Wally Yonamine, American baseball (Yomiuri Giants, Chunichi Dragons) and football player (San Francisco 49ers), died from prostate cancer he was , 85.

Wallace Kaname Yonamine , also known as Wally Yonamine, was a former multi-sport American athlete who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.

Yonamine, a Nisei Japanese American, was born in Hawaii to parents Matsusai (September 1, 1890–July 31, 1988) and Kikue (February 14, 1901–February 26, 1999)  died from prostate cancer he was , 85..

(June 24, 1925 – February 28, 2011)

A two-sport star, he played running back on the San Francisco 49ers in their second season (1947), becoming the first football player of Asian ancestry to play professional football.^[1] In his one season with the team, he had 19 carries for 74 yards and caught 3 passes for 40 yards. His football career ended during the off-season, when he broke his wrist playing in an amateur baseball league in Hawaii.^[1]
In baseball, Yonamine was the first American to play professional baseball in Japan after World War II. A multi-skilled outfielder, Yonamine was also noted for his flexible batting style and aggressive baserunning during his career with the Yomiuri Giants and Chunichi Dragons.
In Japan, Yonamine was a member of four Japan Series Championship teams, the Central League MVP in 1957, a consecutive seven-time Best Nine Award winner (1952–58), an eleven-time All-Star, a three-time batting champion, and the first foreigner to be a manager (Dragons, 1972–77).
Wally Kaname Yonamine was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994 for his achievements during his 12-year career with the Giants and Dragons.^[1] He is the only American yet admitted into the Hall as a player.
Wally Yonamine operated a highly successful pearl store—Wally Yonamine Pearls—in Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan, with his wife Jane. They also had a branch of their store in California run by their children.
In 2008, Wally Kaname Yonamine joined Master League team Nagoya 80 D'sers as a coach/part time player.[1]
After an extended battle with prostate cancer, Yonamine died on February 28, 2011 in Honolulu.^[2] He was 85.

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