[Congratulations! Keio High School Baseball Team Koshien Victory] [On the Koshien Victory] The Keio Futsubu School Victory 107 Years Ago

Learning that extra editions reporting the national championship and newspapers reporting the Keio Futsubu School victory 107 years ago were on display, I visited the Japan Newspaper Museum in Yokohama. There, I found extra editions from various companies featuring color photographs of players in action, as well as the pages of the Jiji Shimpo and Asahi Shimbun dated August 21, 1916 (Taisho 5). And so, Keio Futsubu School came to be rediscovered.

In the newspaper articles, the previous winning school is described as the "predecessor, Keio Futsubu School." However, the name Keio Futsubu School has been passed down to the present day, partly due to the strong wishes of our predecessors. The predecessor refers to the old-system Keio Futsubu School, which began with the establishment of a 16-year integrated education system in the 1898 (Meiji 31) reforms within Keio, consisting of 6 years at Yochisha, 5 years at Keio Futsubu School, and 5 years for University Preparatory and Undergraduate courses. Then, with the post-war educational reforms, the new-system Keio Futsubu School was opened in 1947 (Showa 22), followed by the opening of the new-system Keio Senior High School the following year, and the old-system Keio Futsubu School came to an end.

What were the Keio Futsubu School and its baseball team like at that time? Keio Futsubu School was located on the Mita Hilltop Square in a U-shaped school building, where university students and Yochisha students were also together. It was a single school where everyone lived on one hill together as Keio students. In such an environment, a free spirit without hierarchy was maintained within Keio. The year after the victory, Keio Futsubu School built a new school building and moved to Mita Tsunamachi, across the road from the Mita Hilltop Square (the current location of Chutobu Junior High School. The building was destroyed by air raids in May 1945, and the school shared facilities with Yochisha).

Meanwhile, the main activity site for the baseball team was Tsunamachi Field. In 1903 (Meiji 36), Keio University purchased part of the land owned by the Hachisuka family, filled in the Gulliver Pond (Kamoike) in the garden, and created Tsunamachi Field. The first Waseda-Keio rivalry match was held here in November.

At that time, the Keio Baseball Team allowed not only university students but also Keio Futsubu School students and Commercial and Industrial School students to become members. It seems the team was divided by ability into the main "Keio University Players," followed by "Keio Futsubu School Players" (including the Commercial and Industrial School), and the "Junior Group" for those in the 3rd year of Keio Futsubu School or below. One might even say the Waseda-Keio rivalry was Keio University Athletic Association Baseball Club vs. Waseda University Baseball Club.

Because the Keio Futsubu School baseball team had such a background, it had various characteristics. The participating members were not limited to Keio Futsubu School students; there were also players from the Commercial and Industrial School who played in university matches. The captain and ace, Noboru Yamaguchi, who pitched a powerful game with 11 strikeouts in the final against Ichioka Middle School, was a 5th-year student at the Commercial and Industrial School and a regular on the university team.

It was also very international. The center of conversation was John Dunn, who became the first foreign player with US citizenship. Besides John, there was Motohiko Kono, a Japanese national of Japanese-German descent, and Hisashi Koshimoto, a second-generation Japanese-American from Hawaii who served as the Keio Futsubu School manager while still a university student. John, in particular, became a sensation at the venue, even appearing in an article during the match against Toyohashi Middle School: "◆Popular John-kun◆ The crowd is delighted, shouting 'Go John! Do your best, Mr. Foreigner,' showing his immense popularity." John moved to America after graduating from Keio Futsubu School, and his persona remained a mystery. However, in recent years, it was discovered that he was the third son of Edwin Dun, often called the father of Hokkaido dairy farming. Edwin Dun contributed to the spread of agricultural technology, served as the US Minister to Japan, and contributed to the modernization of Japan throughout his life. John was one of four brothers, all of whom graduated from Yochisha, and John and his younger brother Angus graduated from Keio Futsubu School. The eldest and second brothers were also involved with Keio, but I will save that story for another occasion.

Manager Hisashi Koshimoto entered Keio Futsubu School through a connection made when the Keio Baseball Team made its first trip to Hawaii in 1908 (Meiji 41), and he excelled as a famous second baseman in university. He later became a famous manager for Keio University, winning the championship seven times and being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. As a Keio Futsubu School manager, his coaching was liberal and did not force players into a mold. His method allowed players to enjoy the ball freely, regardless of whether they were upperclassmen or underclassmen. He also possessed foresight, such as using a relay strategy with multiple pitchers.

What was the cheering scene like back then? The Asahi Shimbun reported with a two-column photo, "Keio Futsubu is the champion of all middle schools." It described, "Spectators pushed through the scorching sun from afar; though the Keio side was somewhat outnumbered, they brought out hanging bells and drums, waving purple cheering flags dyed with 'Keio' in every hand, lining one side of the right stands." At that time, there was a dormitory on the Mita Hilltop Square where 400 Keio students lived, and their strong unity formed the core of school-wide cheering for external matches.

Soon, in the baseball history of Keio, the monochrome photograph from 107 years ago and the color victory commemorative photograph from this time will likely be introduced side-by-side. Although both are national championships, the number of participating schools nationwide was 115 versus 3,486, making them victories of completely different scales and content. However, I felt that there are certainly parts connecting the old and new victories, such as the school-wide cheering, the sense of unity inside and outside the team, and the attitude toward tackling new styles of baseball.

Player Adachi, who served as a pinch-hitting ace and a messenger during crises, left a comment during his visit to the museum. "I felt the weight of history from the yellowing of the newspaper. I thought that high school baseball attracts people now just as it did in the past." This is truly a profound insight.