The ball that brought an end to the 1964 Japan Series between the Nankai Hawks and Hanshin Tigers landed, as so many others had over those seven games, in Hawks catcher Katsuya Nomura's mitt.
That final pitch (a swinging strike) was thrown by Nankai star Joe Stanka, a tall, imposing right-hander from Hammon, Oklahoma, who the Japanese press called “Big Thunder.” Big Thunder had also pitched in the ’61 series against the Yomiuri Giants and helped start a near-riot when he confronted the home plate umpire over a pitch call.
Nomura had been with him on that occasion, just as he was there at Koshien Stadium in 1964, when he helped guide Stanka through consecutive shutouts in Games 6 and 7, on the road no less, to clinch the series.