Fumio Fujimura 藤村 富美男 |
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Osaka Tigers – No. 10 | |||
Infielder, Pitcher, Manager | |||
Born: Kure, Hiroshima, Japan |
August 14, 1916|||
Died: May 28, 1992 | (aged 75)|||
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Japanese Baseball League debut | |||
1936, for the Osaka Tigers | |||
Last Nippon Professional Baseball appearance | |||
1958, for the Osaka Tigers | |||
Career hitting statistics | |||
Batting average | .300 | ||
Hits | 1,694 | ||
Home runs | 224 | ||
Runs batted in | 1,126 | ||
Career pitching statistics | |||
Win–loss record | 34-11 | ||
ERA | 2.43 | ||
Strikeouts | 183 | ||
Teams | |||
As player As manager
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Career highlights and awards | |||
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Member of the Japanese | |||
Baseball Hall of Fame | |||
Inducted | 1974 |
As player
As manager
Fumio Fujimura (藤村 富美男 Fujimura Fumio?, August 14, 1916 – May 28, 1992) was a Japanese baseball infielder and pitcher who played 22 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 1936 to 1958. He began his career as a stellar right-handed pitcher for the Osaka Tigers, but achieved his greatest fame as a hitter.
A superstitious player, Fujimura never hurt insects or shaved before games. Also hot-tempered, he was once suspended for physically abusing an umpire. In 1950, Fujimura set the single-season record with 191 base hits. This record remained unbroken for 44 years, until Ichiro Suzuki surpassed it in 1994. Fujimura was inducted to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. His number 10 has been retired by the Hanshin Tigers.
In the 1933 National High School Baseball Championship, Fujimura's team Taishō reached the quarterfinals, but Masao Yoshida of Chukyo Shogyo pitched a shutout in the game.
In the finale of the 1934 National High School Baseball Championship, Fujimura faced Tetsuharu Kawakami and struck him out three times in three at-bats. Fujimura's team won the championship.
Fujimura debuted with the Osaka Tigers in 1936, the inaugural season of the Japanese Baseball League. He split his time between pitcher and second base. After initially being a starting pitcher, he generally pitched in a relief role thereafter. Fujimura missed five seasons in the JBL because of military service during World War II.