In June 1953, New York Giants president Horace Stoneham accepted an invitation from Shodi Yasuda, president of the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper of Japan, for the Giants to play exhibition games in Japan. This was the first time a Major League team had accepted an invitation to play in Japan. Two weeks later, major league owners voted in Cincinnati to allow the Giants to make the trip. The trip paved the way for other American baseball teams to travel to Japan. In 1955, the New York Yankees made the trip, followed by the Dodgers in 1956 and the Cardinals, Giants, Tigers, Orioles, Mets, Reds, and Royals all visiting before the 1980s.

Title image: “The New York Giants arriving in Japan for their 1953 tour. PASTIME (National Baseball Hall of Fame)”