The Brooklyn Dodgers were invited to play a Goodwill Tour in Japan* following the 1956 season. This booklet was sold at the games and features articles & pictures (in Japanese) about the team & the players. The cover features the Willard Mullin bum used on the Dodgers 1956 yearbook. There are some areas of discoloration, but overall it is in excellent condition. These booklets are not easy to find.

*Early in 1956, the Dodgers were invited by Matsutaro Shoriki, the founder of the Yomiuri Shimbun and the “father of Japanese professional baseball,” to make a trip to Japan following the regular season. It was Walter O’Malley’s desire to accept the invitation and have the Dodgers make the goodwill tour to further international relations. He spent time to ensure the key Dodger players would make the trip before responding. The Dodgers were at the height of their popularity, having won their first World Series Championship in 1955. The plans for the trip were announced publicly by O’Malley on September 9. John M. Allison, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, issued a statement just before the Dodgers arrived in Japan. U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized Allison to say that baseball has become “a regular and significant event in Japan’s relations with the United States.” Allison added, “This visit to Japan by one of America’s most notable baseball teams is an outstanding example of the many mutual interests shared by the people of Japan and the United States, the two nations which regard baseball as a national sport. It is but one of the many exchanges by which the two countries further their good relations and understanding.”

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