Gene Bacque (August 12, 1937 – September 14, 2019) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher who played in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

for the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

and

Kintetsu Buffaloes The were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stadiu ...

Biography

Career

Bacque graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

), and joined the minor league

Hawaii Islanders The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played ...

. He was cut shortly afterwards, and a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

sportswriter encouraged him to try out in Japan. He was signed by the

in August 1962. Bacque was not given a translator when he first joined the Tigers, and he and his family of four had to live in a poor neighborhood in Japan. However, he went on to learn fluent

, and became respected by teammates as one of the best non-Japanese players ever to play on the Tigers. He learned a

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

from Japanese Hall of Famer Masaaki Koyama, and improved his

knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This cha ...

to enter the starting rotation. He and

Minoru Murayama was a professional baseball player for the Osaka Tigers (later Hanshin Tigers) in Nippon Professional Baseball. His number ''11'' is retired with the Tigers. A pitcher with Hanshin from 1959 to 1972, he recorded a career 2.09 ERA and 192 care ...

became the crux of the Tigers pitching staff during the 1960s. Bacque marked a 29–9 record with a 1.89 ERA in 1964, leading the league in wins and ERA to become the first non-Japanese player to receive the

Eiji Sawamura Award The , commonly known as the Sawamura Award, is an honor bestowed upon the top starting pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball each year. The award was originally established by Japanese magazine "Nekkyū" in 1947 to honor the career of Eiji Sawa ...

. The Tigers won the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

championship that year, and Bacque pitched in the sixth game of the

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...

against Joe Stanka of the

Nankai Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

(the Hawks won, 4–0). Bacque threw a no-hitter in 1965 against the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

(becoming the first foreign pitcher in the modern era of Japanese baseball ince the formation of the Central and Pacific Leagues in 1950to do so), and won over 10 games for five years in a row from 1964 to 1968. In September 1968, Bacque broke his right thumb during a brawl with the Giants, and missed the rest of the season. He was traded to the

in 1969, but failed to make a comeback, going 0–7 that year. He announced his retirement during the off-season. He is tied with Joe Stanka for the most career victories among American pitchers in Japan.

Retirement

After retiring, Bacque worked as an industrial arts teacher at a junior high school in

Scott, Louisiana Scott is the fourth largest municipality in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population 8,614 as of the 2010 U.S. census, and 8,119 at the 2020 census, up from 7,870 at the 2000 census. Scott is a suburban community of Lafayette a ...

, and managed his own ranch. He often traveled to Japan to meet with his former teammates. Bacque died following complications from abdominal aneurysm surgery on September 14, 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bacque, Gene American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Louisiana Hanshin Tigers players Kintetsu Buffaloes players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Lafayette, Louisiana 1937 births 2019 deaths Educators from Louisiana Ranchers from Louisiana Birmingham Barons players Durham Bulls players Hawaii Islanders players Idaho Falls Russets players Knoxville Smokies players Montgomery Rebels players Nashville Vols players Valdosta Tigers players

Biography

Career

Retirement

See also

References

External links