1953 Japan Series

1953 Japan Series
Team (Wins) Managers Season Yomiuri Giants (4) Shigeru Mizuhara 87–37–1 (.702), 16 GA Nankai Hawks (2) Kazuto Tsuruoka 71–48–1 (.597), 4 GA
Dates	October 10–16
MVP	Tetsuharu Kawakami (Yomiuri)
FSA	Hiroshi Minohara (Nankai)
←  1952 Japan Series 1954  →

The 1953 Japan Series was the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) championship series for the 1953 season. The fourth edition of the Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the Pacific League champion Nankai Hawks against the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants. It was the first Series to award the most impactful player on the losing team the Fighting Spirit Award, a tradition that still stands today.

Summary

CL Yomiuri Giants (4) vs. PL Nankai Hawks (2)

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 10	Yomiuri Giants – 3, Nankai Hawks – 4	Osaka Stadium	3:15	24,913 [1]
2	October 11	Yomiuri Giants – 5, Nankai Hawks – 3	Osaka Stadium	2:33	30,524 [1]
3	October 12	Nankai Hawks – 2, Yomiuri Giants – 2	Korakuen Stadium	2:21	22,546 [1]
4	October 13	Nankai Hawks – 0, Yomiuri Giants – 3	Korakuen Stadium	1:45	25,953 [1]
5	October 14	Yomiuri Giants – 5, Nankai Hawks – 0	Osaka Stadium	2:04	21,652 [1]
6	October 15	Yomiuri Giants – 0, Nankai Hawks – 2	Koshien Stadium	1:55	6,346 [1]
7	October 16	Nankai Hawks – 2, Yomiuri Giants – 4	Korakuen Stadium	1:36	21,332 [1]

Matchups

Game 1

Saturday, October 10, 1953 – 2:05 pm at Osaka Stadium in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	R	H	E
Yomiuri	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	3	11	1
Nankai	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1X	4	11	2
WP: Susumi Yuki (1–0)   LP: Takehiko Bessho (0–1)

Game 2

Sunday, October 11, 1953 – 2:05 pm at Osaka Stadium in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Yomiuri	0	1	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	5	9	2
Nankai	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	3	10	0
WP: Hideo Fujimoto (1–0)   LP: Taisei Nakamura (0–1) Home runs: YOM: Wally Yonamine (1), Shigeru Chiba (1), Yukō Minamimura (1) NAN: Tokuji Iida (1)

Game 3

Monday, October 12, 1953 – 1:35 pm at Korakuen Stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	R	H	E
Nankai	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	7	0
Yomiuri	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	7	0
Home runs: NAN: Hiroshi Nakahara (1) YOM: None

Game 4

Tuesday, October 13, 1953 – 1:33 pm at Korakuen Stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Nankai	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	2
Yomiuri	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	X	3	5	0
WP: Takumi Ōtomo (1–0)   LP: Nobuo Nakatani (0–1)

Game 5

Wednesday, October 14, 1953 – 2:02 pm at Osaka Stadium in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Yomiuri	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	1	5	11	0
Nankai	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	2
WP: Masanori Iritani (1–0)   LP: Susumi Yuki (1–1) Home runs: YOM: Takashi Iwamoto (1) NAN: None

Game 6

Thursday, October 15, 1953 – 2:00 pm at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Yomiuri	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	3
Nankai	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	X	2	5	0
WP: Taketoshi Ōgami (1–0)   LP: Hideo Fujimoto (1–1)

Game 7

Friday, October 16, 1953 – 1:30 pm at Korakuen Stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Nankai	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	3	3
Yomiuri	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	X	4	8	0
WP: Takumi Ōtomo (2–0)   LP: Taketoshi Ōgami (1–1) Home runs: NAN: Jun Matsui (1), Chūsuke Kiduka (1) YOM: None

See also

• 1953 World Series

References

1. 1953年度日本シリーズ　試合結果 [1953 Japan Series Results] (in Japanese). Nippon Professional Baseball. Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved April 9, 2010.