Masaru Kageura

Masaru Kageura
景浦將
Masaru Kageura; 景浦將
Hanshin Tigers
	Outfielder, Infielder, Pitcher
	Born: July 20, 1915; Matsuyama, Japan
	Died: May 20, 1945 (aged 29); Luzon, Philippines
	Batted: Right Threw: Right
JBL debut
	1936, for the Osaka Tigers
Last JBL appearance
	1943, for the Hanshin Tigers
Career hitting statistics
Batting average	.271
Hits	307
Home runs	25
Runs batted in	222
Career pitching statistics
Win–loss record	27-9
ERA	1.57
Strikeouts	134
Teams
	As player Hanshin/Osaka Tigers (1936–1938, 1943);
Career highlights and awards
	E.R.A. title (1936);
Member of the Japanese
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1965

Masaru Kageura (景浦將, Kageura Masaru, July 20, 1915 – May 20, 1945) was a Japanese baseball player from Matsuyama, Ehime. An accomplished two-way player, Kaguera is one of two players (Eiji Sawamura being the other) who was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame after being killed in World War II.

Kageura's team reached the finals in the 1932 National High School Baseball Championship, but his team was defeated by Masao Yoshida in the championship game.

After getting his degree at Rikkyo University,^[1] Kageura joined the Tigers of the nascent Japanese Baseball League (JBL) and he was a good rival for Eiji Sawamura of the Giants. Kageura won the 1936 JBL ERA title with a 0.79 mark. He did not play in the JBL from 1939 to 1942, returning to the Tigers for the 1943 season (although he did not pitch that season).

Kageura was killed in the Battle of Luzon, in the Philippines, in World War II. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame by the Special Committee in 1965.