Yoshio Tenbo

Yoshio Tenbo (天保 義夫)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 136 lb.
• High School Houkoku Gakuen High School
• Born April 25, 1924 in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan
• Died December 30, 1999

BR NPB page

Biographical Information

Yoshio Tenbo spent 14 seasons pitching in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Tenbo signed with the Hankyu club in 1942, and he went 8-7 with a 1.69 ERA in 30 games in his rookie year. As a 19-year-old in 1943, Tenbo had a 2.01 ERA and 18 complete games, despite going 11-16 for the 31-51 Hankyu club. He completed a no-hitter against the Nankai club on May 2. Tenbo was 8th in the Japanese Professional Baseball League in ERA (between Juzo Sanada and Toshihide Hatafuku), 5th in losses (between Michio Shigematsu and Tadashi Wakabayashi) and 10th in wins (tied with Mitsuhiko Ishida, Hachiro Miwa and Hatakufu). Tenbo missed the 1944 season due to military service, and he injured four fingers during the war.

Therefore, Tenbo became a knuckleballer in 1946. He was 11-12 with a 3.17 ERA in 1946, and he went 10-18 with a 2.99 ERA in 1947. Tenbo tied Nobuo Nakatani and Shigeaki Kuroo for 6th in losses. He improved to 19-22 with a 2.33 ERA in 1948, and he led the league with 45 starts. Tenbo ranked 8th in ERA (between Tokuji Kawasaki and Wakabayashi), 2nd in appearances (52, 6 behind Sanada), 8th in wins (tied with Susumu Yuki and Kuroo), 2nd in losses (tied with Kenichi Izutsu) and 5th in strikeouts (130, between Kuroo and Tadayoshi Kajioka).

Tenbo collected a career-high 24 wins with a 2.91 ERA in 1949, and he led the league with 52 appearances. He was 4th in ERA (between Victor Starffin and Tsuguhiro Hattori), 3rd in wins (tied with Hattori), 9th in strikeouts (108, tied with Kawasaki) and 7th in complete games (21, tied with Kuroo). The JPBL split into two leagues in 1950, and Tenbo extended his reliable performance. He led the Pacific League with 37 starts, 24 losses and 134 earned runs allowed, and he was 4th in wins (tied with Mitsuro Sawafuji, Takeshi Nomura and Giichi Hayashi), 2nd in appearances (57, 1 behind Yasuo Yonekawa) and 6th in Ks (141, between Atsushi Aramaki and Yuki). His 134 earned runs allowed were still the PL record as of 2025.

The ace of Hankyu was 9-10 with a 2.91 ERA in 1951, and he had a 4-12 record with a 3.81 ERA in 1952. Tenbo tied Masaaki Noguchi for 8th in losses. He bounced back in 1953 with a 11-8 record and a 2.19 ERA, and he would have ranked 5th in ERA had he qualified. Tenbo was 0-3 with a 4.44 ERA in 1954, and he went 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA in 1955. He only pitched 3 more games for the big club, and he announced his retirement. Tenbo then coached in the Hankyu system from 1958 to 1986.

Overall, Tenbo went 131-152 with 143 complete games and a 2.79 ERA in 431 games (283 starts). As of 2025, he was 65th in starts, 27th in complete games (143), 44th in shutouts (26, tied with Takao Fujimura, Katsuji Sakai and Kazumi Takahashi), 72nd in wins (tied with Kajioka and Yoshiro Sotokoba), 28th in losses (tied with Koichiro Sasaki), 51st in innings (2,452 1/3, between Shinichi Yamauchi and Sotokoba) and 25th in ERA (between Masatoshi Gondo and Shoichi Ono) in NPB history.

Sources

• Wiki Japan