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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Hawaii Hall almost
a dream come trueWHEN I had just returned home to these islands, almost three years ago now, one of the first columns I was going to write would be about taking an awe-filled, chicken-skin tour through the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame.
And so I went.
And that column was never written.
Don't get me wrong. It was an excellent record of achievement, all those plaques honoring all those all-time greats. And the creation of the Hall was an enormous and wonderful undertaking, and everyone involved should be showered with praise. This was a good start to a great thing.
But it was not exactly Cooperstown.
Not yet.
Yesterday, I went back to that little wing in an off-the-path building at the Bishop Museum. (There are also exhibits at the Honolulu Airport and at Aloha Stadium.)
And today, I'm writing.
It was awe-filled and almost chicken-skin.
Oh, it's still growing. It isn't Cooperstown yet. It's still mostly plaques on a hallway wall. If you're short on imagination they may just be numbers and faces and names.
But there are also Bobo Olson's gloves and world-championship belt. Lenn Sakata's Baltimore Orioles uniform. Charlie Ane's game ball from a game (a win!) against the old Green Bay Packers.
Derek Tatsuno's baseball glove from those glory days when he struck out the world.
Duke's gold medals.
Wow.
Our sports history is amazing. It staggers you. It makes you weak in the knees.
And that's just the stuff that we've forgotten about, or never knew.
One of the best parts is a "SportsCentury"-type of video presentation on a constant loop, narrated by Larry Price. The shows are a treasure trove of old photos, and even interviews of many of these sports figures themselves, letting us know, in their own words, the way those days were.
It's a gold mine.
You should go to the Bishop Museum and sit in that room in front of that screen, with your father (uncle, auntie, grandma) and watch that video and wait for the stories to spill out.
A great hall of fame awakens memories you never had. It lets you thrill over events you never saw. It lets you dream in the middle of the day.
One of my favorites, on the screen and on the wall, is Kamehameha -- of course the king, as one of the great athletes in Hawaii's history, is in -- lifting the Naha Stone.
(Have you seen the Naha Stone? I would like to see one of those "World's Strongest Man" guys take a crack at it. I don't think it's moving.)
And if you can see one, you can envision them all. There's Rell Sunn, smiling on her surfboard. Thelma Kalama, grinning, hands on her knees at the edge of the pool. Soichi Sakamoto, the wise coach.
And on. And on.
Tuesday, the hall inducted motocross champion John DeSoto Jr., Hawaiian Open hero David Ishii, windsurf pioneer Robby Naish and volleyball player and coach Sharon Peterson.
A great hall of fame sparks the imagination. This one is on its way.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com
