Roberto Barbon(1933-2023)

Roberto Barbon was born on March 13, 1933 in Matanzas, Cuba. After a successful stint playing baseball in Canada in the early 1950s he then moved to Japan. There he signed with the Hankyu Braves to become the first Latin American star in Nippon Pro Baseball known to fans as "Chico" or Chico Barbon. Roberto stayed in Japan after his playing career ended, marrying a local woman and becoming an interpreter for Hankyu. He is said to be the longest continuously serving figure in Japanese baseball. In the 1960s he also briefly experimented with acting in films.