Masaru Kageura
| Date and Place of Birth: | July 20, 1915, Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, Japan |
| Date and Place of Death: | May 20, 1945 The Philippines |
| Baseball Experience: | Japanese Professional League |
| Position: | Outfield/Pitcher |
| Rank: | Unknown |
| Military Unit: | Unknown |
| Area Served: | Pacific |
Masaru Kageura is a Japanese Hall of Famer whose career ended on the battlefields of the Philippines in 1945.
Masaru Kageura was born on July 20, 1915 in Matsuyama, Ehime
Prefecture, Japan. He attended Matsuyama Shogyo high school and played
in both the spring High School Baseball Championship and summer
Invitational Tournament at Koshien in 1932, defeating Akashi Central
High School of Hyogo for the title in the latter.
Kageura attended Rikkyo University before signing with the Osaka Tigers
in 1936. The 5-foot-8, 165-pounder batted .328 during the spring as an
outfielder and corner infielder, and although he hit only .248 in the
fall season of his rookie year, he was 6-0 on the mound.
In the 1937 spring season, Kageura batted .289, led the league with 47
RBIs and was 11-5 with a 0.93 ERA. In the fall of that year his .333
batting average led the league.
The 22-year-old again led the league in RBIs during the spring season of
1938 with 31, and had a 14 game streak in which he scored at least one
run during the fall season. Kageaura played 74 games in 1939 and batted
.258 with 38 RBIs and nine homeruns as the Tigers finished second to the
Giants.
At the height of his playing career, Kageura was drafted for military
service and did not return to professional baseball until 1943, playing
52 games that year and batting .216 with 24 RBIs.
Kageura's return to pro baseball was all too brief as he was recalled to
military service in 1944. Masaru Kageura was killed in action in the
Philippines on May 20, 1945. He was 29 years old.
Kageura was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965.
Date Added: February 10, 2013
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