Games Shorter than One Hour

Phil,

That game was played in Nishinomiya (near Koshien Stadium, home of the Hanshin Tigers), and Osaka is indeed the same Tigers team that now calls itself Hanshin. I wasn't able to find out what Pacific's nickname was; I think 1946 was the one-league era, before the Pacific and Central leagues were split apart.

One website (in Japanese) about this game is here.

Thank you very much for informing me that the 55-minute game in 1946 was played at Nishinomiya Kyujo in Nishinomiya. That is very helpful to my research. Any ideas on how I can identify the other 11 Japanese pro games that have lasted less than one hour?

Phil Lowry

The "2007 Baseball Record Book" by Baseball Magazine Sha lists just the first and second longest games (4 ties for second). Unfortunately, it doesn't list all the information you require. This is what it has:

1 Hanshin - Pacific     1946-07-26  0h 56m  9Top
2 Hanshin - Hankyu      1940-08-11  0h 56m  9T
2 Taiyo   - Asahi       1942-05-23  0h 56m  9T
2 Hankyu  - Nishitetsu  1943.09.20  0h 56m  9T
2 Hankyu  - Tokyu       1947.08.08  0h 56m  9T

All of the above games were during the Single League era.

Hanshin: 1940-1946 were referred to only as Hanshin - no mascot name
Pacific: 1946-1946 was referred to only as Pacific - no mascot name
Hankyu: 1936-1946 was referred to only as Hankyu - no mascot name
Hankyu: 1947-1949 Hankyu Braves
Taiyo: 1941-1942 was referred to only as Taiyo - no mascot name
Asahi: 1941-1945 was referred to only as Asahi - no mascot name
Nishitetsu: 1943-1943 was referred to only as Nishitetsu - no mascot name
Tokyu: 1947-1947 Tokyu Flyers

The Central and Pacific League records were both set in 1950, the birth year of the two-league system. However, no information is provided as to where they stand in the overall rankings.

CL  Chunichi - Shochiku  1950-06-06  1h  7m  9Bottom
PL  Taiei    - Tokyu     1950-04-26  1h  8m  9B

Chunichi: 1950-1950 Chunichi Dragons
Shochiku: 1950-1952 Shochiku Robins
Taiei: 1950-1956 Taiei Stars
Tokyu: 1950-1953 Tokyu Flyers

I hope that the dates will allow you to narrow down searches for the remainder of the data regarding these games.