1915-2003
Former UH coach, professor, Al Saake

Advertiser Staff

Al Saake, who spent more than half his life in and around the University of Hawai'i and its sports, died Thursday morning in Honolulu at age 88.

Friends, who announced his death, say he had been battling pancreatic cancer.

A former professor, head of the UH health, physical education and recreation department and two-term basketball coach, he spent 42 years at the school and was inducted into the Circle of Honor in 1991. He retired from UH in 1990.

"When I was a senior coming out of Saint Louis (School), I saw Klum Gym and met Al Saake and knew 'this is where I had to play,' " said Dennis Chai, a UH professor and former player. "He had that kind of an effect on you."

Saake attended all UH home football and basketball games for a 40-year stretch, saying he watched it grow "from a hamburger routine to a steak dinner," and often attending basketball coach Riley Wallace's practices and offering suggestions.

Wallace credited Saake, a basketball insider, for his early implementation of the 2-3 zone and other defenses.

In his later years, Saake was known to have as many as eight television sets in his Diamond Head condo tuned to sporting events at one time.

Saake was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., and attended Princeton and Alabama, where he was a roommate of Paul "Bear" Bryant before graduating from Ithaca (N.Y.) College in 1937. At Ithaca he played basketball, football and baseball and was selected to the school's athletic Hall of Fame in 1992.

Saake first came to Hawai'i during World War II as a Naval officer and jumped at the opportunity to return in 1947, making it his home thereafter.

He coached the UH basketball team from 1951-52 through 1953-54 and again 1957-58 through 1962-63 compiling a 94-122 record. Saake is credited with with raising the level of a program that had largely played club level competition by undertaking a strong collegiate schedule.

His teams annually took eight and 12-game road trips during Christmas break playing the programs that would come to make up the Pac-10.

Saake left no known family members, according to his former players.

Saake requested that no services be held.