The Vancouver Asahi: The Search for Hall of Fame Medalists' Families

The legendary Vancouver Asahi team was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003 and the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. It was more than 60 years since the team was disbanded by the outbreak of the World War II in 1941 so that many players and their families were  unidentified or were not tracked down.

The author's uncle Shoichi Shima was one of the first Asahi players, but also one of these players who didn't receive a medal. He happened to find out about his uncle after his retirement. He not only researched the Vancouver Asahi but also read through various historical documents about British Columbia, then, fueled by this new passion, he began research to track down the other unidentified families. This series introduces my process of investigation as well as stories of Asahi players and their families.

sports en ja

George Iga, a Seattle-based Vancouver Asahi Player

  • By Yobun Shima
  • 17 Feb 2021

The legendary Vancouver Asahi Baseball Team was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003 and the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. Honorary medals were prepared for each Asahi player, but many remained unclaimed. In 2014, I happened to find that my late uncle Shoichi Shima, who was one of the earliest Asahi players, never received an induction medal. Subsequently, I received the medal on my uncle’s behalf. Since then, I have been voluntarily tracking down those Asahi families with unclaimed medals.

One of the medalists was George Iga. With huge support from Dr ...

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sports en ja

Yobun Shima Uncovers a Baseball Legacy

  • By Yobun Shima
  • 25 Oct 2018

Yobun Shima was born and raised in Kyoto, Japan, and lived in Tokyo for most of his life, working for a shipping company until he retired about a decade ago. That is when he started tracing his family’s footsteps.

Yobun’s grandfather moved from Japan to Vancouver in 1907. A few years later, his grandfather’s family, including a son named Shoichi Shima, joined him. In 1914, Yobun’s father, Fred, was born in Vancouver.

Yobun discovered that his uncle Shoichi was one of the earliest members of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team that played from 1914 to ...

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