was a Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) catcher and manager. During his over 26-season playing career mostly spent with the Nankai Hawks (now the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks), he became one of NPB's greatest offensive catchers. He was awarded the Pacific League MVP Award five times, became the first NPB batter to win the Triple Crown in 1965, and holds the record for second-most home runs and RBIs in NPB history. Nomura was a player-manager for the last eight years he was with the Hawks, leading them to the Pacific League title in 1973. After playing, he became a full-time manager and served led the Yakult Swallows to four league titles and three Japan Series championships from 1990 to 1998. Later, he managed the Hanshin Tigers for three seasons and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles for four seasons until his retirement in 2009. As a manager, Nomura recorded 1,565 wins, the fifth-most wins of any manager in NPB history. He was elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Biography Early life Nomura was born in the coastal fishing village of Amino (now Kyōtango) in Kyoto Prefecture. When he was three years old, his father died of disease while serving in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Nomura grew up in poverty with his mother and older brother. With the help of his brother, he was able to attend high school. Playing career After graduating from Mineyama High School, Nomura joined the Nankai Hawks after a tryout in 1954. The team's manager at the time believed he'd at least be useful as a catcher for pitching practice. That year, Nomura played in nine games and went hitless for the season. The Hawks discussed cutting him from the team, however, he was given another chance reportedly after Nomura offered to play for free and even threatened to throw himself in front of a train if he was let go. During a career that spanned four decades from 1954 to 1980, Nomura hit 657 home runs and led the Pacific League in homers eight straight seasons. (However, it should be taken into consideration that his home park, Osaka Stadium, measured only 276 feet down the lines until 1972, and 300 feet from 1972 onward, and 380 feet to straightaway center—tiny dimensions by Major League Baseball standards.) He finished his career with 2901 hits. In 1965, Nomura won the league's first Triple