Shigeo Nagashima - Trivia

Trivia

There are numerous stories concerning Nagashima's forgetfulness. It is unclear whether Nagashima purposely exhibits this kind of behavior for comic effect, or whether the strange remarks are really part of his personality.

• When asked what his major was at Rikkyo University, he answered that he was a baseball major.
• He snuck out from his college dorm to try to sign with the Chunichi Dragons, but was told to come back after graduating.
• Nagashima was given a customized entrance and graduation test from his university, since he would have failed the standard tests taken by other students. He still got several questions wrong on his test, including pronouncing the English word "The" as "Tehe".
• When checking into hotels, he often wrote that his job was "Shigeo Nagashima" instead of "Professional baseball player".
• He forgot the name of the bank that his contract money had been deposited into.
• When trying to return home after a game, Nagashima forgot the location of his house, and had to call his house's maid to ask how to return home. His wife ended up having to take him home from the stadium.
• On May 5, 1973, Nagashima forgot that he had taken his son, Kazushige, to the game with him, and returned home by himself, leaving Kazushige alone at the stadium. Kazushige was safe, having been found by the umpires. May 5 is Kodomo no hi (Children's day) in Japan.
• When appearing as a commentator for a baseball game, he remarked "Hmm, I think the team that scores more runs will win this game."
• He appeared on the cover of the very first issue of legendary manga magazine, Shonen Sunday, in 1959.

In 1993, Nagashima appeared on "Hateshinai Yume wo (果てしない夢を)," a collaborative single featuring Japanese artist Rev and bands Zygg, Zard, and Wands. This was his only musical recording, and his vocals were used in a live performance of the song and appeared on the 2011 What a Beautiful Memory: Forever You DVD.