High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Wallace Kaname Yonamine ( , born June 24, 1925), also known as Wally Yonamine, is a former multi-sport American athlete who played in the National Football League (NFL) 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). A two-sport star, he played running back on the San Francisco 49ers in their second season (1947), becoming the first football player of Japanese ancestry to play in the NFL. In baseball, he 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.