Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Pete Smith

Pete Smith, the revered coach and architect of Kalaheo High School's boys basketball dynasty, died yesterday morning at Castle Medical Center.

He was 52.

Smith, who led the Mustangs to the state tournament in each of his 18 seasons as coach from 1983 to 1988 and 1990 to 2003, had been in poor health since suffering stroke-like effects after colon cancer surgery on Oct. 31, 2003. He was admitted to Castle last week with pneumonia and died yesterday at about 7 a.m., according to Kalaheo athletic director Lewis Fuddy.

"Pete Smith set the standard for the rest of us to follow as far as coaching and playing," said O'ahu Interscholastic Association executive secretary Dwight Toyama, a former Kaimuki football coach and athletic director. "He was a class act and very well-respected among his peers — not just other coaches, but all the athletic directors and everyone else in the athletic community."

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