Apisa was such a terrific athlete in the early ’60s in Honolulu that
he was the ILH Back of the Year in football as a bruising fullback for
the Governors, a starting forward in basketball, an all-star out-fielder
on Farrington’s championship baseball team, and a record holder in
track and field.
One seemingly can-it-really-be-true tale exemplifies his outstanding athletic talents.
“I had been a shot-putter in my early days (at Farrington), but gave
it up to play baseball, which was my favorite sport,” he recalls. “One
day, we had a doubleheader in Moiliili, and the track coach got in touch
with our baseball coach and asked if I could drop by the Punahou Relays
in between games, so our team could at least score a point in the shot
put. Anyway, I went to the track, and took off my baseball jersey and
borrowed a track tank top. Here I was, putting the shot in my baseball
pants and leggings, and the other athletes are standing by and chuckling
at the sight. I had to remember how to do it, and I let out a big high-arching throw, and I heard a
collective gasp from the crowd, ‘Wow!’ For some reason, it all came
together, and I broke the state record with a throw of 56 feet, 3 and
3/4 inches.” Then it was back to the second baseball game of the day.
[12/22/14] Things were different 48 years ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment