[ UH ATHLETICS ]
Tanimoto, Richardson
join Circle of HonorThe booster and the doctor
will be honored for their
service to UH
It is a small class, but one high in quality and excellence, and rich in service.
Larry Tanimoto and the late Dr. Allen Richardson were to become the newest members of the University of Hawaii Sports Circle of Honor today. The announcement of the Class of 2003 was to be made at the recognition luncheon held at the executive dining room at the Bank of Hawaii, the corporate sponsor of the circle.
Tanimoto, 59, was instrumental in the establishment and development of the Na Koa Football Club, the UH football booster organization. The current Big Island resident also sponsored UH spring football scrimmages and football clinics involving the UH staff and high school players on the Big Island under former coaches Dick Tomey and Bob Wagner.
Tanimoto also received the first athletic scholarship awarded to a male golfer at UH, captaining the team from 1966 to '68. He had an outstanding amateur career, was the head pro at Hilo Municipal and Waikoloa Beach golf courses, and taught golf at UH-Hilo.
Richardson, who died Sept. 1 at age 56, is the third person to have had the five-year waiting period for induction waived. The others were the late UH athletic director Stan Sheriff (class of 1993) and retired Rainbow baseball coach Les Murakami (2001).
Richardson served as team doctor for the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team for 25 years. An All-American swimmer at Yale, Richardson was the past sports medicine chairman for the U.S. national swim team and FINA, swimming's international governing body.
Richardson also was the chair of the Orthopedic Residency Training Program at UH's John A. Burns School of Medicine.
The official induction ceremony will be held during halftime of tomorrow's basketball game between Hawaii and Boise State at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Their selection brings the number of inductees to 61 individuals and five teams. The Sports Circle of Honor was established in 1982 to honor exemplary UH athletes, coaches and teams, and those who have made significant contributions to the UH athletic program.