These Round Baseball Menko Cards were made in c1950 Era. (Bessho with Giants)
This set is Uncatalogued in the Japanese Baseball Card Catalog.
There are 10 total cards in set.
The set includes 4 Samurai, 1 Kid driving a Jeep,
and 5 are baseball related,
Kawakami batting,
Bessho pitching, generic Player portrait,
Popeye throwing ball, and Gray Mouse batting.
All cards have red backgrounds with real glitter added throughout drawing.
The baseball related cards all have yellow flowers or yellow stars in background too.
These are fairly Rare overall.
This set would probably rank about R4,
meaning est. under 10 of ea. known.
on Bessho's sleeve...
讀 = dú = 'reading'
Tetsuharu Kawakami 川上 哲治
is in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
Kawakami was a player from 1938-1958
He was a professional player for 18 years,
winning 5 batting titles, 2 home run crowns, 3 RBI titles
and had 6 titles
for the most hits in a season.
He was the first player in Japanese pro baseball to achieve 2,000 hits
and was named the league's MVP 3 times
As Manager of the Yomiuri Giants from 1961 to 1974, he led the Giants to nine consecutive championships.
Takehiko Bessho 別所 毅彦
is in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
was a player from 1942-1960
310-178 pitching record
MVP 1952 and 19562 Cards in Lotboth of these are handcut
medium wear
front edge chipping
back crease and stain
collector grade
Med size at 2-3/4" ea.