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22-803: It has served as the home stadium for the Chunichi Dragons professional baseball team since its opening. It has also served the Orix BlueWave and Kintetsu Buffaloes , and hosted a single group stage game of the 2024 WBSC Premier12 . The official theme song for the Nagoya Dome, "Here for You", was written by local FM radio disc jockey James Havens and released on CD by Victor Entertainment. [REDACTED] Media related to Nagoya Dome at Wikimedia Commons 35°11′10″N 136°56′50″E  /  35.18611°N 136.94722°E  / 35.18611; 136.94722 This article about

44-705: A baseball venue in Japan is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Chunichi Dragons The Chunichi Dragons ( 中日ドラゴンズ , Chūnichi Doragonzu ) 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 ) and

66-546: Is one of only two retired by the team. The Dragons were the first Japanese team to hire a foreigner as manager, Wally Yonamine , who led the team from 1972 to 1977. (Yonamine spoke fluent Japanese, and was later elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame .) In 1974, the team won the Central League title for the first time in 20 years, and this victory stopped the Yomiuri Giants from winning

88-413: Is the team's second mascot and was introduced in 1997. He is a blue dragon and he has appeared on the logo for a long while now. Paolon is the team's third mascot and she was introduced in 2000. She is a pink dragon. Wally Yonamine As Manager Wallace Kaname Yonamine ( 与那嶺要 , Yonamine Kaname , June 24, 1925 – February 28, 2011) was a Japanese American multi-sport athlete who played in

110-604: The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball . Kaname Yonamine, a Nisei Japanese American , was born in Olowalu , Maui , Hawaii to parents Matsusai (September 1, 1890 – July 31, 1988) and Kikue (February 14, 1901 – February 26, 1999). Matsusai was an uchinānchu immigrant and Kikue came from Hiroshima . Yonamine attended Lahainaluna and Wallace Rider Farrington High School . The name of his high school

132-754: The Brooklyn (now Los Angeles) Dodgers . The team's colors (blue and white) are the same colors worn by the Dodgers (both in Brooklyn and Los Angeles). From the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, the stylized lettering on the Dragons' jerseys and caps was virtually identical to the Dodgers' uniforms during that same period. Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches Catchers Outfielders Manager Coaches The following Hall of Famers played, coached and/or managed for

154-644: The Japan Series twice (in 1954 and 2007 ). They were also champions in the 2007 Asia Series . The Chunichi Dragons were formed in 1936 as the Nagoya Club . The franchise was acquired by the Chunichi Shimbun newspaper company in 1946. They became the "Dragons" in 1947, but experimented with a number of variations on their team name before settling on Chunichi Dragons in 1954. The Dragons' most famous player, Michio Nishizawa , played for

176-668: The Central League Climax Series, by first defeating the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in 3 games in the first stage, but lost to the eventual Japan Series champion Yomiuri Giants in 6 games in the final stage, while the Giants also had a 1-game advantage. As of 2022, this was the last time the Dragons made the playoffs; they have had only one winning season since, which came in the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 season. The Dragons uniforms were based on

198-577: The Central League pennant seven times since 1950, but their last Japan Series victory was in 1954, the longest such drought in Nippon Professional Baseball . In early 2007, the NPB playoff rules were changed: The top team in the league would advance automatically, while the second and third teams in the league would play a best-of-three series. The winner would face the first-place team in a best-of-five series to see who would advance to

220-491: The Dragons won their first Japan Series championship in 1954 , defeating the Nishitetsu Lions 4-games-to-3. In 1962, the Dragons became one of the first NPB teams to sign established MLB players when they brought on former stars Larry Doby and Don Newcombe . Michio Nishizawa went on to manage the team from 1964 to 1967. He was elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977 and his number 15 jersey

242-405: The Dragons, and are listed with the years they were with the club. Active: Retired: The team has 3 mascots, Doala, Shaolon, and Paolon. Doala is the main mascot of the team, and he was introduced in 1994, replacing their former mascot, Gaburi. Doala is a koala because Nagoya was home to Japan's first koala due to its sister city status with Sydney . Doala is quite known for his stunts. Shaolon

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264-738: The Giants and Dragons. Yonamine operated a highly successful pearl store, "Wally Yonamine Pearls", with his wife, Jane. The store is located in Roppongi , Tokyo . They also had a branch of their store in California run by their children. In 2008, Yonamine joined the Japanese Master League team Nagoya 80 D'sers as a coach/part-time player. After an extended battle with prostate cancer, Yonamine died on February 28, 2011, aged 85, in Honolulu. Yonamine's grand-nephew, Micah,

286-629: The Japan Series finals. The Dragons took advantage of the new playoff system, and after finishing second in the season standings, swept the Hanshin Tigers in a best-of-three series, then, in a huge upset, swept the heavily favoured Yomiuri Giants in a best-of-five series to advance to the Japan Series against the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters . In an exact reversal of the 2006 Japan Series, Hokkaido won game 1 of

308-518: The feat against the Hankyu team . Despite a career ERA of 2.22, the heavy workload combined with injuries sustained during two years of service in World War II forced him to switch positions to first base, and later the outfield. After early struggles with the bat, Nishizawa developed into a feared hitter. He swatted a then-league record 46 home runs in 1950. His best season came in 1952, when he led

330-543: The league for the tenth consecutive year. Another league title came in 1999, and in that year, Dragons set a record by winning 11 consecutive games at the opening of the season. In the 2004 season the team reached the Japan Series , but lost to the Seibu Lions , the Pacific League Champions, and in 2006 they lost the Japan Series to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters . At that point the team had won

352-482: The league in both batting average and runs batted in. Altogether, Nishizawa appeared in five All Star Games and won the Best Nine Award three times. Forkball-specialist Shigeru Sugishita dominated the Central League for the Dragons from 1950 to 1955, winning more than 30 games twice (winning at least 23 games each season), and garnering three Eiji Sawamura Awards. Led by Sugishita and an aging Nishizawa,

374-660: The round robin, then defeated the SK Wyverns , 6–5. Three years later, they faced the Chiba Lotte Marines in the 2010 Japan Series , but lost to the Marines in seven games, including a 2–2 tie in the longest Japan Series game ever, which lasted 15 innings. A year later, the Dragons were back in the 2011 Japan Series , but fell to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in seven games. In 2012, they made

396-409: The series, but the Dragons won the next four straight games, including a combined perfect game from Daisuke Yamai and star closer Hitoki Iwase in the deciding Game 5, to become the 2007 Japan Series Champions, ending 53 years of frustration and the longest Japan Series drought in NPB history. The Japan Series victory allowed the Dragons to advance to the 2007 Asia Series , in which they went 2–1 in

418-475: The team from 1936 to 1958. He entered the league as a 15-year-old pitcher. He developed into a 20-game winner by 1939. Nishizawa's most memorable pitching feats occurred in 1942. On May 24 of that year, Nishizawa pitched a remarkable twenty-eight complete innings, totalling 311 pitches in a 4–4 tie against the Taiyō Whales at Korakuen Stadium . Later that year, he tossed his first and only no-hitter, accomplishing

440-455: The team, he had 19 carries for 74 yards and caught 3 passes for 40 yards. His football career ended during the off-season, when he broke his wrist playing in an amateur baseball league in Hawaii. A multi-skilled outfielder , Yonamine was also noted for his flexible batting style and aggressive baserunning during his career with the Yomiuri Giants and Chunichi Dragons . In Japan, Yonamine

462-471: Was a member of four Japan Series Championship teams, the Central League MVP in 1957, a consecutive seven-time Best Nine Award winner (1952–58), an eleven-time All-Star, a three-time batting champion, and the first foreigner to be a manager (Dragons, 1972–77). Yonamine was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame , admitted in 1994 for his achievements during his 12-year career with

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484-489: Was the origin of his nickname, originally Wallace, but quickly changed to Wally, which would later become his legal name. Yonamine signed a $ 14,000 contract, playing running back for the San Francisco 49ers in their second season (1947). Doing so, he became the first football player of Japanese American ancestry to play professional football ( Walter Achiu was the first Asian-American). In his one season with

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