Funeral Held for Japanese Baseball Legend Nagashima

   Tokyo, June 8 (Jiji Press)--A funeral for Japanese baseball superstar Shigeo Nagashima, who died on Tuesday at the age of 89, was held in Tokyo on Sunday.
   A total of 96 people, including his relatives and former Yomiuri Giants players and managers, attended the funeral and bode farewell to the former legendary hitter of the popular Tokyo-based Central League team. Nagashima, nicknamed "Mr. Professional Baseball" for his overwhelming performances and presence, served as Giants manager after his retirement as a player.
   An altar decorated with orange flowers was set up at the funeral venue, and a bat and a jersey used by Nagashima, and his photo taken during his time as manager were displayed. Orange is a team color of the Giants.
   "Every move (by Nagashima) in the field attracted fans all over Japan," Sadaharu Oh, who himself is also a baseball superstar and played with Nagashima as a hitter for the Giants and then led the team as manager, said in a memorial address at the funeral.
   "He was shining like the sun and was really special," said Oh, now chairman of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, a Japanese professional baseball team in the Pacific League.

(2025/06/08-20:33)