Seiichi Shima

Seiichi Shima is someone I'd never heard of before, and honestly that broke my heart a little once I looked him up. Born in Wakayama in 1920, made it all the way to Meiji University, and by all accounts threw himself into baseball with the kind of dedication that eventually earned him a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame — except he never got to see any of that recognition, because he died in March 1945 at just 24 years old. That's the war for you: cutting short the lives of guys who probably just wanted to play ball and go home. The details of his career are thin at this point, nearly a century on, but the Hall of Fame induction says everything. You don't get in there by accident. I find myself wanting to tip my cap to a kid from Wakayama who could really play, even if most of us are only now learning his name.

Seiichi Shima was a Japanese baseball player born on December 15, 1920, in Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture. He attended Meiji University and distinguished himself sufficiently to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He died on March 29, 1945, at the age of 24, during World War II. Despite his short life, his legacy was recognized through his Hall of Fame enshrinement.

Name (English)

Seiichi Shima

Name (Japanese)

嶋清一

Reading

しま せいいち

Born

December 15, 1920 – March 29, 1945

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Sagittarius / Monkey

Origin

Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan

Occupation

Baseball Player

University

Meiji University

Awards & achievements

• Baseball Hall of Fame (year unknown)

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B6%8B%E6%B8%85%E4%B8%80
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11477356

Tags

• From Wakayama Prefecture
• Baseball Player

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.