Most foreigners who come to Japan to play baseball do just that — and only that. Whether a career lasts a few games or several years, the guys go back to their home country to continue playing ball, stay in the game as coaches or managers or find another job outside the game. A few, however, have stayed in Japan and started a business.
Wally Yonamine for example, together with his wife Jane, opened their highly successful and popular pearl shop in Tokyo's Roppongi district, over the years serving a clientele that included customers from the sports and entertainment worlds. Hawaiian native Yonamine played with the Tokyo Giants and Chunichi Dragons from 1951 through 1962 and managed the Dragons 1974-79.
Mike Solomko, an American who played with the Hanshin Tigers (1960-63) and Daimai Orions (1964-65) also stayed on in Japan and opened a lucrative business selling pots and pans. Chico Barbon, the Cuban-born Hankyu Braves star shortstop in the 1950s, once owned a pizza-and-steak restaurant in Kobe.
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