"The event was the brainchild of an ambitious Los Angeles-based lettuce farmer, Frank Takahashi. Takahashi footed the bill to stage a cross-Pacific showdown between the two teams, hoping one day to own a Tokyo-based franchise - a cost of several hundred thousand dollars at the time, equivalent to millions today. "If we have a sellout," he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1976, "I will break even.""
"Dubbed the Mainichi Star Bowl after its sponsor, the Mainichi Daily News, the game was described as a "lackluster affair yet delighted the Japanese," as about 38,000 fans filled Korakuen Stadium for a 20-10 Cardinals victory, according to United Press International. Fouts, 25 at the time and trying to cement himself as the Chargers' starting quarterback, described the trip as more of a blur. He recalled a mix of bewilderment, curiosity and discomfort."
The Chargers and St. Louis Cardinals played a preseason NFL game in Tokyo on Aug. 16, 1976, marking the league's first contest outside North America. Frank Takahashi financed the Mainichi Star Bowl and hoped to own a Tokyo franchise, covering costs of several hundred thousand dollars. Korakuen Stadium drew about 38,000 fans for a 20-10 Cardinals victory. Dan Fouts, then 25, recalled bewilderment, curiosity and discomfort and described the experience as surreal. The team flew a crowded 13-hour flight with a refueling stop in Anchorage and drew wide-eyed stares from locals upon arrival.
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