is an intercollegiate baseball league that features six prominent

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

in the Tokyo area. Before the 1936 establishment of the Japanese Baseball League and subsequent growth (after 1950) of

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 ...

, the Big6 League was widely considered the highest level of baseball in Japan.

Members

Hosei University is a private university based in Tokyo, Japan. The university originated in a school of law, Tōkyō Hōgakusha (, i.e. Tokyo association of law), established in 1880, and the following year renamed Tōkyō Hōgakkō (, i.e. Tokyo school of la ...

*Established: 1915 *All-Time Record: 1,204-880-121 *League Championships: 46 *Last Championship: Spring 2020

Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowment ...

*Established: 1892 *All-Time Record: 1,225-864-95 *League Championships: 37 *Last Championship: Autumn 2019

Meiji University , abbreviated as Meiji (明治) or Meidai (明大'')'', is a private research university located in Chiyoda City, the heart of Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1881 as Meiji Law School (明治法律学校, ''Meiji Hōritsu Gakkō'') by three Meiji-er ...

*Established: 1910 *All-Time Record: 1,254-851-109 *League Championships: 40 *Last Championship: Spring 2019

Rikkyo University , also known as Saint Paul's University, is a private university, in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan. Rikkyo is known as one of the six leading universities in the field of sports in Tokyo (東京六大学 "Big Six" — Rikkyo University, University of ...

*Established: 1874 *All-Time Record: 947-1,146-100 *League Championships: 13 *Last Championship: Spring 2017

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project b ...

*Established: 1917 *All-Time Record: 253-1,672-57 *League Championships: None *Last Championship: N/A

Waseda University , mottoeng = Independence of scholarship , established = 21 October 1882 , type = Private , endowment = , president = Aiji Tanaka , city = Shinjuku , state = Tokyo , country = Japan , students = 47,959 , undergrad = 39,382 , postgrad ...

*Established: 1901 *All-Time Record: 1,306-776-90 *League Championships: 46 *Last Championship: Autumn 2020 ''Current as of Autumn 2020''

History

The Tokyo Big6 Baseball League was established in 1925. It is also the origin of the Tokyo 6 Universities (, ''Tōkyō roku daigaku'') nickname that is given to the same six universities.

Games

All games are played at

Meiji Jingu Stadium The is a baseball stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It opened in 1926 and holds 37,933 spectators. Property of the Meiji Shrine, it is the home field of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows professional baseball team. It also hosts college baseball, i ...

in Kasumigaoka,

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

in downtown Tokyo. Games are known to be rowdy and celebratory, with male cheerleaders (応援団, ''Ōendan''), cheerleaders and bands working themselves and the crowd into a frenzy.

Schedule and rules

The six teams play short, eight-weekend seasons in the spring and autumn of each year. Each team plays a short series against each of the five other teams in the league. The series format is similar to a three-game playoff, where the first to two wins is given a series victory. Home field is alternated, and all games are played at

. Should a team sweep the first two games, the third game is not played. The champion of the league is determined by the team with the most series victories. The champion team is given the Emperor's Cup. This is unique in Japan in that the other Emperor's cups are given to national champions in other sports such as Emperor's Cup of Football. The spring champion is allowed to participate in the

All Japan University Baseball Championship Series All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All al ...

while the fall champion is allowed to compete in the Meiji Jingu Stadium Tournament. The league uses rules that are similar to the National and

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

Leagues. The

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by t ...

rule is not used and the pitcher is required to bat. Also, unlike American university leagues, non-wood bats are banned.

Champions

Big6 league waseda victory parade team 2010-11-03

Hosei University and Waseda University are tied for the most league championships with 46 each. Meiji University has won 40 times and Keio University has captured 37 league titles. Rikkyo trails with 13, while the University of Tokyo has yet to win a championship. ''Current as of Autumn 2020''

Rivalry

Waseda vs. Keio: ''Sōkeisen''

The series between Waseda and Keio, , attracts the most attention and is greatly enjoyed by the students, not least because it causes classes at both universities to be canceled. The game is still broadcast on

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

and it is the only series played during the last week of the season. The Sōkeisen actually predates the establishment of the Tokyo Big6 League by over 20 years, beginning in 1903. The games often caused much tension between the two student bodies, often spilling out of the stadium and leading to the cancellation of games. The addition of Meiji (1914), Hosei (1917) and RikkyoThough the university officially uses the name ''Rikkyo'' University, ''Rikkyo'' remains on the team's jerseys. This article uses ''Rikkyo'' accordingly. (1921) would do little to remedy the rivalry. This state would continue until the addition of

Tokyo Imperial University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

and the official establishment of the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League. The name is a combination of the two university's names first kanji characters and the character for battle or match, . ''Sō'', is the alternate reading of in (also from the short name, ), while is the first character of .

Notable alumni

Hosei alumni

Tadashi Wakabayashi Tadashi Henry Wakabayashi () (March 1, 1908 – March 5, 1965) was a professional baseball player from Oahu, Hawaii. He was a second generation Japanese American. Biography Wakabayashi's parents had immigrated to Hawaii from Hiroshima, Japan, an ...

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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 Railway ...

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Mainichi Orions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. History The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugura ...

) * Koichi Tabuchi (

→

Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, w ...

)東京六大学野球の面白さ
/ref> * Koji Yamamoto (

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Mats ...

) *

Suguru Egawa is a Japanese former pitcher and current baseball analyst. Despite being one of the best pitchers of his generation, Egawa's perceived arrogance and non-conformist ways earned him the media nicknames "Dirty Egawa," "The Giant Devil," and "The Ene ...

(

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 ...

) *

Takehiko Kobayakawa , (born November 15, 1961) is a former Japanese baseball player of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp and Yakult Swallows of Japan's Central League. He was born in Aki-ku, Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chū ...

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Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yo ...

) *

Atsunori Inaba Atsunori Inaba (稲葉篤紀, born August 3, 1972) is a Japanese professional baseball manager, coach and former player. He was the Most Valuable Player of the 2006 Japan Series. He is currently the general manager for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham F ...

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Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Figh ...

)The Yakult Swallows Home Plate
/ref>

Keio alumni

Kaoru Betto was a Nippon Professional Baseball player. After playing for the Ōsaka Tigers for two years, Betto played for the Mainichi Orions from 1950 to 1957. In his first season with the Orions, Betto won the NPB's first Pacific League MVP Award and he ...

(

/ Ōsaka Tigers →

) *

Motoshi Fujita was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher and manager. He spent his entire career with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball, winning two Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also t ...

(

) *

Yoshinobu Takahashi Yoshinobu Takahashi (高橋由伸, born April 3, 1975) is a Japanese former professional baseball player and manager. He spent his entire playing career with the Yomiuri Giants and served as the team's manager for three seasons. He graduated ...

(

)

Meiji alumni

Senichi Hoshino was a Nippon Professional Baseball player and manager. In 2003, he led the Hanshin Tigers to their first Central League pennant in 18 years before retiring for health reasons. In 2007, he managed the Japan national baseball team, Japanese natio ...

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Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...

) *

Katsunori Nomura is currently a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) coach for the Hanshin Tigers. Before coaching, he played in NPB from 1996 to 2006, primarily as a second or third-string catcher. Nomura was drafted in 1995 by the Yakult Swallows, the team manage ...

(

→

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shoppin ...

) *

Kenshin Kawakami Kenshin Kawakami (川上憲伸) (born June 22, 1975) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chunichi Dragons and in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves. Japanes ...

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Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

)

Rikkyo alumni

Shigeo Nagashima is a Japanese former professional baseball player and manager. Biography Nagashima played baseball at his local high school, and on the Rikkyo University baseball team from 1954–1957. He joined the Yomiuri Giants in 1958. His jersey number ( ...

(

) * Tadashi Sugiura (

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. ...

) *

Kazushige Nagashima is a Japanese tarento, sports commentator and former professional baseball player. His father is Japanese baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima. Biography Nagashima was born in Tokyo, Japan, the oldest son of former Japanese national team manager ...

(

→

) *

Takeo Kawamura Takeo Kawamura may refer to: * Takeo Kawamura (politician) * Takeo Kawamura (baseball) {{hndis, Kawamura, Takeo

External links

Official Site of the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League (Japanese)
{{Authority control Baseball leagues in Japan Sports leagues established in 1925 1925 establishments in Japan College baseball