Japanese baseball legend Nagashima dead at 89: Yomiuri newspaper

Japanese baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima, who rose to stardom for his on-field exploits during the country’s era of rapid economic growth in the 1960s and 1970s, died Tuesday, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said. He was 89.

Nagashima, who was a key player of the Yomiuri Giants team that achieved nine consecutive Central League and Japan Series titles from 1965 to 1973 and later managed the club, was a charismatic figure whose popularity transcended sports.

Together with teammate Sadaharu Oh, or “O-N” as the pair were nicknamed, Nagashima became a household name at a time when the country’s economy was booming and is fondly remembered by many middle-aged and older Japanese with nostalgia for those times.