Remembering Gordon Sakamoto

You might not have known Gordon Sakamoto personally, but you knew what he did.

As wire-service chief in the Bay Area and then Honolulu, he was responsible for spreading the news worldwide in a pre-internet era.

While Gordon ran the wire bureaus during the day and often into the late night — it was always deadline somewhere in the world — he also covered UH sporting events, notably basketball and football. He kept meticulous notes in Hallmark-perfect block print. Such diligence was helpful in retirement from the news business, when he served as an area scout for NBA teams.

Gordon loved his wife and sons, good food, smooth scotch, sports and live jazz. (It was convenient that one of his best friends, Jimmy Borges, was one of Hawaii’s finest jazz singers.)

Gordon also was a man of decency. When the Associated Press was going to cut staff, he decided to retire to save other people’s jobs. That gesture reflected his journalistic ethos: Get it right.

Statistically, there will be others like Gordon. But we’ll miss the original. Deepest condolences to his wife and sons.