For the record

All men exaggerate.

OK, maybe I’m exaggerating. But many exaggerate about 40-yard-dash times, SAT scores, income, sock size, Bruno Mars concert seats, post-prom experiences, fish weight, and so forth. A million claimed to be UH fans during the vonAppen years. Twenty thousand were there when Chaminade upset Virginia.

So we shouldn’t be concerned about  Richard “Dick” Parson’s actual basketball experience at UH five decades ago.

What is troubling is the incomplete archives of UH sports. It should not be surprising. After all, there were few media guides or much coverage for all UH sports decades ago, much less box scores of freshman basketball games. It’s different now, in this stat-conscious Money Ball era, where seemingly unlimited information can be stored on flash drives and clouds.

But history is important, so here’s a suggestion: UH should gather the old-timers — Jim Leahey, Don Robbs, “Ferd” Lewis, Larry Price,  Eddie Inouye, etc. — put them in a room, let them  tell their stories and record everything. Maybe their stories will be used; maybe not. But at least there might be information available for those seeking to learn about UH’s past.

COMMENTS

  1. BigWave96744 May 23, 2014 9:11 am

    Don’t forget the 2inch height rule


  2. Ipu Man May 23, 2014 9:12 am

    Was Parsons a “student”? surely UH has a record of that, no?


  3. Haleakala May 23, 2014 9:13 am

    I’m not concerned whether or not Dick Parsons played for UH. it’s a positive if he said he played for UH even if he didn’t. Hell, he is a GM for an NBA team! now everybody should remember that Dick played for UH back then.


  4. BigWave96744 May 23, 2014 9:18 am

    I always shake my head at the amount of folks who claim they paddled out when there was a Tsunami warning. Almost 90% of them are folks who never venture to the North Shore and still call wave size by the face. For the record when there is a Tsunami Warning, I’m high on the hills in Kaneohe


  5. jeezy33 May 23, 2014 9:20 am

    2 most inconsistent stats these days are alleged offers and 40 times… Everyone runs a 4.5 40 (BS) and everyone mistakes offers from interest.


  6. al May 23, 2014 9:33 am

    so bruce o’neill is telling on artie’s show that mr. parsons was never on the team. bruce played during that exact time and never even knew him at all.


  7. What? May 23, 2014 9:35 am

    Karl, he be gone a few months ago.


  8. al May 23, 2014 9:35 am

    one of the reasons for his selection was his alleged basketball background.


  9. Stephen Tsai May 23, 2014 9:41 am

    What?!? Karl died?


  10. haka May 23, 2014 9:58 am

    #8 al
    According to Mark Cuban isn’t that a given? 🙂


  11. jimmy the lock May 23, 2014 9:59 am

    Exaggeration is only an extension of the truth.

    TGIF

    And on this Memorial Day weekend let us remember those who made a difference in our lives.


  12. A-House May 23, 2014 9:59 am

    Good neighbor!

    are you over the vertigo?

    I get mild episodes occasionally and I don’t like the dizziness and queezy “pomp” – if in bed, I put one leg down to touch the floor and it seems to reduce the “spinning” of the ceiling.


  13. BigWave96744 May 23, 2014 10:02 am

    Delusional people can be very dangerous, ie the wahine known as JAH


  14. markazulu May 23, 2014 10:15 am

    I wanna know more about the Hula T


  15. markazulu May 23, 2014 10:19 am

    Seriously though Mr Tsai you have wonderful ideas UH or OC sports should ask you for ideas.


  16. nutmegger May 23, 2014 10:25 am

    Who at UHAD does one send all these great ideas to?
    Besides your oral history idea, the Tsaikos have marketing/promotional ideas and fund raising ideas. Seems like there should be an outreach person to sift through the ideas and communicate them to the appropriate person.


  17. Rite80 May 23, 2014 10:35 am

    Maybe in that room old timer Stephen Tsai should be included. 🙂


  18. Old School Dave May 23, 2014 10:46 am

    Funny story: I know a guy who played basketball in high school. He averaged around 7 points a game as a senior. It’s funny how his point average has increased the older he gets – 10, 13, 15 points….. 🙂


  19. oldtimer808 May 23, 2014 11:24 am

    I never knew that UH had a freshman basketball team back in the 60s. I graduated HS in 64 and UH was really small potatoes back then. High school football games ruled the day especially the turkey games at the old Honolulu Staduim. 1963 was Kamehameha vs Farrington. Bob Apisa was the all state running back for Farrington but Kamehameha had all those huge lineman.


  20. oldtimer808 May 23, 2014 11:30 am

    The stadium rocked to capacity (27000) just for those turkey games played under the hot Hawaiian sun. It wasn’t always safe walking under those wooden bleachers. Things would fall between the cracks from drinks dropped by clumsy hands, peanuts, etc.


  21. oldtimer808 May 23, 2014 11:34 am

    #14 I think the Hula T was a name coined by Larry Price for his version of the T formation.


  22. oldtimer808 May 23, 2014 11:37 am

    I believe there were 3 running backs lined in a horizontal position behind the quarterback. …
    the full back in the middle and left half back and right half back


  23. Stephen Tsai May 23, 2014 11:38 am

    Remember the Pineapple Crush defense?


  24. Stephen Tsai May 23, 2014 11:38 am

    Levi’s Kanaka Army?


  25. oldtimer808 May 23, 2014 11:42 am

    Levi Stanley was a beast


  26. NotNasti May 23, 2014 11:48 am

    From 1955 to 1972, Freshmen were not eligible to play Div. I basketball. Lew Alcindor, Bill Russell, etc. did not play as freshmen. Instead, they played on freshmen teams, which competed against each other. I would imagine that as a result of our location, the UH freshman team played very few games against Div. 1 competition. I remember as an 11 year old visiting my older brother at UH (1972), I was standing next to a really tall person (I came up to his waist). My brother told me he was 7 feet tall and on the freshman basketball team.


  27. oldtimer808 May 23, 2014 11:50 am

    Doggone young man lol, I was 26 in 72.


  28. 76south May 23, 2014 11:53 am

    I was a season ticket holder during the VonAppen years. I was there when Chaminade beat Virginia! But don’t worry I’m not going tell you about my sock size!!! LOL


  29. oldtimer808 May 23, 2014 11:53 am

    You are correct about freshmen not allowed to play Div. 1 basketball. There were no media attention back in those days for our freshmen basketball team.


  30. NotNasti May 23, 2014 11:54 am

    My bro. was 21 in ’72. He lived on La’au Street, had long hair and a waterbed. I thought he was the coolest person ever.


  31. oldtimer808 May 23, 2014 11:58 am

    Yes water beds were some what popular back then. I guess people loved sloshing around in bed.


  32. NotNasti May 23, 2014 12:02 pm

    I also had no idea what the glass tube thingy with a stem and bowl sitting on the coffee table was for.


  33. Boolakanaka May 23, 2014 12:12 pm

    24/25 Then you gotta mention the other members of the local rotation: Cillf Laboy and Pat Richardson.


  34. Boolakanaka May 23, 2014 12:13 pm

    Old timer –two words: iron butterfly.


  35. oldtimer808 May 23, 2014 12:20 pm

    Wasn’t Pat Richardson from Aiea?


  36. HawaiiMongoose May 23, 2014 12:21 pm

    In A Gadda Da Vida, honey.

    Not old. Classic.


  37. Boolakanaka May 23, 2014 12:23 pm

    Yup, best friends w Tommy Ronquillo. There was also another Aiea guy there with them at UH, Barney Hansen, but he got a back injury early into his career-captain w HFD, now.


  38. oldtimer808 May 23, 2014 12:24 pm

    I better change my screen name to classictime808


  39. A-House May 23, 2014 12:24 pm

    I am what I am

    You be what you be


  40. oldtimer808 May 23, 2014 12:25 pm

    He is Ron Ronquillo’s brother?


  41. oldtimer808 May 23, 2014 12:26 pm

    I think Ron played for St Louis as a running back and played at UH


  42. oldtimer808 May 23, 2014 12:28 pm

    to be or not to be


  43. Boolakanaka May 23, 2014 12:28 pm

    You are correct.


  44. oldtimer808 May 23, 2014 12:29 pm

    I have to admit that iron butterfly slips my memory….chastity belt?


  45. oldtimer808 May 23, 2014 12:31 pm

    I’m writing this down to share because my mind not going be classic any more as time goes on.


  46. oldtimer808 May 23, 2014 12:33 pm

    I have to get out of here and go work on my classic golf swing.


  47. clyde May 23, 2014 12:35 pm

    Didn’t Ben Ronquilio play at Saint Louis and UH?


  48. Boolakanaka May 23, 2014 12:37 pm

    Yup, and coach at Waipahu in their hey day.


  49. WarriorBasketball May 23, 2014 12:40 pm

    Stephen

    Re #9: Mililani Carl passed away on Feb 22, 2014.


  50. oldtimer808 May 23, 2014 12:46 pm

    Ahhh Clyde mahalo yes it is Ben and not Ron. My memory slipped and yes it should be Ben.


  51. NorthShoreFan May 23, 2014 1:00 pm

    Guud Afternoon Tsaikos….bootiful day…..rainy but..

    Dang the names are very memorable.

    I would pay to sit, have a bite to eat and listen to the stories those guys have.


  52. tommui May 23, 2014 1:12 pm

    GOOD AFTERNOON HAWAII!

    Michelle Wie is in 13th place – but only five behind the leader. GO MICHELLE!

    If Dick Parson claims kinship with UH, why not?


  53. jimmy the lock May 23, 2014 1:36 pm

    I’m sure if Dickie donated thousands of scores of dollars, good old Bennie Jay can produce award winning basketball documents in no time.


  54. Ipu Man May 23, 2014 1:41 pm

    Go Wie Wie…


  55. al May 23, 2014 1:49 pm

    22…i believe you are describing the original ” T” formation.


  56. al May 23, 2014 1:53 pm

    30…i could be your brother,


  57. papajoe2 May 23, 2014 2:00 pm

    Uh also had a JV football team. They played local teams and I remember an industrial team from Japan. That game was no contest. 40 something to zero. Good friend played in the very early 70s.


  58. papajoe2 May 23, 2014 2:05 pm

    #26 NotNasti~ jv basketball was a long time ago, but if I remember correctly, UCLA jv, with Lew Alcinder and Lucius Alan defeated the varsity in a pre season scrimmage, with the varsity going on to win the national championship that year. Not sure if that part is true, but I know they did beat the varsity.


  59. 3-Prong May 23, 2014 2:31 pm

    …..saw Levi Stanley play for the “Hawaiians” at the old stadium. Saw him hold off a double team single handedly. Yes, he was a beast.

    …..no work ’till Monday…dodo dodo!!
    …..ooops Tuesday! Cheeee! hehe


  60. HiloBilly May 23, 2014 3:15 pm

    Hey, Boola! Our 2014 KSH class valedictorian is headed for New Haven…she’s a real good one, our 1st to Yale!

    Papajoe2: we went to school in the LA area when Alcindor & UCLA were so dominating. Yep, it caused major ripples when word came out that the frosh team had beaten the varsity, who I think did win the national championship that year. Did you know there was also an ‘Alcindor rule’ for awhile? Imagine, dunking in college was not allowed for a number of years, but that motivated many players to really hone & fine-tune other facets of their game (sky hook, passing). Those guys could possibly make a good case that they were more technically sound in their overall play than many of today’s players.

    Just my dos pesos…


  61. Warrior Dave May 23, 2014 3:20 pm

    RIP Mililani Carl… you were always generous with your time by making copies of past UH games for strangers and not accepting a dime. You were also a wealth of information when it came to UH sports. My belated condolences to his family.


  62. ALLAN May 23, 2014 3:38 pm

    PARSONS RANKS HIGHER IN MY BOOK THAN THAT TURD THAT DOESN’T LIST HIS STINT AT U.H. WHEN IT WAS BEING INVESTIGATED BY NCAA IN THE EARLY 70’S…WHAT WAS HIS NAME? AS IF ACKNOWLEDGING TIES WITH HAWAII WOULD TARNISH HIS IMAGE.


  63. mctruck May 23, 2014 4:04 pm

    How’s about the powers that be at UH offer to award Parsons an Honor(what-u-call-it)degree if he contributes big $$$ to help the school out-of their red ink deficit?


  64. d1shima May 23, 2014 4:07 pm

    Wat hour dis?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6WKfhj1lE0


  65. BigFan May 23, 2014 4:30 pm

    Hawaii was on Alcindor’s/Jabbar’s short list during recruiting. What could’ve been.


  66. st. anthony trojan May 23, 2014 4:31 pm

    Water-bed….cure for vertigo maybe…?


  67. Stephen Tsai May 23, 2014 6:39 pm

    That is very sad to hear about Karl from Mililani’s passing. What was the cause?


  68. clyde May 23, 2014 7:18 pm

    BigFan: Any chance you’re mistaking Alciindor for Richard Washington?


  69. A-House May 23, 2014 7:23 pm

    Did not honor Parsons several years back as being a distinguished alumnae?


  70. BigFan May 23, 2014 8:34 pm

    #68, could be now that you mention it. My memory could be going the route of Dick Parsons, lol.. I know Jabbar loves Hawaii so maybe that is what I was thinking.


  71. tommui May 23, 2014 9:31 pm

    #66 st.anthony trojan:

    I don’t think so – you want no motion at all if you have vertigo.


  72. SteveM May 23, 2014 11:51 pm

    RE: #63
    Hiya mctruck — long time!


  73. NYUHTXSK May 23, 2014 11:51 pm

    The ethnic studies department was known for their oral histories. Maybe someone can get a few publications out of it.


  74. SteveM May 23, 2014 11:55 pm

    NYUHTX — “SK”? 😕


  75. alwaysarainbow May 24, 2014 1:19 am

    Coach Price always made it a point to teach the newcomers about the Hawaii tradition. Each era had some interesting characters. The special nature of our program drove players to overachieve and contribute to the legacy. Surely it was a great dynasty during the Jones-Brennan era. Prior, there were so many defining moments in UH history: from the Wonder Teams that barnstormed the mainland after a boat voyage, the teams that became military police after Pearl Harbor, the Rainbows who beat Washington with a 50 point spread and local journalists who complimented us on our pretty uniforms… Just so many interesting stores that sometimes we cannot get a focus. An oral history would be a wonderful resource and a mandatory boot camp course for the next generation of Rainbow Warriors.


  76. 99club May 24, 2014 2:49 am

    Good morning, Tsaikos.

    I wonder if the Freshman B-ball would have been listed in a transcript under Phys Ed back then.

    #75, alwaysarainbow: I wish someone would write a book on Hawaii sports history that included both UH and high school stories. Most of the research material is sitting in either the microfilm section or the HS yearbook collection of the State Library. Does an archive of UH student newspapers exist? Maybe the students who worked on the paper back then saved copies of their work?


  77. Manoa2 May 24, 2014 3:01 am

    The newspapers may have this archived also.
    When Parsons became a head of AOL or when he became Chairman of Citibank, there was a story in the news about his UH background as a student and player.
    There was a freshman team, but I think it was actually a JV team. They played other JV teams, but also local teams like the HPD team.


  78. Boolakanaka May 24, 2014 3:38 am

    60-Hilo Billy, yeah got word early on about her-very impressive young lady. We actually had 3KS kids this year accepted, but lost out to these dumpy schools in Boston and Princeton, NJ. No worries, many more to come…..imua!


  79. A-House May 24, 2014 7:05 am

    Boolakanaka:

    is there a hint of jealousy or friendly distaste for the Ivy league schools?

    no worries, cause I dislike the likes of Boise St, Fresno St, Reno (although some like to call it Nevada), USC (total arrogance)


Comments are closed.