Editorials

This Date In Dodger History: Dodgers Continue 1956 Goodwill Tour

October 24, 1956

In 1956, the Brooklyn Dodgers went to Japan after the season to participate in a Goodwill Tour set-up by owner Walter O’Malley and Matsutaro Shoriki, the presumed “father of Japanese baseball”.



For their fifth game of the tour, the Dodgers headed to Miyagi Stadium in Sendai, Japan, to take on the All-Kanto All Stars.

It would be their only game at Miyagi Stadium and 30,000 fans showed up for the exhibition. The Dodgers were 2-2 so far on the trip and were looking to move above .500 with their first game against All-Kanto.

The Dodgers would emerge victorious by shutting out All-Kanto and scored eight runs. Starter Fred Kipp went seven innings before giving way to Ralph Branca for the final two innings. The two combined to allow just five hits.

On offense, the Dodgers scored four runs in the third inning, one in the sixth and three in the seventh. They broke out for 11 hits with three players having multi-hit games. Duke Snider had an RBI single and Roy Campanella drew a bases loaded walk. Jim Gilliam, Gino Cimoli and Don Demeter each had two hits, with Demeter driving in two.

The Dodgers took the next day off before heading to Mito to face-off with All-Kanto again.

Here are pictures from that trip and how the Dodgers were ahead of the curve when it came to international scouting:

 

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Brooklyn Dodger motorcade through Japan

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First pitch before the 1956 Goodwill Games

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View behind home plate from Tokyo’s Korkakuen Stadium

(h/t WalterOMalley.com for pictures)

 

Staff Writer

Staff Writer features content written by our site editors along with our staff of contributing writers. Thank you for your readership.

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