About Yutaka Fukumoto
Yutaka Fukumoto (福本 豊, Fukumoto Yutaka; born November 7, 1947 in Osaka, Osaka) is a retired Japanese professional baseball player in Nippon Professional Baseball. An aggressive lead-off man and superior defensive centerfielder, he holds the Japanese career records in triples and stolen bases. He also hit more lead-off home runs than anyone in Japanese history, with 43. In 2002 (Heisei 14), Fukumoto was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. == Playing career == After a brief career at the company team of Matsushita, he was drafted seventh overall by the Hankyu Braves (currently the Orix Buffaloes) in 1968. In his second season, he stole 75 bases, setting the Japanese single-season record. In 1972 (Shōwa 47), he stole 106 bases, setting the all-world single-season modern-era record, which stood until it was broken by Rickey Henderson. He also led the Braves to the Japanese championship. Fukumoto was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) and became the first Japanese MVP who had also led the league in steals. In 1983, he stole his 939th career base, passing Lou Brock and setting the all-world career steals mark (later passed by Rickey Henderson in 1993).
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.