The Alaska daily empire., 1920-08-19
JAPAN PLANNING
 GREAT BASEBALL
 INVASION OF U. s.
Oriental Kingdom Taking Up Americas National Game
 With Keen Enthusiasm.

01ICAGO, Aug. 19.-7Jdpdn IS pldN' ming one of the most ambitious base ball invasions of the United States next spring and summer, that has ever been recorded in the annals of time a group of wealthy Japanees business men are hoping to persuade wo topnotch American League teams Q visit Japan for an extended serieS )f exhibition games.
 This news of baseball in Japan is brought back from the Orient by 'rof. Fred Merrifield. who piloted he University of Chicago team on it's 'ecent tour of Japanese universities.
 "Waseda University is getting 'eady for a,I trip clear across the Inited States" said Prof. Merrifield
 Heretofore Waseda and Keio have
 layed only on the West coast and he Middle West but this time tho Vaseda men hope to arrange game9 with many of the leading teams il he Eastern States.
 "Prof. Iso. Abe, the father of base all in Japan.' and dean of the col
 'ge at Waseda, assisted by Prof
 ienninghoff of the same institution. ill be in charge of the trip.
 Five Months In Training
 "The Japanese squad expects tD
 pend nearly five months in getting
 eady to tackle the American college cams and with one of the mos
 lever and hard working sets of
 layers in their history. they prom SC to win their full share of the ;ames. They plan to start from rokio in mid-winter. spend two weeks in the wonderful spring cl- nate of Honolulu playing against he versatile Japanese, American and Chinese teams of the Island, then our the West Coast from Seattle toI Los Angeles in the height of the Western baseball season, while the Midwest and Eastern campuses ire still covered with snow and mud
 ''In this way they will easily gel acclimated and get used to the food md travel which play such big ,art in the success of a team When he Japanese boys go East, look out for them. for they will be in the pink Of condition
 Interest Rapidly Rising
 This careful program is an indi cation of the rapidly rising interest in baseball which is felt all over the Island Kingdom. Wasada was the leader in this movement some 20l years ago and now every school in the land boast of it's numerous cham pions who hope to show their talents to the world. Native coaches are turning out catchers, pitchers and batters and fielders capable of hold ing places on any American team
 Signs of an attempt to conner oialize baseball, however, are in. sight. A group of influential men trained in America. and longing for he good old fan days. when they could enjoy fine game every day | plan to place the game on higher level They have pur chased large field near the center )f Tokio and plan to erect a stadium here seating 50,000 people.
 Big Leaeuers To Perform
 'If a representative of these cap talists, now in America, is success 'ul the stadium will be opened by wo of our league teams at the close If the present season here At the prices recently charged at the Chi-l eago-Waseda games. S2.50 to 70 cents per seat such a trip by American hines would prove a real for it's Japanese pro moters.
 "As yet the semi-pro does not ex st in Japan. but if the further plan carries, 10 have teams organized inI Ill of the leading city centers, and trained by American eolI ege graduate coaches. the Oriental Kingdom and its far flung dependen- eies will fairly go wild over base ball.
 Amateur Idea May Prevail
 "lf these plans, both ambitious and difficult of realization. do not mature at once, milder program with an college league as thc centeri of interest will be substituted Every lover of pure amateur sport in Japan hopes this latter idea will prevail. thus preventing a long and ineyitabieI train Of evils which would follow nommercialization of the game II wolud be a pity in any case fol 'o wer tec present -plcaa.d standards of sportsmanship for which Prof. Abe and his colleagues have worked sol long and hard"