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Last time, I told you about the "Student Departure Send-off Keiwasen" that was held during the war. This time, I would like to focus on the postwar period, the Keio-Waseda game, and the revival of college baseball.

 

Amateur baseball was suspended during the war. In October 1945, a match was held by six university alumni, and in November, a full Keio-Waseda match was held. In the following year, 1946, it was announced that the six-university baseball league would resume, and each school worked hard to practice. The players who had gone to war have returned to school, and some of the players who participated in the above-mentioned student departure send-off match between Keio and Waseda also participated in this match. In the first league match after the revival (spring 1946), the cram school baseball club won the league championship. The University of Tokyo also put up a good fight with a second place finish, adding excitement to college baseball. Waseda University won the autumn championship, but in 1947, they won the spring and autumn championships in a row, leaving excellent results. With many star players who would later go on to become professional baseball players, the team shared championships with Waseda University, building a golden age. A news program in 1951 reported that about 60,000 spectators cheered for the spring Keio-Waseda game.

 

In 1955, the success of a certain player ignited the popularity of Six University Baseball. Mr. Shigeo Nagashima was a sophomore at Rikkyo University at the time. The best nine, winning the top hitter, and releasing a total of 8 HR for 4 years, which was a new record at the time, attracted attention. In his fourth year, he contributed greatly to Rikkyo University's spring and autumn consecutive victories. In addition to hitting, it seems that the wide defensive range was also highly evaluated. As a result, Mr. Nagashima decided to join the Yomiuri Giants, and it goes without saying that his subsequent successes were wonderful.

　

In 1957 and 1958, Rikkyo University won four consecutive victories, but other universities were not silent. In 1960, the cram school baseball club was in a slump, so they invited Yukichi Maeda, an alumnus, to coach. And in the fall of 1960, we will have that historic six-game battle.

 

Next time, we will unravel the "Keiso Six Consecutive Battles". "Did you play 6 days in a row?" "Wouldn't it be until the 3rd round?" "Are the players okay?" I'll follow up on the crazy battle of the week.