Taichung's Sinon Bulls win the
championship in 2004.
(Photographer Chen
MingZheng)

Baseball uniforms and bats
from the Dodgers.

Displays in the exhibition hall

Twelve uniform sets from the
Japanese Professional
Baseball League.

Treasure hunting at the Sinon Bulls Baseball Artifacts Exhibition Hall

Words and photos by Taichung City Government
Translated by Sho Huang

From its beginnings in a tiny, five-ping (16.5-square-meter) space, the Sinon Bulls Baseball Artifacts Exhibition Hall has grown into a spacious, hundred-ping facility within the past five years as its number of precious baseball artifacts from Taiwan, America and Japan has continued to increase each year. All this has been made possible due to Sinon Bulls Baseball Team President Yang Tian-fa's generosity, which extends to offering free admission for all visitors, in the hope of helping baseball fans learn more about the origins of the sport.

Sharing a precious collection
The exhibition hall is located at No. 23, MeiChuan West Road, Section 1, on the first floor of the Sinon Corporation headquarters. Here the exhibits include information on all the teams and players since the founding of Chinese Professional Baseball League. In addition, almost a thousand baseball items collected from the U.S. Major League Baseball and Japanese Professional Baseball League can be admired here.

Sixteen years ago, Yang spent NT$520 million to buy the Jungo Bears Professional Baseball Team, which was then renamed the Sinon Bulls. This price set a new record in local professional baseball history. At that time, Yang was 74 and knew nothing about baseball. Yet, in keeping with his strong belief that one should "act like the one you choose to be" he studied baseball day and night, gradually learning the ins and outs of this sport. He also ended up leading the Bulls to a Chinese Professional Baseball League championship two years in a row.

As he was starting from scratch and learning how to run his team, the owner developed a great relationship with Major League Baseball Los Angeles Dodgers team. Every year, the Dodgers sent him its baseball uniforms, bats and other souvenirs which, in Mr. Yang's opinion, needed to be shared with the supportive fans. Consequently, he established Sinon Bulls Baseball Artifacts Exhibition Hall five years ago.

A rich local, international collection
The exhibition area is separated into various sections: "Yang Tian-fa's Personal Collection", "Chinese and Taiwanese Professional Baseball League Artifacts", the "Baseball Celebrity Collection", "Taiwan Baseball Artifacts" and "Sinon Bulls Baseball History". Yang's personal collection includes a few valuable famous paintings, teapots and books. All of the baseball items exhibited here, such as the uniforms, are related to the professional baseball teams in Taiwan, including the Mercury Tigers, Weichuan Dragons, Jungo Bears, Uni Lions, Chinatrust Whales, Brother Elephants and La New Bears. In addition, four Taiwanese professional teams' jackets and uniforms, tickets sold during the first year of Taiwan professional baseball games, and players' ID cards, ATM cards and credit cards are also displayed here.

The "Baseball Celebrity Collection" exhibits 12 uniform sets from Japan's two Pacific (Pa) and Central (Ce) professional leagues. Renowned Taiwanese pitcher Kuo Tai-yuan once played for the Japan Pa League's renowned Seibu Lions and his Pa League gloves, shoes, autographed baseballs and pants are all on display. Famous Taiwanese pitcher Kuo Yuen-chih's uniforms and shoes, worn while playing against Japan, as well as signed baseballs, mitts and shoes worn while playing for the Dodgers are another part of this collection, as are Hsu Sheng-ming's "Best Coach" Trophy, uniform and autographed balls, Chen Jin-feng's autographed uniform, Lin Chung-chiu's 1988 Olympics uniform, and autographed balls from celebrity players Chen Yung-chi, Hu Chin-lung, Chen Da-feng, Lin Wei-chu, Chiang Chien-min and Tsao Chin-hui.

One interesting twist is the fact that prior to local player Chen Wei-yin's leaving to play in the Japanese leagues he sent his autographed uniform to the exhibition hall. Since then, his career has taken off. Then, after Hsu Min-chieh did the exact same thing before heading to Japan, he enjoyed the same success.

Historic records live on
The early history of baseball in Taiwan can be learned In the "Taiwan Baseball Artifacts" section. Famous coach Luo Sung-yung's grandfather, Luo Bao-nung, represented Jianong and played in Japan. His photos and baseball bat (more than 90 years old now) are displayed here. Hsu Sheng-ming coached the outstanding Taiwanese team which won the Little League Baseball world championshp in Williamsport, Pennsylvania in 1970. Some photos of those games, along with others taken during the development period for Taiwanese baseball, are exhibited here. The "Sinon Bulls Baseball History" section documents important events, such as Huang Chung-yi and Chang Tai-shan's great performances and the Sinon Bulls' first Asian Professional Baseball Game.

All of these displays are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. For the past five years, the exhibition hall has gained such a great reputation that a growing number of baseball fans now bring in their precious personal collections to share with others. As a result, the number of display items is growing, making it necessary to renovate and expand the space to accommodate this ever-growing collection.

● Open hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday to Friday. Visiting special groups can book ahead.
● TEL: (04) 2375-3371 (Ms. Cai)
● Address: 23, MeiChuan W. Rd., Sec. 1, Taichung, 1F