TOKYO — Japanese baseball great Sadaharu Oh will soon have his own museum.
The Sadaharu Oh Baseball Museum will open July 3 in the outfield concourse at Fukuoka Yahoo Dome, where Oh spent 15 years as manager of the Softbank Hawks.
“I hope it’s a museum where people, especially young people, will be inspired,” he said Wednesday.

The museum will feature interactive exhibits like batting machines and will show footage of Oh’s 756th home run in 1977 that surpassed Hank Aaron’s then major league record of 755.
“Sadaharu Oh is a treasure of the international baseball world and we wanted to build a museum that would capture the spirit of his illustrious career,” Softbank owner Masayoshi Son said.
When Oh surpassed Aaron’s career home run record in 1977, it was one of the biggest news stories in Japan that year. The 69-year-old Oh retired as a manager in 2008 after being diagnosed with stomach cancer.
Oh hit a record 868 home runs over 22 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants, helping his team win nine straight Japan Series championships between 1965-73. Oh also holds the Japanese single-season home run record of 55, which has been equaled by Tuffy Rhodes and Alex Cabrera.
As a manager, Oh led Japan to the title at the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006. He also guided the Hawks to the Japan Series title in 1999 and 2003, and served as Yomiuri Giants manager for five years from 1984.