was a Japanese

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He both batted and threw right-handed. Iida spent most of his 16-year career with 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. Founded on February 22, 1938, as the Nankai Club, being the first Kansai t ...

, where he won 5

Best Nine Award The Best Nine Award is awarded annually to the best player at each position in both the Central League and Pacific League of Japanese professional baseball as determined by a pool of journalists. History While the Best Nine Award was first prese ...

s, 4 Pacific League pennants, and a Pacific League MVP Award in 1955. He spent the remainder of his career with the Kokutestu Swallows, with his final season in 1963. He played 1,246 consecutive games until finally taking a rest day on May 24, 1958.

Early life

Iida was born in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

and played baseball at Asano High School. He did not go to college.

Playing career

Nankai Hawks

Iida began his professional career with the

of the

Japanese Baseball League The was a professional baseball league in Japan which operated from 1936 to 1949, before reorganizing in 1950 as Nippon Professional Baseball. The league's dominant team was Tokyo Kyojin (renamed the Yomiuri Giants in 1947), which won nine le ...

in 1947. He found success relatively quickly, leading the team in hits in 1949, and winning 4 consecutive

s from 1950 through 1953. He led the league in RBIs in 1951. In 1955, he was both a Best Nine Award winner and a Pacific League MVP. He was also chosen as the leading hitter of the

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series between the winning cl ...

after hitting two home runs. In 1956, he played 154 games, setting an NPB record, which is shared with Kohei Sugayama and Shinya Sazaki. With the Hawks, Kazuto Tsuruoka, Chusuke Kizuka, Kazuo Kageyama, and Iida all made up what was known as the Million Dollar Infield, with Tsuruoka and Iida becoming Hall of Famers, Kizuka a six-time

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

, and Kageyama a Rookie of the Year award winner.

Kokutestu Swallows

Iida went to the Swallows of Kokotestu for the 1957 season. As a Swallow, he ended his 1,246-game long streak of playing on May 24, 1958. He ranked second in the league in total hits in 1957, and 5th in 1959. By 1960, he was out of the top 10, and by 1963, he was out of the league.

Managerial career and death

Iida became the 8th manager of the Swallows, then-called the Atoms, in 1966, being replaced by

Takehiko Bessho , born , was a Japanese baseball player whose professional career as a player lasted from 1942 until 1960. Bessho first achieved fame as a pitcher in Japanese professional baseball; later, he served as a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) manage ...

in 1968 after 3 consecutive losing seasons. Soon after, in 1969, he was appointed manager of the Hawks, being replaced with

Katsuya Nomura was a Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) catcher and manager. During his over 26-season playing career mostly spent with the Nankai Hawks (now the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks), he became one of NPB's greatest offensive catchers. He was award ...

the next year, following a 50-76-4 campaign, finishing last in the Pacific League. His NPB managerial record was 224-292-18. Iida died on June 19, 2000, at the age of 76.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iida, Tokuji 1924 births 2000 deaths Baseball people from Kanagawa Prefecture Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball infielders Nankai Hawks players Kokutetsu Swallows players Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners Managers of baseball teams in Japan Tokyo Yakult Swallows managers Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks managers Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductees