#Shortstops: Babe in Japan
“Beibu Rusu!” “Banzai, Babe Ruth!” cheers echoed up and down the streets of Tokyo on an autumn afternoon in 1934. With Babe Ruth leading the way, the All-American baseball team, comprised of some of America’s greatest baseball stars of the time, pushed through the over 500,000 people waiting to greet them upon their arrival in Japan. Names like Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Gomez and manager Connie Mack sparked excitement among fans, but no one electrified the crowds quite like Babe Ruth.
Japanese daily newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun was a financially distressed news outlet in desperate need of more readers during the early 20th century. In 1929, owner Matsutarō Shōriki came up with the perfect solution: Organize the biggest exhibition with American baseball players there had ever been and provide exclusive coverage on the sports page. The tour was set to take place in 12 Japanese cities, playing 18 games and lasting over a month.
While Japan didn’t have its own professional league, Shōriki gathered the best amateur players to form the All-Nippon team, who would go on to face the formidable All-Americans during the 18-game stint. Ruth quickly became the main attraction of the barnstorming tour, with his charismatic personality and his towering presence at the plate, hitting 13 home runs while in Japan. As seen in the photo, admirers could often be found gathered around Ruth in the streets as he skyrocketed in fame within the Japanese baseball community. A fan favorite, Ruth was forever immortalized in Japan for his remarkable performance throughout the barnstorming tour, and today is considered to have been an international ambassador for the game of baseball.
The All-Americans went on to win all 18 games on the tour and outscored the Japanese team by a whopping 181-36. Although no match for Mack’s American squad, the All-Nippon team was maintained by Shōriki after the tour’s conclusion, and became established as Japan’s first professional baseball team, the Great Tokyo Giants (later renamed the Yomiuri Tokyo Giants). To this day, the success and popularity of the barnstorming tour of 1934 has been largely credited for the eventual creation of professional baseball in Japan.
Amid growing tensions between the United States and Japan, the All-American Tour of Japan not only saved a struggling newspaper, but also created understanding between the two countries that diplomacy alone couldn’t achieve. Throughout generations, baseball has proven to be a source of connection despite varying cultures, beliefs and politics, the barnstorming tour of Japan being just one of many examples.
Quinn Faria is the Licensing, Sales and Marketing intern in the 2026 Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Leadership Development
