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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, May 11, 2007

Ane would pave way to NFL

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

Charlie Ane

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When Rockne Freitas was in elementary school in the 1950s and football trading cards were the rage, there were few more sought after or tightly held in Hawai'i than that of Y.A. Tittle.

Tittle was the All-Pro quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers and, Freitas recalls, "for one Y.A. Tittle you could get four, five or six other players."

But Freitas gladly gave up his prized Tittle when he found out about Charlie Ane.

"He was the guy from Hawai'i in the pros," Freitas said. "There weren't many from here then."

In the years preceding statehood and beyond, Ane, who died Wednesday at age 76, was a powerful inspiration to generations of youngsters such as Freitas, who would go on to his own 11-year NFL career and a 1972 Pro Bowl appearance on the offensive line.

Ane, who came out of Punahou School and USC for an all-pro career as an offensive lineman with the Detroit Lions (1953-59), was among the forefront of Hawai'i products who blazed what has become a well-worn path to the national pastime. Right after Al Lolotai and Wally Yonamine came Ane and the Clark brothers, among others.

"He taught us to not only dream but to excel," said Kale Ane, a son who also went on to have an NFL career before returning to Punahou as head coach.

By the time Freitas came out of Kamehameha Schools and Oregon State, he knew well the Ane story. But upon arriving in Detroit in 1968, he came to understand just how much of a legend Ane, who had helped the Lions to two championships, had become thousands of miles from home.

"Everywhere you'd go there, when people found out you were from Hawai'i, they asked you about 'Charlie Ah-Knee,' " Freitas said. "They didn't know how to pronounce his name, but they sure knew who he was."

Around town and in casual conversation, "everybody knew about him," said Freitas, now Hawai'i Community College chancellor. "They'd ask what he was doing and tell you their stories."

When Freitas was handed jersey No. 50 for practice — the same number Ane had worn in games — it brought back memories for old-timers. And it gave Freitas an extra push to play well. "One of his teammates, Joe Schmidt, was my head coach and several of the guys he played with were on the coaching staff," Freitas said.

Norm Chow, who played under Ane at Punahou and considered him a mentor in both his playing and coaching days, said he was never very far from the Ane legacy. When Chow arrived at USC as offensive coordinator in 2001, "you would hear stories about him from 50 years (earlier)."

"He was big-time," Chow said. "He touched a lot of lives in a lot of places."

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.