The September 11th attack
Terrorist attacks recall tragedies of '46 and '63

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

There is nothing in league handbooks or bylaws on what to do in the face of national or state tragedies.

Glenn Nitta, left, and Bob Apisa starred for the 1963 Farrington High football team that saw its showdown against Kamehameha postponed for five days. Advertiser library photo

And usually in one's lifetime, there is no precedent to serve an administrator on how to react to losses inflicted by a killer tidal wave, an assassin's bullet or a terrorist attack.

Almost all the athletic organizations nationally and locally had the same response to Tuesday's disaster — most events were canceled or postponed — but it was not quite the same in the weeks of April 1, 1946 or Nov. 22, 1963.

Then again, things are never quite the same when these kinds of events happen.

Mourning, then recovery

Longtime KHON news anchor Joe Moore says that upon receiving word of President Kennedy's death on a fall Friday 38 years ago, he felt shock and numbness. Then, his thoughts turned to that night's scheduled football game against Radford High School.

"I'm almost embarrassed to admit it now, but a lot of us wanted to play," said Moore, who was 16 and a junior wide receiver/defensive end for 'Aiea at the time. "I know I did. Our feeling was, 'OK, he's dead, but why does that mean we can't play football? What good is it going to do not to play? We're ready and we wanna go.' "

Of course, the 'Aiea-Radford game was postponed, as were other O'ahu Interscholastic Association matchups featuring Kailua vs. Campbell, Castle vs. Wai'anae, Kahuku vs. Waipahu and Leilehua vs. Waialua.

In the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, a Friday game between Iolani and St. Louis also was rescheduled.

The next day, the University of Hawai'i's game against Cal Western also was postponed. But the biggest interruption in the local sports calendar was the re-scheduling of the Nov. 23 ILH game between Farrington and Kamehameha.

This was a regular season meeting, yet more than 25,000 tickets had been sold a month in advance for the showdown at Honolulu Stadium.

Kamehameha, the defending champion, was 6-0-1. Farrington, seeking its first ILH championship since 1944, was 6-1.

"I remember how practice that week was so intense, everybody was so serious and focused, it was eerie," said Glenn Nitta, then a junior halfback for Farrington and now Mililani's athletic director. "Nobody was fooling around at all, no one on the scout team or the regulars."

Then, on the big game's eve, news reached Hawai'i about President Kennedy being slain.

"I still remember hearing it over our PA system," said Bernie Silva, an all-star guard for Kamehameha at the time and now a physiology teacher at the school. "In fact, I was in English class and it was in the same building where I teach. People were all choked up, and for me, the game was the furthest thing from my mind. It wasn't a big thing anymore."

Nitta felt the same way.

"Everybody knew why we didn't play the game (that night)," he said. "They didn't ask us, but if they did, I would have said I didn't want to play. And I feel the same way now. We shouldn't be playing. I'm glad we canceled the games this weekend."

Others, like Moore, had to be convinced.

"(Coach) Ed Kiyuna gathered us in the cafeteria and said that out of respect for our national leader, we won't play," Moore said. "He said we would not be in the mood, anyway. But some of us were. I think part of it was just our youthful bravado. We thought we were invincible. Now looking back, I'm glad we didn't play, because it would have absolutely been the wrong thing to do."

Unlike this week's stoppage, however, the turnaround time for getting back on the field was much quicker in 1963.

The assassination took place Friday, and teams were practicing again Monday. The UH-Cal Western game was played Tuesday, the ILH and OIA rescheduled most of their games for Wednesday, and the big Farrington-Kamehameha clash was set for Thanksgiving afternoon.

The game took the place of the traditional Turkey Day doubleheaders that routinely drew sellout crowds to the stadium.

Silva said that by game time, he and his teammates had recovered from the shock of Kennedy's death.

"We mustered up the energy to play," Silva said. "At the moment we kicked off, everything came back and we faced reality again. It was kind of good to have our mind focused on something else.

"It's like this week. I've been watching CNN ever since Tuesday, and now I'm emotionally spent. We have to pay our respect, that's No. 1, but then life moves on. Back then, we were motivated to play because even though we were sad, we had to finish something."

Kamehameha won, 10-8.

Tsunami fails to stop games

On the morning of April 1, 1946, a tidal wave caused by an Aleutian Islands earthquake crashed upon Hawai'i, causing 159 deaths across the territory and widespread destruction in Hilo town.

An estimated 5,000 island residents were left homeless.

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Dates etched in our memories Sept. 11, 1992: Hurricane Iniki ravages Kaua'i, directly resulting in four deaths and causing about $2 billion in property damage. KauaÎi suspends sports schedule for several weeks, but events on other islands continue one week later. Jan. 28, 1986: Space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after takeoff, killing all seven aboard, including Hawai'i's Ellison Onizuka. Local sports schedules uninterrupted. Nov. 23, 1982: Hurricane Iwa causes widespread destruction on Kaua'i and O'ahu. Schools close for one day, suspending athletic events and practices, but O'ahu Prep Bowl is played as scheduled on Nov. 25. Nov. 22, 1963: President John F. Kennedy assassinated. All weekend sporting events locally are postponed, but practices resume three days later and most games are played within the next six days. May 23, 1960: Tidal wave hits Hilo just after midnight, eventually resulting in 61 deaths and heavy damage to waterfront property. Most local high school and college athletic seasons already are completed, so no major impact on sports schedules. April 1, 1946: Tidal wave caused by earthquake in Aleutian Islands crashes upon Hawai'i's shores, resulting in 159 deaths and an estimated 5,000 residents left homeless. Much of Hilo town is destroyed or damaged. Most athletic events continue. Dec. 7, 1941: Japanese planes bomb Pearl Harbor, destroying American battleships and causing nearly 2,400 deaths. Schools closed immediately following the attack, resulting in cancellations of sporting events for several weeks.

In fact, just four days later, about 2,000 fans filled Hilo Armory to watch the Globetrotters beat Ah Chew Goo's Airport All-Stars, 74-45. The same teams played again the next night.

This happened as rescue crews continued searching outside for bodies and survivors from the tsunami.

Goo, reflecting back 55 years to that weekend, said that he and the games' organizers were sensitive to the tragedy and considered canceling the event.

"Hilo is my hometown, and it was very sad to go back and see what had happened," said Goo, 83. "It was missing a lot of things — the house I grew up in right by the lighthouse was moved into the sidewalk. Buildings were destroyed, parking meters were bent over . . . it was terrible.

"But we felt we had to go on with the show, and maybe it enlightened the community. I think the crowd enjoyed it."

Almost every other scheduled athletic event that week went on uninterrupted.

Punahou's tennis team beat Farrington, 5-0. Iolani faced Kamehameha in a dual track meet. McKinley's football team began spring practice.

The UH football team also began spring practice, its first since 1941.

Post-high school amateur sports, a big deal back then, also had a full slate of events that week. The GovAlums, led by future UH star and heart surgeon Richard Mamiya, played the SportsStars in a basketball showdown. The adult baseball leagues — Senior, military and Puerto Rican — were swinging into action.

On April 6, a reported 10,000 people crammed into the Natatorium for the Army Day Swimming Invitational.

On the pro level, Flashy Sebastian beat Chet Vinci in the featured bout of a pro boxing card. And pro wrestling's show also went on at the Civic as planned.

The only events reportedly postponed were three baseball games on Kaua'i, due to tidal wave damage to fields. Otherwise, practices and games continued throughout Hawai'i.

"I lost a lot of friends (in the tsunami) and we were all very sorrowful," Goo said. "This week, it was our whole nation that suffered. Both (events) are equally sad. But life has to go on, you cannot look back too much.

"We have this weekend's games to show our respect. But after that, we have to live our lives."