Wally Yonamine, the first foreigner to play in Nippon Professional Baseball in the post-World War II era, died of prostate cancer in Honolulu on Monday, his family said. He was 85.

The Japanese-American played running back for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers in 1947 and made three starts. A wrist injury sustained in a baseball game in the summer of 1948 led to his release from the 49ers, and he later opted to pursue a baseball career.

Years later, according to his website, Yonamine summed up his historic football achievements this way, when he was recognized before a 49ers exhibition game at Osaka Dome: