The movies are not only a valuable source on an important event in baseball history and the sports diplomacy but also offer a rare glimpse of the way the Japanese played the game in the pre-War period.
1934 Japan Tour Footage
All-Star Lineup
To the top“…Ruth, the jovial demigod of baseball, brought the two nations together and forestalled talks of war, before becoming a symbol in Japan of American decadence,” writes Robert K. Fitts in his book “Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage, & Assassination During the 1934 Tour of Japan”, published in 2012.
Rare Footage
To the topFitts, who had never seen the Foxx footage of the Japan tour before visiting the Hall of Fame in October, said the film literally brought his research to life.
“After spending several years pouring over old newspaper accounts and still photographs of the 1934 tour of Japan, it was a thrill to see the players come alive in Jimmie Foxx’s home movies,” Fitts said. “The movies are not only a valuable source on an important event in baseball history and the sports diplomacy but also offer a rare glimpse of the way the Japanese played the game in the pre-War period.”
Related Hall of Famers
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Earl Averill

Jimmie Foxx

Lou Gehrig

Charlie Gehringer

Lefty Gomez

Connie Mack

Babe Ruth
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