A Sultan’s Legacy: Vintage Japanese Babe Ruth Baseball Cards

Nearly a half million people packed the streets of Tokyo on November 2, 1934—their bodies pressing together, straining to get a glimpse of the giant they had only heard of: Babe Ruth. A caravan of open limousines came into view, with Ruth in the first. Confetti and streamers fluttered down from multi-storied office buildings, as thousands waved Japanese and American fl ags and cheered wildly. “Banzai! Banzai Bebu Rusu!” echoed through the neighborhood. Reveling in the attention, the Bambino plucked flags from the crowd and stood in the back of the car waving a Japanese flag in his lefthand and…