For the longest time, I’ve wondered why, with what seems to be a 100% compliance rate, Japanese baseball players all have a shaved head (well, at least the young ones). So I did a bit of research and found this article (in Japanese). It turns out it’s a remnant from the war, that just didn’t stop once the war was over.

During the war, with all metal and other resources needed to be used for the war effort, baseball started to get a bad wrap. Until a professor at Waseda University by the name of Tobita Suishu managed to convince the right people that baseball was good for the war effort.

By practicing baseball, such as hitting the bat 1000 times, or doing running drills, and in the case of Japan, having a shaved head, students could learn discipline and perseverance, traits that would serve them well in the war.

Once the war ended, these traditions continued, even though Tobita really only wanted to keep the game alive. And it’s a tradition that, rightly or wrongly (very stupidly in my opinion) continues to this day.