Wally Yonamine
| Wally Yonamine | |
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Wally Yonamine in 1951
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| Outfielder | |
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Born: June 24, 1925 Olowalu, Hawaii |
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Died: February 28, 2011 (aged 85) Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |
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| NPB debut | |
| June 19, 1951, for the Yomiuri Giants | |
| Last appearance | |
| October 12, 1962, for the Chunichi Dragons | |
| NPB statistics | |
| Batting average | .311 |
| Hits | 1,337 |
| Home runs | 82 |
| Runs batted in | 482 |
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As Player As Manager |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Member of the Japanese | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame
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| Inducted | 1994 |
| Position: | Running back | ||
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| Career history | |||
| Career NFL statistics | |||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||
| Player stats at NFL.com |
As Player
As Manager
Wallace Kaname "Wally" Yonamine (与那嶺要 Yonamine Kaname?, June 24, 1925 – February 28, 2011), also known as Wally Yonamine, was a multi-sport American athlete who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.
Yonamine, a Nisei Japanese American, was born in Hawaii to parents Matsusai (September 1, 1890 – July 31, 1988) and Kikue (February 14, 1901 – February 26, 1999). A two-sport star, he played running back on the San Francisco 49ers in their second season (1947), becoming the first football player of Japanese American ancestry to play professional football (Walter Achiu was the first Asian-American). In his one season with the team, he had 19 carries for 74 yards and caught 3 passes for 40 yards. His football career ended during the off-season, when he broke his wrist playing in an amateur baseball league in Hawaii.
In baseball, Yonamine was the first American to play professional baseball in Japan after World War II. A multi-skilled outfielder, Yonamine was also noted for his flexible batting style and aggressive baserunning during his career with the Yomiuri Giants and Chunichi Dragons. In Japan, Yonamine was a member of four Japan Series Championship teams, the Central League MVP in 1957, a consecutive seven-time Best Nine Award winner (1952–58), an eleven-time All-Star, a three-time batting champion, and the first foreigner to be a manager (Dragons, 1972–77).
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