During 'White Australia,' Japanese Migrants Gained From Baseball

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In 1917 the NSW Baseball Association had tried to arrange a game against visiting Japanese Navy sailors to raise money for the war effort. When this fell through, Japanese businessmen in Sydney offered to play.

Only four of the Japanese people had played baseball before. In pouring rain, an enormous crowd turned up, so play went ahead despite the conditions.

From this game, the Nippon Baseball Club emerged.

Throughout the 1917 season, the club played in front of large and enthusiastic crowds. Their games were frequently used to raise money for Australia's war efforts.

During the next two seasons, the club was warmly received. Newspapers in Sydney and beyond discussed the team affectionately.

Australian Test cricketer Monty Noble, president of the NSW Baseball Association, formally thanked the club that season.

The next year, the team was presented with a“handsomely framed illuminated address”: a hand-decorated, ornate manuscript of a sort that was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to formally express gratitude and thanks.

The text of the address read:

In 1919, the club gave NSW Baseball the Nippon Cup. It became the competition's most prized trophy for 20 years. It would be awarded to the champion of the top tier of NSW's most senior and competitive baseball league.

When the association noted its appreciation of the gift, the official minutes noted:

The racism in those remarks reflected a wider cultural attitude in Sydney.

While coverage of the team was largely positive, references to racial stereotypes about height and skin colour appeared. The offensive slur“Jap” was used, even when journalists meant it to be complimentary.

In 1919, the Nippon Baseball Club stopped playing. The club never had many players and absences for work and migration caused difficulties in consistently fielding a team.

Then the impact of the influenza pandemic of 1918 and 1919 caused more disruption.

The club's gift of the Nippon Cup was a lasting, positive memory for the next two decades.

Controversies during a volatile era

In 1941, after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbour, the Nippon Cup became controversial.

There was talk of melting it down and selling it for its metal value.

One member of the NSW Baseball Association suggested a new inscription be added to the cup, which would read:

It is unclear what happened to the Nippon Cup. The contributions of the Nippon Baseball Club and the Japanese immigrant community that supported it, however, were effectively erased.

Now, more than 100 years later, their story has been rediscovered in the archives as part of a larger study of how sport has mediated Australia's relationship with Japan.