Card Of The Week December 17

Here's a quick bit of trivia for you - who was the oldest player ever taken in the NPB draft?  The answer is Norio Ichimura, who was 30 years and five months old when he was taken by the Dragons in the third round of the 1982 draft.  

Ichimura had played baseball at Toyo University and went into the corporate leagues after graduation.  I'm not positive but I think he must have played eight or nine years for Denden Kanto (now NTT Kanto) before entering the draft.  He spent three seasons in Nagoya before being dealt to the Seibu Lions at the beginning of the 1986 season for Yasutomo Suzuki.  He retired after the 1988 season, having gone 5-2 in 163 appearances exclusively out of the bullpen over six seasons with a 3.95 ERA.  

He had four baseball cards during his career - all Takara cards from 1984 to 1987.  His only "modern" card (and the only one I have) is from the 2014 BBM Lions Legends set (#09):

Had Junichi Tazawa been taken in the 2020 NPB draft, he would have become the oldest drafted player at 34 years and four months.