Victor Starffin was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1960. Wally Yonamine was enshrined in 1994.
Despite the long and rich history of foreign players in Japan, it only takes those two sentences to sum up the non-Japanese wing of the Hall of Fame — and if you really want to be picky, Starffin, an ethnic Russian, was for most intents and purposes Japanese, while Yonamine was an ethnic Japanese who hailed from Hawaii.
Granted, both players are highly regarded in Japanese history. Starffin spent much of his career (1936-1955) pitching for the Tokyo Kyojin alongside Eiji Sawamura and is remembered as one of the best pitchers in Japanese history. His old team, since renamed the Yomiuri Giants, still occasionally plays one or two "home" games at Starffin Stadium in Asahikawa, Hokkaido.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.