{{Short description|Canadian ice hockey player (1943–2023)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}} {{Infobox ice hockey player | name = Mel Wakabayashi | image = | caption = | alt = | birth_date = {{birth date|1943|4|23}} | birth_place = Slocan, British Columbia, Canada | death_date = {{Death date and age|2023|07|09|1943|4|23}} | death_place = Tokyo, Japan | height_ft = 5 | height_in = 6 | weight_lb = 165 | position = Centre | shoots = Right | team = | league = | played_for = {{Plain list| * Michigan Wolverines * Memphis Wings * Johnstown Jets * Seibu Tetsudo * Kokudo Keikaku }} | ntl_team = | draft = | draft_year = | draft_team = | career_start = 1967 | career_end = 1978 }}
'''Hitoshi''' "'''Mel'''" '''Wakabayashi''' (April 23, 1943 – July 9, 2023) was a Canadian-Japanese ice hockey player, a right-handed center, who played for the 1964 NCAA champion Michigan Wolverines hockey team. He was also named Player of the Year in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in 1966. He went on to play 11 seasons in the Japan Ice Hockey League and to coach the Japan men's national ice hockey team at international competitions, including the 1980 Winter Olympics. After his hockey career ended, Wakabayashi became the President of Seibu Canada. In 2001, Wakabayashi was selected by the WCHA as one of the Top 50 Players in 50-year history of the conference. He was also inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 2006.
==Early life== Mel Wakabayashi ({{langx|ja|若林 仁|translit=Wakabayashi Hitoshi}}{{fact|date=July 2023}}) was the son of Japanese-born parents who lived in Vancouver, British Columbia. During World War II, his parents were placed in a Japanese-Canadian internment camp at Slocan City, British Columbia, where Mel was born in 1943.<ref name=Mel/><ref name="IIHF - Obit" /> Along with thousands of other Japanese-Canadian families, the Wakabayashi family was moved to a second internment camp in Northern Ontario shortly after Mel was born.<ref name=Chatham>{{cite web|title=Mel Wakabayashi|publisher=Chatham Sports Hall of Fame|url=http://www.chathamsportshalloffame.com/Membership/bio/Mel%20Wakabayashi.htm|access-date=February 14, 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110708140909/http://www.chathamsportshalloffame.com/Membership/bio/Mel%20Wakabayashi.htm|archive-date=July 8, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> When Mel's brother Herb was born in December 1944, the family was living in the Neys, Ontario, internment camp on the northern shore of Lake Superior.<ref name=Chatham/><ref>{{cite web|title=SIHR Player List|publisher=Society for International Hockey Research|url=http://www.sihrhockey.org/public_player_list.cfm?1=1&league_filter=all&letter=w}}</ref> In 1950, the family moved to Chatham, Ontario, where Mel grew up with his seven siblings. He excelled in both hockey and baseball, playing junior hockey with the Chatham Maroons and baseball for the Ontario Baseball Association championship team.<ref name=Chatham/> As a youth, Wakabayashi was a teammate of Ferguson Jenkins on the 1956 Ontario champion Chatham Bantams baseball team.<ref name="ChathamDailyNews-Obit" />
==Hockey career==
=== Junior Hockey === Mel was a star player for the Chatham Maroons. In 1961-62 he scored 33 goals and 33 assists to lead the league in scoring. During the 1962-63 season, he led the league with 64 goals and 102 points over 28 games, despite not playing the entire season, leaving the team in January 1963 to enroll at the University of Michigan. === Collegiate === University of Michigan hockey coach Al Renfrew visited Chatham to watch Wakabayashi play, and invited him to play hockey for the Wolverines. In January 1963, Wakabayashi enrolled at Michigan, but due to the freshman eligibility rule, Wakabayashi had to wait until January 1964 to play for the hockey team. Wakabayashi made an immediate impact, scoring 21 goals and 17 assists in 1964.<ref name="Chatham" /> He helped the Wolverines win the 1964 NCAA championship and scored two goals in the championship game against the University of Denver.<ref>{{cite news|title=Wolverines Win Hockey Championship|publisher=Independent Record (AP wire story)|date=March 22, 1964}}</ref> As a junior in 1965, he was the leading scorer for Michigan and in the WCHA. He was awarded the Hall Downes Award as the team's Most Valuable Player and was named a first-team All-American.<ref name="Chatham" /> As a senior in 1966, he was the leading scorer in the WCHA and was named the league's Player of the Year.<ref name="Chatham" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Western Collegiate Hockey Association – WCHA Awards|publisher=Rauzulu's Street|url= http://www.rauzulusstreet.com/hockey/college/wchaawards.htm}}</ref> Because he enrolled in January 1963, he had eligibility for the first semester of 1966-67, where he scored 37 points in the 11 games before his eligibility expired.
Wakabayashi was known for his ability to avoid penalties. In three years of collegiate hockey, he received only one penalty, a tripping call in his sophomore season. He later recalled, "Since I started playing hockey in pee wees, my coaches really banged it into my head that I was supposed to score the goals, not try to knock the big guys around and end up getting hurt or getting a penalty. I remember very clearly the feeling of sitting in that penalty box-and how much I realized I didn't like sitting in that box!"<ref name="Mel" />
In a 2002 profile, writer John U. Bacon wrote that Wakabayashi "is perhaps the most unlikely star in the long history of Michigan sports, and surely one of the most inspirational."<ref name="Mel">{{cite news|author=John U. Bacon|title=Unassuming, Skillful, Swift, Smart, Gentlemanly: They All Add Up To: Little Mel|publisher=Michigan Today|date=Summer 2002|url=http://www.umich.edu/~newsinfo/MT/02/Sum02/mt8j02.html|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515080948/http://www.umich.edu/%7Enewsinfo/MT/02/Sum02/mt8j02.html|archivedate=May 15, 2008}}</ref> Former teammate Dean Lucier said, "The college game was made for him. He's the best player I've ever stepped on the ice with, for or against, and that includes Tony Esposito and Keith Magnuson."<ref name="Mel" />
Wakabayashi also played baseball at the University of Michigan and was named to the All-Big Ten Conference team as a second baseman.<ref name="ChathamDailyNews-Obit" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Malone |first=Mark |date=July 13, 2023 |title=Hockey Star Who Blazed Trail From Internment-Camp Birth to Olympics Dies at 80 |url=https://lfpress.com/sports/local-sports/hockey-star-who-blazed-trail-from-internment-camp-birth-to-olympics-dies-at-80 |access-date=July 15, 2023 |website=The London Free Press}}</ref>
=== Professional and coaching === In January 1967, Wakabayashi signed with the Detroit Red Wings and was assigned to play with the Red Wings' farm club in Memphis, Tennessee.<ref>{{cite news|title=College Hockey Star Signs With Detroit|publisher=Cumberland Evening Times|date=January 4, 1967}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Wakabayashi Turns Pro With Wings|publisher=The Times Record (Troy, NY)|date=January 5, 1967}}</ref> He played in 1967 for the Memphis Wings and the Johnstown Jets. However, as one columnist later observed, "5–6, 150 pound Japanese forwards were not in great demand in the National Hockey League."<ref name="Vincent">{{cite news|author=Charlie Vincent|title=Japanese struggling in hockey|publisher=Chronicle Telegram (Knight Ridder story)|date=February 24, 1980}}</ref>
In 1968, Wakabayashi began to play in the Japan Ice Hockey League, mostly for the Kokudo Bunnies. He won the MVP award and helped the Seibu Tetsudo team remain unbeaten in the 1971–72 season.<ref name="Sponichi" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Japan League Official Results. The 6th Season, Oct.08.1971-Oct.24 |url=http://jihf.or.jp/jihl/result/re06-e.htm |website=jihf.or.jp |publisher=Japan Ice Hockey League |access-date=July 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051217203902/http://jihf.or.jp/jihl/result/re06-e.htm |archive-date=December 17, 2005 |format=by the Wayback Machine}}</ref> For 11 years, he was regularly among the league's leading scorers, including seven consecutive seasons without a penalty.<ref name="Bacon">{{cite book |last1=Bacon |first1=John U. |author1-link=John U. Bacon |title=Blue Ice: The Story of Michigan Hockey |date=2001 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0-472-06781-7 |page=172 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbFdhcX3mqwC&dq=Wakabayashi+seven+consecutive+seasons+without+a+penalty&pg=PA172 |language=en}}</ref> While still playing, Wakabayashi also became the team's head coach in 1978. Wakabayashi also coached the Japan men's national ice hockey team at several international events, including the 1980 Winter Olympics.<ref name="Chatham" /><ref>{{cite news|author=John Endo Greenaway|title=It's How You Play the Game|publisher=The Bulletin: A Journal of Japanese Canadian Community, History & Culture|date=April 1980|url=http://jccabulletin-geppo.ca/asides/111/|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706183437/http://jccabulletin-geppo.ca/asides/111/|archivedate=July 6, 2011}}</ref> He continued to coach in the Japanese Hockey League until 1994.<ref name="Chatham" /> He has also served as vice president of the Japan Ice Hockey Federation.<ref name="Sponichi" /><ref name="Mainichi Shimbun 20230713" />
== Corporate career == Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, who owned the Kokudo Bunnies, also owned the Seibu department store chain, the Seibu railroads, and was Japan's largest landowner. After Wakabayashi's hockey career ended, Tsutsumi hired him as President of Seibu Canada, which owned the Westin Prince Hotel in Toronto.<ref name="Chatham" /> In a 2002 interview, Wakabayashi credited his experience from the University of Michigan as the key to his success: "If not for Al Renfrew and the Michigan hockey team, I would probably be working with my dad in the factory in Chatham. I don't even want to think about that one."<ref name="Mel" />
==Personal life and death== Wakabayashi and his brother Herb moved to Japan in 1972.<ref>[https://goterriers.com/sports/2016/6/13/hallfame-wakabayashi-herb-html.aspx#:~:text=In%201972%20Herb%20and%20his,a%20semi%2Dpro%20hockey%20team. Hall of Fame]</ref> Wakabayashi later became a citizen of Japan,<ref name="Sponichi" /> living in Tokyo in his later years.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Douglas |first1=William |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/hitoshi-wakabayashi-still-inspiring-players-of-japanese-descent/c-334314762 |title=Color of Hockey: Wakabayashi still inspiring players of Japanese descent |website=NHL.com |date=May 22, 2022}}</ref> He died on July 9, 2023, aged 80, at a Tokyo hospital.<ref name="Sponichi">{{cite news |title=元日本代表監督の若林仁さん死去 80歳 日本アイスホッケーのレベル向上に貢献 |url=https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2023/07/12/articles/20230712s00035000375000c.html |access-date=April 24, 2026 |newspaper=Sports Nippon |date=July 12, 2023}}</ref><ref name="IIHF - Obit">{{cite web |last1=Podnieks |first1=Andrew |title=Hitoshi "Mel" Wakabayashi, 80 |url=https://www.iihf.com/en/news/49142/hitoshi_mel%E2%80%9D_wakabayashi_80 |website=IIHF |publisher=International Ice Hockey Federation |access-date=July 14, 2023 |language=en |date=July 14, 2023}}</ref><ref name="ChathamDailyNews-Obit">{{cite news |last1=Malone |first1=Mark |title=Trailblazing Chatham hockey star Mel Wakabayashi dies at 80 |url=https://www.chathamdailynews.ca/sports/local-sports/legendary-chatham-hockey-player-mel-wakabayashi-dies-at-age-80 |access-date=July 14, 2023 |newspaper=Chatham Daily News |publisher=Postmedia |date=July 13, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Mainichi Shimbun 20230713">{{cite news |url=https://mainichi.jp/articles/20230713/spp/000/004/002000c |title=元日本代表監督の若林仁さん死去 80歳 アイスホッケー日本L草創期に活躍（スポニチ）|work=Mainichi Shimbun |date=July 13, 2023 |language=ja}}</ref>
==Awards and honors== In 2001, Wakabayashi was one of three University of Michigan hockey players (along with Red Berenson and John Matchefts) selected by the WCHA as the Top 50 Players in 50-year history of the conference.<ref name="WCHA Top50">{{cite web |title=Wakabayashi Named One of WCHA's Top 50 Players |url=https://mgoblue.com/news/2002/2/15/wakabayashi_named_one_of_wcha_s_top_50_players.aspx |website=University of Michigan Athletics |access-date=July 15, 2023 |language=en |date=February 15, 2002}}</ref> He was inducted into the Chatham Sports Hall of Fame in 2004<ref>{{cite web|author=John Gardiner|title=Chatham Sports Hall of Fame honours local sports heroes|publisher=Chatham-Kent Times|date=September 20, 2005|url=http://www.cktimes.ca/print_article_photos.php?story=5099}}</ref> and the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 2006.<ref name=MClub>{{cite web|title=Hall of Honor|publisher=M Club |url= http://www.letterwinnersmclub.com/hallofhonor.html|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027023751/http://www.letterwinnersmclub.com/hallofhonor.html |archivedate=October 27, 2007}}</ref> On July 8, 2023, one day before his death, the Japan Ice Hockey League bestowed upon him a special achievement award on the league's 50th anniversary.<ref name="Sponichi" />
===Other honors=== {| class="wikitable" ! Award ! Year ! Reference |- | NCAA All-Tournament Second Team | 1964 | <ref name = ncaa>{{cite news|title=NCAA Frozen Four Records|url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/frozen_4/2009/f4recs.pdf|publisher=NCAA.org|accessdate=June 19, 2013}}</ref> |- | AHCA West All-American | 1964–65 | <ref>{{cite web |title=1965 All-American Teams |url=https://ahcahockey.com/allamer/1965.php |website=American Hockey Coaches Association |access-date=July 15, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> |- | All-WCHA First Team | 1964–65 | <ref name="All-WCHA Teams">{{cite web |title=All-WCHA (Western Collegiate Hockey Association) Teams. |url=https://sports-chronicles.com/wchah/pages/all-wcha |website=sports-chronicles.com |publisher=College Hockey Historical Archives. |access-date=July 15, 2023}}</ref> |- | WCHA Scoring Champion | 1964–65 | <ref name="WCHA MajorAwardWinners" /> |- | All-WCHA Second Team | 1965–66 | <ref name="All-WCHA Teams" /> |- | WCHA Player of the Year | 1965–66 | <ref name="WCHA MajorAwardWinners">{{cite web |title=WCHA Major Award Winners – 1951–2014 |url=http://www.wcha.com/men/wcha/awards.php |website=WCHA.com |access-date=July 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402235211/http://www.wcha.com/men/wcha/awards.php |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |format=by the Wayback Machine}}</ref> |- |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/5000577 Mel Wakabayashi] at Olympedia
{{S-start}} {{S-ach}} {{Succession box | before = Gerry Kell | title=WCHA Most Valuable Player | years = 1965–66 | after=Keith Christiansen}} {{S-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wakabayashi, Mel}} Category:1943 births Category:2023 deaths Category:AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Category:Canadian emigrants to Japan Category:Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Category:Canadian ice hockey centres Category:Canadian ice hockey coaches Category:Canadian sportspeople of Japanese descent Category:Ice hockey people from British Columbia Category:Ice hockey people from Ontario Category:Japanese-Canadian internees Category:Johnstown Jets players Category:Seibu Prince Rabbits players Category:Memphis Wings players Category:Michigan Wolverines baseball players Category:Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey players Category:NCAA men's ice hockey national champions Category:People from the Regional District of Central Kootenay Category:Naturalized citizens of Japan Category:Ice hockey people from Tokyo Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen