Up Close: 1959 Hoshi Gangu Gold-Borders

     The 1959 Hoshi Gangu menko set, with its striking multi-player designs that pack considerable star power (including a Sadaharu Oh rookie card) into a modest 20 card checklist, is one of the more sought after vintage Japanese card issues. It is also greatly historically significant, being in my assessment the very first example of a baseball card set containing genuine parallel cards. (By ‘genuine parallel cards,’ I mean color parallels that were released concurrently with a base set in a deliberate manner). The cards, normally white bordered, also come in rarer gold versions and nigh impossible red versions.  

The golds, showcased here, were originally issued as an uncut sheet in boxes of the white-bordered base cards. According to our friend Ryan aka Sumo Menko Man, sumo wrestling menko boxes sometimes came with gold uncut sheets that acted as prizes. A lucky kid who pulled a special prize-winner menko from the box would then be given the gold sheet by the proprietor of the shop where it was purchased. Although it is unknown for sure whether this kind of prize system was intended for this baseball set, it is a very reasonable assumption. As for the mythic red parallels, information on them is about as scarce as the cards themselves. It is unknown how they were distributed and some cards from the set have never once surfaced with a red border.

Hoshi Gangu card backs are pretty typical for menko, featuring a variety of games and pictures. There are no fewer than thirteen backs, each highlighted by a larger, mostly military themed image: a ‘space robot,’ Martian, Superman, battle flag, drone, television, ICBM, general, satellite, president, cobalt bomb, hydrogen bomb, and radar. What does stand out a bit from the more standard menko trappings for me are the small images of either a fox, some kind of foot soldier, or else what appears to be a daimyo (a feudal warlord of old Japan). I don’t know what purpose, if any, these images had but they do add some interesting flair.  

All the elements of each back are set and consistent—for example, the ‘television back’ will always also contain the daimyo, the 3 of spades and the same nine digit number. However, cards themselves did not have set backs; each can be found with any number of the backs, increasing their collectibility even more.

I’ve been collecting the Hoshi Gangu gold parallels for a few years now, with pretty slow progress—a testament to their scarcity. Below are the six I currently have:

Anabuki・Inao  ('General Back')

Yoshio Anabuki (foreground) had a solid career for the Nankai hawks. Incidentally, 1959 was his best season, having hit 15 HR and posting a .809 OPS over 127 games. He also served twice as the team's manager.  Pitcher Kazuhisa Inao, although placed in the background, is this card's main attraction. The righty won 276 games and fanned over 2,500 batters during his Hall of Fame career. 2 Triple Crowns, 2 MVPs and 3 Japan Series championships are among his many accolades.

 Nakamura  ('Martian Back')

Minoru Nakamura, a pitcher for the Giants, had his best overall season in 1965 when he went 20-4 with a 2.21 ERA and a 0.998 WHIP over 220 innings pitched. His career high in strikeouts however, came in 1961 with 142. He made 3 All Star teams and won many Japan series titles as a member of the club's 60's dynasty. (I do not know the identity of the player in the background).

 

Takuwa  ('Battle Flag Back')

Motoji Takuwa, now scarcely remembered, is one of Japanese baseball's most agonizing what-if tales. A prodigious fireballer, Takuwa laid waste to the pros as an 18 year-old rookie (26-9, 1.58 ERA, 329.2 IP, 275 K, 0.946 WHIP). He had a similarly stellar sophomore encore before an abrupt decline put an end to his career after only a few short years. It is likely Takuwa tore his UCL, with his arduous early workload being a contributing factor.

Yoshihara  ('ICBM Back')

Taketoshi Yoshihara was a competent relief pitcher for several years with the Yomiuri Giants before closing out his career with a few appearances for the Kintetsu Buffaloes. He holds a career 2.05 ERA and 355 strikeouts in 6 full seasons as a pro. I assume the player in the background to be Shigeru Fujio, who was the Giants main catcher from 1956 through 1960.  

Tanaka  ('General Back')

Kusuo Tanaka was a utility man for mainly the Nishitetsu Lions. He had an effective if undistinguished career. I believe the player on the right in the background is Futoshi Nakanishi. An all-rounder who hit for both power and average, Nakanishi was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999. 

 

 

 

 Mori  ('Television Back')

Toru Mori was a slugger with the Chunichi Dragons, Taiyo Whales and Tokyo Orions. He hit 189 home runs over an 11 year career. Interestingly, his son Takeshi is a prolific creative in the anime industry, having worked in various capacities on famous titles such as Ranma 1/2 and Rurouni Kenshin.