Yakult Swallows 1978 Championship gift to Peter O’Malley

This gold plated baseball with a tripod of silver bats is to commemorate the 1978 Japan Series title won by the Yakult Swallows and presented to Peter O’Malley. The championship was the first in the Swallows’ history after entering the Japan Central League in 1950. The Japan Series Champions Swallows were managed by Japan Baseball Hall of Fame player Tatsuro Hirooka, a former member of the 1961 Tokyo Yomiuri Giants. The 1961 team was the first Japan professional club to have Spring Training with a major league team, the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida.