The Forgotten Athletes of the American Forces Far East: A Resource and Record of U.S. Military Service Sports from Mid-1950s Korea and Japan

Note: This book contains ZERO AI content, formatting, or influence. It is pure author production.

There is an enormous amount of written material pertaining to the Korean War years, but relatively little has been written about the post-Armistice period, specifically regarding U.S. Military Service Sports/Recreation programs from the mid-1950s in the Far East, Japan and Korea. This book attempts to fill that gap.

This is primarily the story of American Forces Far East full-contact American-style football in post-Armistice Korea; however, basketball, baseball, and mention of other major (and some minor) recreation sports are included due to the robust nature of those leagues as well as the availability of historical information.

The Far East Service Sports level of play was often very high, and was in some cases at a semi-professional level, or at least a semi-major collegiate level. Team rosters frequently included future and past college sports stars; it was also not uncommon to have future and past professional athletes on team rosters, and it was not unusual for Far East championship and Service All-Star football games played in Japan to sometimes attract tens of thousands of fans.

Far East Service Sports leagues mimicked major-college-level sports in many ways, including by organization, talent, rosters, coaching, and by regular skills clinics given by visiting United States major-college coaches and officials, such as Paul “Bear” Bryant and James Cain. These aspects are documented through published news stories, archived declassified military memos, personal documentation, and more.

This exhaustively researched resource and record highlights a very robust period of time for Far East Service Sports in Japan and Korea. You will recognize some names and learn others. You will discover surprising connections between players of that era and players of more recent times. But most of all, you will honor heroes of the past by helping to bring attention to their accomplishments and service. Thank you, veterans, for your service!