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KATSUTOSHI NEKODABorn: February 1, 1944 in Hiroshima, Japan
Died: September 4, 1983 in Japan Enshrined: 2023 Country: Japan Category: Indoor Player |
BIOGRAPHY
Shortly before the 1972 Olympics, Japanese setter Katsutoshi Nekoda went down with a devastating broken leg. Undeterred, Nekoda called his coach, asked him to bring a volleyball to the hospital, and in a wheelchair, Nekoda practiced his craft over and over again.
It paid off. Later that summer at the Munich Games, with Nekoda at the helm, Japan went undefeated in seven matches, losing only three sets total, to capture the Olympic gold medal.
Such is the legend of 2023 Inductee Katsutoshi Nekoda.
Nekoda was born in Hiroshima on February 1, 1944, 18 months before the atomic bomb was dropped on the city. He caught the volleyball bug at a young age and legend has it that between ages 14 and 29 he set 1000 balls a day. Just 20 years old in 1964, he led the Japanese national team to a bronze in the first Olympic Games that featured indoor volleyball, which happened to be in Tokyo.
The world quickly took notice.
Standing only five feet, nine inches tall, Nekoda was a groundbreaker. He was the first of the 5-1 setters who later became popular in the international game. He was also the first person who set the standard for quick sets and jump sets from everywhere on the court.
Japan was at its historical best when Nekoda was setting. The only three medals the country has ever won came when Nekoda was in the driver’s seat. In addition to the gold in Munich and a bronze in Tokyo, Japan won a silver in Mexico City in 1968. He participated in the quadrennial spectacle one final time in Montreal in 1976, where he was selected as the flag bearer at the opening ceremony for the entire Japanese Olympic delegation.
But far more than any hardware was the pioneering impact Nekoda had on the game. Aside from being the leader of the 5-1 offense, a pioneer in quick sets and jump sets, Nekoda is known for his serving. He is known as “the man who invented the ceiling serve, a serve where the ball is hit up toward the ceiling with all the lights to make it difficult to judge the landing."
Nekoda passed away in 1983 at the age of 39 from stomach cancer, just seven years after playing in his final Games in Montreal where the team finished fourth.
While he is gone, he is certainly not forgotten. His hometown boasts a gymnasium in his honor filled with his name and photos. He was posthumously named by the FIVB as one of the top players of the 20th century. And now, we’re proud to recognize him on this stage also.
For his pioneering contribution to the development and advancement of the sport not only in Japan but around the world, we are proud to induct Katsutoshi Nekoda from Japan, as an Indoor Player, to the International Volleyball Hall of Fame, Class of 2023.
It paid off. Later that summer at the Munich Games, with Nekoda at the helm, Japan went undefeated in seven matches, losing only three sets total, to capture the Olympic gold medal.
Such is the legend of 2023 Inductee Katsutoshi Nekoda.
Nekoda was born in Hiroshima on February 1, 1944, 18 months before the atomic bomb was dropped on the city. He caught the volleyball bug at a young age and legend has it that between ages 14 and 29 he set 1000 balls a day. Just 20 years old in 1964, he led the Japanese national team to a bronze in the first Olympic Games that featured indoor volleyball, which happened to be in Tokyo.
The world quickly took notice.
Standing only five feet, nine inches tall, Nekoda was a groundbreaker. He was the first of the 5-1 setters who later became popular in the international game. He was also the first person who set the standard for quick sets and jump sets from everywhere on the court.
Japan was at its historical best when Nekoda was setting. The only three medals the country has ever won came when Nekoda was in the driver’s seat. In addition to the gold in Munich and a bronze in Tokyo, Japan won a silver in Mexico City in 1968. He participated in the quadrennial spectacle one final time in Montreal in 1976, where he was selected as the flag bearer at the opening ceremony for the entire Japanese Olympic delegation.
But far more than any hardware was the pioneering impact Nekoda had on the game. Aside from being the leader of the 5-1 offense, a pioneer in quick sets and jump sets, Nekoda is known for his serving. He is known as “the man who invented the ceiling serve, a serve where the ball is hit up toward the ceiling with all the lights to make it difficult to judge the landing."
Nekoda passed away in 1983 at the age of 39 from stomach cancer, just seven years after playing in his final Games in Montreal where the team finished fourth.
While he is gone, he is certainly not forgotten. His hometown boasts a gymnasium in his honor filled with his name and photos. He was posthumously named by the FIVB as one of the top players of the 20th century. And now, we’re proud to recognize him on this stage also.
For his pioneering contribution to the development and advancement of the sport not only in Japan but around the world, we are proud to induct Katsutoshi Nekoda from Japan, as an Indoor Player, to the International Volleyball Hall of Fame, Class of 2023.
