Asian Baseball Leagues

History

Asian Baseball Leagues

History

Leagues / Baseball / Asian Leagues

Baseball was first introduced to Asia as a school sport in 1872 by American Horace Wilson, an English professor at the Kaisei Academy in Tokyo, Japan. The first organized adult baseball team, called the Shimbashi Athletic Club, was established in 1878.

At a match played in Yokohama in 1896, a team from Tokyo's Ichikō high school convincingly defeated a team of resident foreigners from the Yokohama Country & Athletic Club. The contemporary Japanese language press lauded the team as national heroes and news of this match greatly contributed to the popularity of baseball as a school sport.

American missionaries brought baseball to Korea in the 19th century. In 1896, US Marines played exhibitions against teams of Americans expatriates and the Seoul Athletic Club. The sport flourished in the period of Japanese rule.[3]

On December 1921, a team of American Major League players stopped in Seoul during a tour of Asia, and a Korean team was assembled to play against them. The Koreans were defeated, 23-3.[4] Various Korean cities also participated in the Japanese Intercity Baseball Tournament, from its inception in 1927 until 1942.[5] In 1940 and 1942 Seoul won the tournament, defeating (respectively) the teams of Dalian and Osaka. At least one Korean played against a Babe Ruth-led team of American all-stars which toured Japan in 1934

Baseball has been played in Taiwan for more than 100 years. It was introduced by the Japanese who ruled the island from 1895 to 1945.

In the days of Japanese colonial rule, baseball was known as yakyu, the Japanese word for baseball. The game was initially played only by Japanese. But they later promoted the sport around the island to improve the people's physical and mental health.

The first official game played on the island was in March 1906 in Taipei City. Two local schools, precursors of today's Jianguo High School and the Taipei Municipal University of Education drew a 5–5 tie, opening the first page in the history of Taiwan baseball. Soon, other schools and business all over the island started to form teams.

Timeline of Asian Baseball Leagues

F i l t e r & S o r t

Nippon Professional Baseball

NPB: 1936- (86 seasons)

Founded as the Japan Occupational Baseball League, often referred to as "Japanese baseball", or locally, Puro Yakyū (プロ野球).

Japanese Pacific League

JPL: 1950- (72 seasons)

Member of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. Winner of the league faces Central League champ in Japan Series.

Japanese Central League

JCL: 1950- (72 seasons)

Member of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. Winner of the league faces Pacific League champ in Japan Series.

Japanese Baseball League

JBL: 1936-1949 (14 seasons)

Originally Japan Occupational Baseball League, renamed the Japanese Baseball League in 1939.

Kokumin League

KBL: 1947-1947 (1 season)

Monopolistic practices of the dominant Nippon Professional Baseball Leagues helped bring an end to the new rival league.

Korean Professional Baseball

KBO: 1982- (40 seasons)

Originally called the Korea Baseball Championship, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea.

Chinese Professional Baseball League

CPBL: 1989- (33 seasons)

Gained popularity when Taiwanese little league teams won numerous World Series championships in the 1970s and 1980s.

Australian Baseball League

AUBL: 1989- (33 seasons)

The league is the owner of each team and players are paid in a number of tiers based on experience level.

Taiwan Major League

TML: 1997-2003 (7 seasons)

Established by TV tycoon after dispute over broadcasting rights. The CPBL absorbed the TML in 2003.

China Baseball League

CHBL: 2002-2016 (15 seasons)

Professional baseball league under the administration of Chinese Baseball Association, founded in 2002.

Baseball Philippines

BP: 2007-2012 (6 seasons)

Disbanded in 2012, but through universities and other private organizations, baseball continues to thrive.

1 Comment

Davan S. Mani says:

April 17, 2020 at 11:36 pm

what a year. the competitiveness of the ABL really brought the NBA out of its duldrums.

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