SISTER CITY CULTURAL BASEBALL EXCHANGE (1987-2009)

The Sister City Cultural Baseball Exchange between Tacoma, Wash., and Kitakyushu, Japan, came to fruition when Takeshi Ikeda and Hiroshi Yaskawa came to a mutual agreement to form the exchange in 1987. Since then over 800 Young Ambassadors have enriched their lives with the opportunity to play international baseball and gain a greater cultural understanding of each other.

The Sister City mission statement of "promoting peace through mutual respect, understanding, one individual, one community at a time," clearly states the goal of the exchange program. Since its formation, Takeshi Ikeda, Tony Anderson and Joe Kosai have all served to promote the exchange and its cultural benefits.

Tak, as he was known to his friends, believed that through sports we could improve our understanding between the Japanese and American cultures. Born in 1923 in Japan before sailing to America with his mother one year later, Tak became a naturalized citizen in 1953 and devoted much of his life to promoting Japanese/American relations. He served as co-chairman of the Sister City program for 20 years until his death in 2008.

Tony Anderson has served with the baseball exchange since 1991, working as the chairperson since 1994. Born in 1957, Anderson wrestled, played football and excelled at baseball at White River High School. Taki Ikeda asked Anderson to participate in the program in 1991, and Tony has not looked back since.

Joe Kosai was born in Tacoma in 1934 before his family was evacuated to internment camps in California and Idaho. Kosai and his family eventually settled in Ontario, Ore., where he graduated from high school in 1952. In 1988, Kosai took the first high school baseball team to Kitakyushu as a group leader to begin the program that still continues today. In honor of his dedication to the exchange, Kosai received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosettes award from the Japanese government in 2005.

Over the years many individuals have left their imprint on the Sister City baseball games including Bob Maguinez, Harry Taniguchi, umpire Rob Ruth, trainer David Grisaffi, and coaches Tom Shearer, Roy Young, Joe Keller, Bob Maguinez, Dave Tate, Bob Lightfoot, Shawn McDougall, Phil Misley, Marc Wiese, George Bender, Rick Barnhart, Mike Moeller, D.J. Ostrander, Brian Viafore, and Pete Jansen. Other key volunteers include Jerry Plancich, George Nordi, Scott Nordi, Dan Gurash, and Dan Murphy.

Today, the Sister City Cultural Baseball Exchange continues to offer young athletes the opportunity to broaden their minds and discover firsthand how similar people are all over the world, all while allowing them to experience international baseball. And, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Sister City program with Kitakyushu, a 22-member delegation will travel to Japan in August to hear the cry of, "Play Ball", one final time.