Victor Starffin
Encyclopedia
Victor Starffin nicknamed , was an ethnic Russian
baseball player in Japan
and the first professional pitcher in Japan to win three hundred games.
, Ural
area of Russian Empire
, Viktor Starffin moved with his family to northern Hokkaidō
, where he attended Asahikawa
Higashi High School after the Russian Revolution. Although he wanted to get into Waseda University
, he was first scouted by Matsutaro Shoriki
in the autumn of 1934
as a member of the national baseball team for an exhibition game against the United States that year. At the time, the Ministry of Education had a regulation stating that high school baseball players who played professionally would forfeit their eligibility to enter higher education, and so Starffin was reluctant to turn pro. However, the family had entered Japan on transit visa
s, and his father, Konstantin Starffin, was in jail awaiting trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter, both of which put the family at risk of deportation
; Shoriki blackmail
ed Starffin, stating that if Starffin refused to play professionally, Shoriki would use his connections with the Yomiuri Shimbun
to publicise the details of Konstantin Starffin's case.
Starffin was signed by the Tōkyō Kyojingun (now the Yomiuri Giants
), outside the draft, in 1936, and played for them until 1944. He was one of the premier pitchers in the Japanese baseball "dead-ball era" (pre-1945), when many of Japan's best players were serving in the Imperial Japanese Army
. He won two MVP awards and a Best Nine
award, and won at least 26 games in six different years, winning a league record 42 games in 1939. He followed his record setting 1939 performance with another 38 wins in 1940. Later during World War II
, wartime paranoia resulted in Starffin being placed in a detention camp at Karuizawa
with other foreign diplomats and residents. He was already forced to change his name to be Japanized, "Suda Hiroshi", since 1940.
After short-term working as an interpreter of SCAP
, he returned to professional baseball in 1946, but chose not to return to the Giants, instead signing a contract with a new team, the Pacific (an offshoot of the team now known as the Yokohama BayStars
). The Pacific's contracts with some famous players, including Starffin, led to a serious conflict, and Pacific was forced to forfeit four games. However, this decision would ultimately result in the Giants losing the first Japanese championship after World War II, as one of Pacific's forfeited games had been a loss to Great Ring (now the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
); the change from a loss to a win gave Great Ring the title over the Giants.
Starffin also played for the Shochiku Robins (now the Yokohama BayStars) in 1947, Kinsei/Daiei Stars (now the Chiba Lotte Marines
) after 1948, and finally signed with the Takahashi/Tombow Unions (an offshoot of today's Chiba Lotte Marines) in 1954-55. In 1955
, his last season, he became the first career 300-game winner in Japanese professional baseball. He retired in 1955
with a career record of 303 wins and 176 losses. After retirement, he became an actor and presenter of radio programs.
In 1957, Starffin was killed in a traffic accident when the car he was driving was struck by a tram of Tōkyū Tamagawa Line (now Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line, as a subway), in Setagaya, Tokyo
. The exact circumstances of the incident are debated to this day, with speculation ranging from a simple accident to suicide or drunk driving. In 1960
, he became the first foreigner elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
. Asahikawa City has nicknamed its municipal baseball stadium, as Asahikawa Starffin Stadium, since 1984. Starffin is buried in Tokyo's Tama Cemetery.
His firstborn daughter Natasha worked for Japan Airlines
as a flight attendant, opened the first tanning bed salon in Japan, and attended the renaming ceremony of the stadium nicknamed from her father, as a pitcher with uniform number 17, same as Viktor. She is now a dietitian.
*Bold = lead league
Russian diaspora
The term Russian diaspora refers to the global community of ethnic Russians, usually more specifically those who maintain some kind of connection, even if ephemeral, to the land of their ancestors and maintain their feeling of Russian national identity within a local community.The term "Russian...
baseball player in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the first professional pitcher in Japan to win three hundred games.
Biography
Born in Nizhny TagilNizhny Tagil
Nizhny Tagil is a city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, situated east of the virtual border between Europe and Asia. Population: -History:...
, Ural
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
area of Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, Viktor Starffin moved with his family to northern Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, where he attended Asahikawa
Asahikawa, Hokkaido
is a city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after Sapporo. It has been a Core city since April 1, 2000...
Higashi High School after the Russian Revolution. Although he wanted to get into Waseda University
Waseda University
, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...
, he was first scouted by Matsutaro Shoriki
Matsutaro Shoriki
was the father of Japanese professional baseball. Born in Daimon, Toyama, he was a media mogul, owned the Yomiuri Shimbun, one of Japan's major daily newspapers, and founded Japan's first commercial television station, Nippon Television Network Corporation...
in the autumn of 1934
1934 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over Detroit Tigers *All-Star Game, July 10 at Polo Grounds: American League, 9-7-Awards and honors:*Most Valuable Player:**American League: Mickey Cochrane, Detroit Tigers, C...
as a member of the national baseball team for an exhibition game against the United States that year. At the time, the Ministry of Education had a regulation stating that high school baseball players who played professionally would forfeit their eligibility to enter higher education, and so Starffin was reluctant to turn pro. However, the family had entered Japan on transit visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
s, and his father, Konstantin Starffin, was in jail awaiting trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter, both of which put the family at risk of deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
; Shoriki blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
ed Starffin, stating that if Starffin refused to play professionally, Shoriki would use his connections with the Yomiuri Shimbun
Yomiuri Shimbun
The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five national newspapers in Japan; the other four are the Asahi Shimbun, the Mainichi Shimbun, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, and the Sankei Shimbun...
to publicise the details of Konstantin Starffin's case.
Starffin was signed by the Tōkyō Kyojingun (now the Yomiuri Giants
Yomiuri Giants
The are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the...
), outside the draft, in 1936, and played for them until 1944. He was one of the premier pitchers in the Japanese baseball "dead-ball era" (pre-1945), when many of Japan's best players were serving in the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
. He won two MVP awards and a Best Nine
Best Nine Award
The Best Nine Award is awarded annually to the best player at each position in both the Central League and Pacific League of Japanese professional baseball as determined by a pool of journalists.-History:...
award, and won at least 26 games in six different years, winning a league record 42 games in 1939. He followed his record setting 1939 performance with another 38 wins in 1940. Later during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, wartime paranoia resulted in Starffin being placed in a detention camp at Karuizawa
Karuizawa, Nagano
is a town located in Kitasaku District, Nagano, Japan.As of January 1, 2008, the town has an estimated population of 17,833 and has a total area of ....
with other foreign diplomats and residents. He was already forced to change his name to be Japanized, "Suda Hiroshi", since 1940.
After short-term working as an interpreter of SCAP
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II...
, he returned to professional baseball in 1946, but chose not to return to the Giants, instead signing a contract with a new team, the Pacific (an offshoot of the team now known as the Yokohama BayStars
Yokohama BayStars
The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Home field is the Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The clubhouse is located near the stadium....
). The Pacific's contracts with some famous players, including Starffin, led to a serious conflict, and Pacific was forced to forfeit four games. However, this decision would ultimately result in the Giants losing the first Japanese championship after World War II, as one of Pacific's forfeited games had been a loss to Great Ring (now the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
The are a Japanese baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. The team was bought on January 28, 2005 by the SoftBank Corporation.The team was formerly known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. In 1988, Daiei bought the team from Osaka's Nankai Electric Railway Co., and its headquarters were...
); the change from a loss to a win gave Great Ring the title over the Giants.
Starffin also played for the Shochiku Robins (now the Yokohama BayStars) in 1947, Kinsei/Daiei Stars (now the Chiba Lotte Marines
Chiba Lotte Marines
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by the Lotte conglomerate.-History:...
) after 1948, and finally signed with the Takahashi/Tombow Unions (an offshoot of today's Chiba Lotte Marines) in 1954-55. In 1955
1955 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Brooklyn Dodgers over New York Yankees ; Johnny Podres, MVP*All-Star Game, July 12 at County Stadium: National League, 6-5 -Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Cangrejeros de Santurce...
, his last season, he became the first career 300-game winner in Japanese professional baseball. He retired in 1955
1955 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Brooklyn Dodgers over New York Yankees ; Johnny Podres, MVP*All-Star Game, July 12 at County Stadium: National League, 6-5 -Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Cangrejeros de Santurce...
with a career record of 303 wins and 176 losses. After retirement, he became an actor and presenter of radio programs.
In 1957, Starffin was killed in a traffic accident when the car he was driving was struck by a tram of Tōkyū Tamagawa Line (now Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line, as a subway), in Setagaya, Tokyo
Setagaya, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo in Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood within the ward. The ward calls itself the City of Setagaya in English...
. The exact circumstances of the incident are debated to this day, with speculation ranging from a simple accident to suicide or drunk driving. In 1960
1960 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over New York Yankees ; Bobby Richardson, MVP*All-Star Game , July 11 at Municipal Stadium: National League, 5-3*All-Star Game , July 13 at Yankee Stadium: National League, 6-0...
, he became the first foreigner elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a Museum which includes a library, reference rooms and Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame ....
. Asahikawa City has nicknamed its municipal baseball stadium, as Asahikawa Starffin Stadium, since 1984. Starffin is buried in Tokyo's Tama Cemetery.
His firstborn daughter Natasha worked for Japan Airlines
Japan Airlines
is an airline headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. It is the flag carrier of Japan and its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Tokyo International Airport , as well as Nagoya's Chūbu Centrair International Airport and Osaka's Kansai International Airport...
as a flight attendant, opened the first tanning bed salon in Japan, and attended the renaming ceremony of the stadium nicknamed from her father, as a pitcher with uniform number 17, same as Viktor. She is now a dietitian.
Professional Statistics
| Year | Team | G | W Win (baseball) In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only... |
L | IP Innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two... |
K Strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters.... |
BB | HR Home run In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process... |
ERA Earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 Summer | Kyojin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 1936 Autumn | Kyojin | 3 | 1 | 2 | 21.0 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 3.00 |
| 1937 Summer | Kyojin | 25 | 13 | 4 | 147.1 | 92 | 58 | 1 | 1.53 |
| 1937 Autumn | Kyojin | 26 | 15 | 7 | 164.2 | 95 | 51 | 0 | 1.86 |
| 1938 Summer | Kyojin | 24 | 14 | 3 | 158.2 | 76 | 57 | 5 | 2.04 |
| 1938 Autumn | Kyojin | 24 | 19 | 2 | 197.2 | 146 | 59 | 0 | 1.05 |
| 1939 | Kyojin | 68 | 42 | 15 | 458.1 | 282 | 156 | 4 | 1.73 |
| 1940 | Kyojin | 55 | 38 | 12 | 436.0 | 245 | 145 | 3 | 0.97 |
| 1941 | Kyojin | 20 | 15 | 3 | 150.0 | 58 | 45 | 3 | 1.20 |
| 1942 | Kyojin | 40 | 26 | 8 | 306.1 | 110 | 119 | 3 | 1.12 |
| 1943 | Kyojin | 18 | 10 | 5 | 136.0 | 71 | 57 | 2 | 1.19 |
| 1944 | Kyojin | 7 | 6 | 0 | 66.0 | 27 | 23 | 0 | 0.68 |
| 1946 | Pacific | 5 | 1 | 1 | 31.2 | 11 | 16 | 1 | 1.99 |
| 1947 | Taiyo | 20 | 8 | 10 | 162.1 | 77 | 48 | 3 | 2.05 |
| 1948 | Kinsei | 37 | 17 | 13 | 298.1 | 138 | 80 | 6 | 2.17 |
| 1949 | Daiei | 52 | 27 | 17 | 376.0 | 163 | 69 | 24 | 2.61 |
| 1950 | Daiei | 35 | 11 | 15 | 234.1 | 86 | 48 | 21 | 3.96 |
| 1951 | Daiei | 14 | 6 | 6 | 100.2 | 47 | 22 | 5 | 2.68 |
| 1952 | Daiei | 24 | 8 | 10 | 150.1 | 44 | 43 | 9 | 3.05 |
| 1953 | Daiei | 26 | 11 | 9 | 201.2 | 61 | 42 | 11 | 2.68 |
| 1954 | Takahashi | 29 | 8 | 13 | 178.1 | 52 | 45 | 12 | 3.73 |
| 1955 | Tombow | 33 | 7 | 21 | 196.2 | 56 | 30 | 9 | 3.89 |
| Total | ― | 586 | 303 | 176 | 4175.1 | 1960 | 1221 | 122 | 2.09 |
*Bold = lead league
Further reading
- Puff, Richard. "The Amazing Story of Victor Starffin". The National Pastime, no. 12 (1992), pp. 17–20. ISBN 091013748X.