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{{short description|Japanese baseball team}}
{{infobox baseball team
| name        = Daiei Stars
| established = 1946
| color1      =
| color2      =
| logo        =
| cap_logo    =
| league      = [[Nippon Professional Baseball]]
* [[Pacific League]]
| folded = 1957; merged with the [[Takahashi Unions]] to form the [[Daiei Unions]]
| former_leagues = [[Japanese Baseball League]]
| uniform        =
| retirednumbers =
| colors         = white, red, sky blue<br>{{color box|white}} {{color box|red}} {{color box|#00BFFF}}
| nicknames      =
| former_names   = Gold Star (1946)<br />Kinsei Stars (1947–1948)<br />Daiei Unions (1956-1957)
| ballpark  = [[Korakuen Stadium]]
| pastparks =
| series              =
| series_champs       =
| division_champ_type =
| division_champs     =
| owner               = [[Komajiro Tamura]] (1946–1948)<br />[[Daiei Film]] (1949–1956)
| manager             = [[Sadayoshi Fujimoto]] (1948–1956)
| gm                  =
| current             =
}}
The {{Nihongo|'''Daiei Stars'''|大映スターズ|Daiei Sutāzu}} were a [[Japanese professional baseball]] team that was founded in 1946, and played in various incarnations until 1957, when it merged with another team. Overall, the franchise only had three winning seasons, never rising higher than third place. The team was in the second division, or B-class, for seven seasons, including its last four years of existence. The Stars played in [[Korakuen Stadium]] in [[Bunkyo, Tokyo]].
== Franchise history ==
=== Japanese Baseball League ===
The franchise was founded in 1946 as '''Gold Star''', a new post-war team in the [[Japanese Baseball League]]. They were owned by textile manufacturer and Lucky Gold Star Telephones owner [[Komajiro Tamura]],<ref>Worth, Richard. ''Baseball Team Names: A Worldwide Dictionary, 1869–2011'' (McFarland, 2013), p. 304.</ref> who also owned the [[Shochiku Robins|Pacific Baseball Club]] (formerly known as the Asahi Baseball Club). Gold Star consisted mostly of former Asahi players and was managed by Asahi's former manager [[Michinori Tubouchi]].{{cn|date=January 2023}} In Gold Star's inaugural season, they won 43 games and lost 60, finishing 22 games out of first place. One of the team's losses that season set the record for highest run differential in Japanese professional baseball history.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hochi.co.jp/baseball/npb/20160411-OHT1T50080.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412192305/http://www.hochi.co.jp/baseball/npb/20160411-OHT1T50080.html |archive-date=April 12, 2016 |title=【あの時・楽天屈辱からの日本一】（２）歴史的開幕２連戦の明暗 |language=Japanese |trans-title=Best in Japan from Rakuten disgrace at the time (2) The light and darkness of the historic 2-game season opening |accessdate=August 21, 2020 |work=[[Sports Hochi]] |date=April 11, 2016}}</ref>
In 1947 the team became the '''Kinsei Stars''' ("Kinsei" meaning ''made of gold'' in Japanese) and signed long-time [[Tokyo Kyojin]]/[[Yomiuri Giants]] pitcher [[Victor Starffin]], who came over from Tamura's other team, the [[Taiyo Robins]] (formerly Asahi). Starffin pitched for the franchise for six seasons, winning 80 games and losing 70.{{cn|date=January 2023}}
The team acquired [[Michio Nishizawa]] mid-season 1946, during the period he was transitioning from a once-dominant pitcher to a fearsome hitter. His two full seasons with the team were unremarkable, however, and he returned to his original team, the [[Chunichi Dragons]] in 1949, where he really hit his stride with the bat.
In 1948, the team hired [[Sadayoshi Fujimoto]] as manager; he stayed at the helm of the team until partway through their final season, 1956.
In 1949, after being bought by [[Masaichi Nagata]]/[[Daiei Film]], the team changed its name to the '''Daiei Stars''', with Nagata serving as team president. Outfielder [[Makoto Kozuru]] hit .361 for the Stars in 1949, leading the league in hitting and earning [[Best Nine Award]] honors.
=== Nippon Professional Baseball ===
In 1950 the Stars became charter members of the [[Pacific League]] when the JBL reorganized into [[Nippon Professional Baseball]] and split into the Pacific League and the [[Central League]]. Outfielder [[Shigeya Iijima]] was a league [[Best Nine Award]]-winner in 1950–1951. He led the Pacific League in batting in 1952, hitting .336, while his teammate [[Giichi Hayashi]] led the league in innings pitched, with 269-2⁄3.
=== Merger ===
In 1957, the Stars merged with the [[Takahashi Unions]] to form the '''Daiei Unions'''. The Unions existed for a single season, finishing last in the [[Pacific League]], at 41-89-2, 43-1/2 games out of first. Pitcher [[Masayoshi Miura]] led the Pacific League in losses, with 21.
In 1958, the Unions merged with the [[Chiba Lotte Marines#History|Mainichi Orions]] (founded in 1950) to form the '''[[Chiba Lotte Marines#History|Daimai Orions]]'''. This enabled the [[Pacific League]] to shrink from the ungainly seven-team arrangement caused by the 1957 merger to a more manageable six teams. The Orions, after a number of relocations and name changes, are now known as the [[Chiba Lotte Marines]].
==Managers==
* 1946–1947: [[Michinori Tubouchi]]
* 1948–1956: [[Sadayoshi Fujimoto]]
* 1956–1957: [[Kenjiro Matsuki]]
== Season-by-season records ==
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-"
! Year !! League !! Team name !! Games !! Wins !! Losses !! Ties !! Win/Loss Percentage !! Standings !! Games behind
|-
| 1946 || rowspan=4 | [[Japanese Baseball League|JBL]] || Gold Star || 105 || 43 || 60 || 2 || .417 || 6 || 22
|-
| 1947 || rowspan=2 | Kinsei Stars || 119 || 41 || 74 || 4 || .357 || 8 || 37.5
|-
| 1948 || 140 || 60 || 73 || 7 || .451 || 7 ||  25.5
|-
| 1949 || rowspan=8 | Daiei Stars || 134 || 67 || 65 || 2 || .508 || 3 || 17.5
|-
| 1950 || rowspan=8 | [[Nippon Professional Baseball|NPB]] || 120 || 62 || 54 || 4 || .534 || 3 || 19.5
|-
| 1951 || 101 || 41 || 52 || 8 || .441 || 4 || 29.5
|-
| 1952 || 121 || 55 || 65 || 1 || .458 || 4 ||  21
|-
| 1953 || 120 || 63 || 53 || 4 || .543 || 3 || 6.5
|-
| 1954 || 140 || 43 || 92 || 5 || .319 || 8 || 46
|-
| 1955 || 141 || 53 || 87 || 1 || .379 || 6 || 46
|-
| 1956 || 154 || 57 || 94 || 3 || .377 || 7 || 41
|-
| 1957 || Daiei Unions || 131 || 41 || 89 || 2 || .315 || 7 || 43.5
|-
| colspan = 3 | '''Overall record''' || 1527 || 626 || 858 || 43 || .424 || colspan = 2 | &nbsp;
|-
|}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Baseball teams in Tokyo]]
[[Category:Baseball teams established in 1946]]
[[Category:1946 establishments in Japan]]
[[Category:Defunct Nippon Professional Baseball teams]]
[[Category:1957 disestablishments in Japan]]
[[Category:Baseball teams disestablished in 1957]]