Miyoshi Nakagawa
| Date and Place of Birth: | February 22, 1920 Tottori, Tottori Prefecture, Japan |
| Date and Place of Death: | July 12, 1944 off coast of Luzon, the Philippines |
| Baseball Experience: | Japanese Professional League |
| Position: | First Base/Pitcher |
| Rank: | Unknown |
| Military Unit: | Unknown |
| Area Served: | Pacific |
Pre-war Japanese baseball fans filled the stadiums to see the "tentacles of an octopus" as future Hall of Famer Miyoshi Nakagawa was known.
Miyoshi Nakagawa was born on February 22, 1920 in Tottori, Tottori
Prefecture, Japan. He attended Tottori Number One Chukkaou high school
and played with the school's baseball team in Koshien Tournaments in
1934 and 1936.
Nakagawa enrolled at Kansai University in 1937 but left in August to
sign with the Eagles. The 5-foot-8, left-handed first baseman/pitcher
played in all but one of the Eagles' fall season games and batted .248
with 22 RBIs. He made 20 appearances on the mound for a 13-5 record
(second most wins in the league) and 2.05 ERA (third best in the
league).
Despite his success as a pitcher, it was his outstanding defensive
capabilities around first base that Nakagawa quickly gained reputation
for. He became a crowd drawer wherever he played as pre-war baseball
fans flocked to ball games to see the "tentacles of an octopus" handle
just about anything that was thrown at him.
In the Spring 1938 season, Nakagawa played 32 games and batted .270
while posting a 3-1 record on the mound. In the Fall season he played 31
games and batted just .159 although he was 5-2 with a 1.99 ERA. The
19-year-old returned to form in 1939, playing 78 games and batting .282
while going 6-6 on the mound, despite the Eagles finishing in last
place.
Nakagawa played 100 games of the 104-game 1940 season (following the
outlawing of English in Japanese baseball in October 1940 the Eagles
changed its name to Kurowashi) but hit a dissapointing .229 and was 7-15
on the mound. In 1941, he played 84 games and batted .236 with 27 RBIs
while posting a 7-9 record and 2.32 ERA in 23 outings.
Octopus Nakagawa, the fans' favorite left baseball for military service
after the 1941 season. He was killed off the coast of Luzon on July 12,
1944.
Nakagawa was elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986.
Date Added: February 13, 2013
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