Before Cal Ripken Jr. was considered the ‘Iron Man,’ baseball’s consecutive game streak belonged to a man who played outside the borders of the United States. Playing in 2,215 straight games from 1971-87, Sachio Kinugasa exemplified the combination of longevity and and durability for Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Kinugasa passed away on April 23, 2018, at the age of 71 after battling colon cancer. Born on January 18, 1947, to an African-American father who was stationed in Japan following World War II and a Japanese mother, Kinugasa was raised by his mother in Japan.

He grew up idolizing San Francisco Giants’ outfielder, Willie Mays and after playing high school baseball in Kyoto, he signed as a catcher with the Hiroshima Carp in 1965. He played with the club beginning that year but did not see action as an everyday player until 1968. Due to multiple arm injuries, Kinugasa converted to the corner infield, spending most of his time playing at first base.

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Kinugasa made a name for himself after finding playing time, even when he was dealing with injuries. He played through fractured bones and eventually earned the nickname Tetsujin after the Japanese animation “Tetsujin 28.” While ‘Tetsujin’ means Iron Man in Japanese, this Japanese animation was known as ‘Gigantor’ in the United States.

Living up to the nickname, Kinugasa played in every Hiroshima Carp game between 1971-87 and held the world record for consecutive games played in professional baseball until Cal Ripken Jr. broke his record with the Baltimore Orioles in 1996.

Kinugasa was in attendance in Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., in June 1996 to witness Ripken break his record. Ripken would go on to play in 2,632 consecutive games, which remains the world record in professional baseball. Ripken and Kinugasa would also remain close friends as Kinugasa would make appearances at Ripken’s youth clinics.

Along with his durability, Kinugasa, like Ripken, was a model of consistency on the baseball diamond. He hit at least 15 home runs every full season that he played. He finished his 23 season career with a .270/.345/.476 slash line with 504 home runs and 1448 RBI. He became only the second baseball player to be awarded the People’s Honour Award in 1987, the first being Sadaharu Oh. Kinugasa was also inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.