868 home runs - more than Barry Bonds, more than anyone who has ever played professional baseball. Sadaharu Oh spent 22 seasons at first base for the Yomiuri Giants, all of them swinging with a one-legged stance his coach called the "flamingo," and none of them in Major League Baseball.
A life in dates
The Zen of Bobby VFilm1977People's Honour AwardAward
Kyojin-gun monogatari: Susume eikô eFilm, 1977
The Story of Big 1: Sadaharu OhFilm, 1977HimselfTokyo Giants Youth LeagueFilm, 1977Himself1964
Mr. Giant's Victory FlagFilm1962
A Comedy in Front of the Station: Chinese RestaurantFilm1940Born20 May 1940Also in Deutsch
Photos 2
Filmography 6
TVThe Zen of Bobby VKEKyojin-gun monogatari: Susume eikô eTOThe Story of Big 1: Sadaharu OhMFMr. Giant's Victory FlagARA Comedy in Front of the Station: Chinese RestaurantAwards
In their orbit
About this person
Born May 20, 1940, to a Chinese father and Japanese mother, Oh signed with the Yomiuri Giants in 1959 as a pitcher before the team converted him to hitting full-time. Under coach Hiroshi Arakawa, he developed his signature flamingo leg kick - it took three years to click, then he became untouchable. He won 15 home run titles, five batting crowns, and the Central League triple crown twice, carrying the Giants to 11 Japan Series championships, nine of them consecutive from 1965 to 1973. In 1977 he became the first recipient of the People's Honour Award. He managed the Giants from 1984 to 1988, then the Fukuoka Hawks from 1995 to 2008, winning the inaugural World Baseball Classic with Japan in 2006. He is currently chairman of the SoftBank Hawks.
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