Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage & Assassination during the 1934 Tour of Japan

As the United States and Japan edged closer to war, politicians in both countries hoped to bring the two countries closer together through a shared love of baseball. Baseball stars Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, together with future secret agent Moe Berg, traveled to Japan on a goodwill mission. Espionage, intrigue and attempted murder ensued. Robert K. Fitts, author of Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage & Assassination during the 1934 Tour of Japan, discusses the doomed 1934 All American baseball tour, nationalism and baseball's place in American and Japanese cultural history.

Moderated by William W. Kelly, Professor of Anthropology & Sumitomo Professor of Japanese Studies, Yale University.