RIP Keiji Ohsawa

Former Nippon Ham Fighters manager Keiji Ohsawa has passed away at age 78 from gall bladder cancer. He played for the then Nankai Hawks from 1956 to 1964, then played one season for the Tokyo Orions. He managed the Lotte Orions in 1971 and 1972, then managed the Fighters from 1976 to 1984, winning the Pacific League pennant in 1981 (and losing in the Nippon Series to the Giants). He returned to manage the Fighters again in 1993 and 1994.

Here's some cards highlighting his career. From the 2008 Hawks 70th Anniversary set (#19):


2009 Epoch All Japan Baseball Foundation set (#55) showing the 1981 Pacific League championship celebration:


1994 BBM (#471):


He also appeared in last year's Premium Malts set (#01) and I assume he is in this year's set as well:


One other thing of interest - according to his bio on Japan Baseball Daily, his granddaughter, Akane Osawa, is an actress and model. Turns out, she was featured in the "Ceremonial First Pitch" subset from the 2007 BBM 2nd Version set (#738):