Outspoken former Hanshin Tigers owner Shunjiro Kuma, who recruited such renowned managers as Katsuya Nomura and Senichi Hoshino, died of natural causes late last week, the Central League club said Tuesday. He was 90.
Kuma, former chairman of Hanshin Electric Railway Co. who became owner of the parent company's ballclub in 1984, was pronounced dead at Konan Hospital in Kobe last Friday.
After graduating from the law faculty at Tokyo Imperial University (now Tokyo University), Kuma joined Hanshin Electric Railway in 1946. He moved up through the ranks until he was appointed president in 1982.