A group photo of the all-American and all-Nippon baseball teams at Meiji Jingu Stadium in Tokyo during the first game of the American League all-star tour of Japan on November 3, 1934. On November 3, 1934, fans packed the Meiji Jingu Stadium in Tokyo for the first game of the American League All-Star tour of Japan. The American team, stacked with some of the best players of all time, won the first game 17-1. Their streak continued, and they won the following 15 games as well. While victory for the Americans was abundant, the tour was not without memorable moments.

On November 20, 1934, at Kusanagi Stadium Eiji Sawamura, a 17-year-old, high school phenomenon, was pitching for the all-Nippon team. He was zoned in, pitching the entirety of the game and limiting the hard-hitting American team to one run on five hits. During one stretch, he struck out Gehringer, Ruth, Gehrig, and Foxx in consecutive order. Although the all-Nippon team lost the game, 1-0, Connie Mack, the manager of the All-American team, was impressed. He found Sawamura after the game and offered him a contract with the Philadelphia Athletics, the team he both managed and owned. Sawamura politely declined.