Sunday, August 31, 2014

Card Of The Week August 31

Ever wonder how the Buffaloes got their name?  Shigeru Chiba was a star second baseman with the Giants from 1938 to 1956 (except for the years he missed due to the war).  His nickname was Mogyu, meaning the "Wild Buffalo" (I've also seen it translated as "Formidable Buffalo").  When he took over the Kintetsu Pearls as manager in 1959, there was a fan vote to rename the team.  The winning name was inspired by Chiba's nickname and the team was called the Kintetsu Buffalo.  And you're reading that correctly, it's the singular.  The team changed its name to Kintetsu Buffaloes in 1962 after Chiba was no longer manager.

Here's a card of Chiba during his first year managing the Buffalo, from the 1959 Doyusha Team Name Back (JCM 30b) set:


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