Funeral for Nagashima Held in Tokyo; ‘Mr. Pro Baseball' Honored in Tokyo Ceremony
The Yomiuri Shimbun
A portrait of Shigeo Nagashima is seen during a funeral for the baseball legend in Tokyo on Sunday.
The funeral of legendary Yomiuri Giants player and manager Shigeo Nagashima was held in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, on Sunday.
Nagashima, one of Japan's most beloved sports figures and known as 'Mr. Pro Baseball,' died on Tuesday at 89.
In addition to his family members, the 96 attendees of the service included Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Chairman Sadaharu Oh, with whom Nagashima formed the 'O-N' pair, a driving force for the Giants; and Tsuneo Horiuchi, former manager of the team.
The altar was decorated with orange flowers, as Nagashima loved the Giants' team color. Among the items placed on the altar were a uniform with his number 3, which is now retired, the bat with which he made a walk-off home run during a game attended by Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun, and a golden commemorative bat made when Nagashima received the People's Honor Award from the government with his protege Hideki Matsui.
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