[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24243]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING SATOSHI HIRAYAMA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 19, 2008

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today, along with Congressman 
Nunes, to congratulate Satoshi ``Fibber'' Hirayama upon the opening and 
dedication of the newest gymnasium in Clovis Unified School District. 
Mr. Hirayama will be honored at a dedication ceremony on Thursday, 
October 16, 2008 at Gateway High School.
  Mr. Hirayama was raised in the Central San Joaquin Valley on a farm. 
At the age of twelve he began to play competitive sports, mostly 
football and baseball. These skills were developed even further when 
his family, along with thousands of other Japanese-Americans, was 
relocated to an Internment Camp in Arizona during World War II. While 
in the camp an organized baseball league began with 32 teams. The 
competitive nature of the games is where his baseball skills became 
refined.
  When the war ended, Mr. Hirayama and his family returned to the San 
Joaquin Valley. He completed high school and received a scholarship to 
play baseball at Fresno State College. While at Fresno State he 
lettered in football and baseball. He lead the baseball team with 
seventy-six stolen bases in a season and five stolen bases in one game, 
this record stood for over forty years. After college he was picked up 
by the Stockton Ports in the Pacific Coast League, a farm team for the 
St. Louis Browns. Mr. Hirayama was the first Japanese-American from 
Fresno to play professional baseball. After one year in the league he 
was called to serve for the U.S. military. From 1953 to 1955, Mr. 
Hirayama served as a soldier at Fort Ord and continued to play baseball 
with fellow soldiers on base.
  Upon being discharged from the military he signed with the Hiroshima 
Carp in the Japanese Baseball League. He and a fellow teammate, Kenshi 
Zenimura, were incredibly popular; over 100,000 fans showed up at the 
Hiroshima train station to greet the players upon their arrival to 
Japan. Mr. Hirayama became a two-time All Star and competed in the 
Japanese-Major League Baseball All Star games against legends, such as 
Mickey Mantel, Whitey Ford, Casey Stengel and Stan Musial.
  After playing in the league for 10 years, he returned to California 
and in 1965 was hired as a teacher for Clovis continuation. He became 
vice principal at the continuation school for two periods per day and 
also taught 5 periods of math at Clovis High School per day. In 1970 he 
was promoted to principal of the continuation school and in 1972 became 
the first principal of the new continuation school, Gateway High. After 
holding that position for five years, he served as the Administrator of 
Personnel for Clovis Unified School District. He remained in that 
position for 13 years, until he retired from the district in 1990.
  Today, Mr. Hirayama continues to work in the baseball world. He 
currently scouts for the Carps in Japan and the Dominican Republic. He 
is a true pioneer for the sport of baseball and an incredible example 
of competiveness and determination.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and congratulate Satoshi 
``Fibber'' Hirayama upon the dedication of the new gymnasium in his 
name. I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing Mr. Hirayama many 
years of continued success.

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