Before Fishing, The Izumi’s Were A Baseball Family

The name Izumi is synonymous with fishing, but it wasn’t always this way. In fact, at one point in history, when people discussed the Izumi family’s sport involvement, it likely had to do with baseball.

Satoshi (Joe) Izumi was born on Vancouver Island near Chemainus on the shores of Cowichan Bay. Fishing was indeed his love, but after stepping ashore, Joe and his brothers – Kaname (Harry), Mitsuo (Roy), and Haruo (Herbie) – would put on their uniforms and gloves, and step onto the baseball diamond.

Harry and Joe were the oldest, and first to join the Chemainus Nippons in 1935. The Nippons were an all-Japanese Canadian team playing in various Vancouver Island leagues. Like almost all Japanese Canadians in the era, they’d watched the Vancouver Asahi team, who are members of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, and fell in love with the game.

Soon after, Mits (Roy) joined the…