Hawai'i Swimming Hall of Fame to induct first class

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Today we have "NFL Hawaiians" like Olin Kruetz, Chris Naeole and Dominic Raiola to make us proud on Sundays. In baseball, we have "Big League Bruddahs" Benny Agbayani, Mike Fetters, Chris Truby and Justin Wayne.

The late Duke Kahanamoku will be inducted Nov. 23. Advertiser library photo

But long before all these athletes made it to the big time, Hawai'i burst onto the national sports scene in swimming and diving. At least 49 Olympic medals have been won by Hawai'i swimmers and divers, and 14 Hawai'i athletes have been inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

To restore and promote the rich aquatic tradition here, a group of historians and former athletes have formed the Hawai'i Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum, which will hold its inaugural induction ceremony Nov. 23 at the Elks Lodge in Waikiki.

All 300 tickets to the event have been sold.

There will be 49 charter members inducted, including such legends as Duke Kahanamoku, Warren Kealoha, Clarence "Buster" Crabbe and coach Soichi Sakamoto. Seventeen charter members are expected to receive their custom-made Hall of Fame medallions at the Nov. 23 ceremony; the other 32 will be posthumously inducted.

The Hall of Fame's ultimate goal is to find a permanent home where exhibits can be on display at all times.

The idea for the Hall of Fame came from Richard "Sonny" Tanabe, who grew up in Hilo and went on to swim in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. While attending the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis, Tanabe noticed a "Wall of Fame" honoring Indiana's top swimmers and divers from the past.

"I saw that and I thought, 'Hawai'i has a richer swimming tradition than Indiana does, even though Indiana is a bigger state,' " said Tanabe, who swam for Indiana University. "I thought, 'We should have something like this.' "

That year, the Hawai'i Swimming and Diving Legacy Project, a non-profit volunteer organization, was formed. In its official pamphlet, the Project states that Hawai'i's swimming legacy "is gradually being forgotten and in danger of being lost forever unless a concerted effort is made to gather, preserve and disseminate oral histories, photographs, moving images ... memorabilia ... for present and future generations."

The Hawai'i Swimming Hall of Fame inductees will be selected annually by an advisory board, which includes representatives from swimming, water polo, diving, master's swimming and channel swimming. The advisory board uses a set criteria to determine selections.