Victor Starffin

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Victor Starffin (Виктор Константинович/Фëдорович Старухин, May 1, 1916 - January 12, 1957) was a Japanese baseball player. Born in Russia, he moved to Asahikawa, Hokkaido at a young age, and was picked as part of the national baseball team for an exhibition game against the United States in 1934. He was signed by the Tōkyō Kyojingun (now the Yomiuri Giants), outside the draft, in 1936, and played for them until 1944. During World War II, wartime paranoia resulted in Starffin being placed in a detention camp. He returned to professional baseball in 1946 with the Pacific, played for the Shochiku Robins (now the Yokohama BayStars) in 1947, and finally signed with the Takahashi Stars/Unions (now the Chiba Lotte Marines) in 1948. He retired in 1955.

Starffin was one of the premier pitchers in the Japanese baseball "dead-ball era" (pre-1945). He won two MVP awards and a Best Nine award, and won at least 26 games in six different years, winning a league record 42 games in 1939. He followed his record setting 1939 performance with another 38 wins in 1940.

In 1955, his last season, he became the first career 300-game winner in Japanese professional baseball. He retired with a career record of 303 wins and 176 losses, with 1960 strike outs and an ERA of 2.09.

Starffin was elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1960.