66–3 in 1965. Fujimoto was appointed as Hanshin's

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

in 1966 and led the team to a 64–66–5 record. In 1967, the team went 70–60–6. Fujimoto's final year was in 1968. He resigned on October 23, with the team finishing the season with a 72–58–3 record.

Later life and death

Fujimoto was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. He died on February 18, 1981, at the age of 76. His total managerial wins are the third-most of anybody who has managed Japanese baseball professionally.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fujimoto, Sadayoshi 1904 births 1981 deaths Baseball people from Ehime Prefecture Managers of baseball teams in Japan Yomiuri Giants managers Orix Buffaloes managers Hanshin Tigers managers Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductees