All-American baseball team visits the Meiji Shrine with Matsutaro Shoriki (behind man in white), 1934
Tokyo, Japan

The 1934 All-American team, which included Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, played against top Japanese players. Matsutaro Shoriki, owner of the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, organized the tour and is credited with introducing professional baseball to Japan. While many Japanese were thrilled to welcome baseball’s greatest, some were angered when Shoriki brought foreigners to sacred sites, such as the Meiji Shrine.

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