PORTLAND, ME — The University of Southern Maine hosted a Japanese delegation including Boston Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida in a celebration of Horace Wilson, a teacher from Gorham, Maine who introduced baseball to Asia in the 19th Century.

The event also included Seiichiro Takahashia, Japan’s Consul General in Boston, Portland Mayor Mark Dion, American Ralph Bryant, who became a star baseball player in Japan and USM President Jacqueline Edmondson.

The USM event was preceded by a visit to the Wilson family home in Gorham.