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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Eldredge service Sunday at Punahou


By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

David Pinkham Ka'iana Eldredge III

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Long-time Punahou coach David Pinkham Ka'iana Eldredge III passed way Oct. 19, but the values he taught his players are very much alive.

His former players may not have to run, block or tackle, or hit or catch a baseball in their adult lives, but lessons learned from those fundamentals helped them in their future endeavors.

His son, David "Boy" Eldredge IV, heard stories of his father by former players.

"Lessons taught on the field years ago, all of a sudden they're putting to use in their lives many years later, whether it's in their marriage, their business or whatever the case may be," Eldredge IV said.

Eldredge IV, who is the head baseball coach at Southern Utah, was influenced by his father to become a coach himself.

"It was always about (the players), teaching them how to be better people," Eldredge said. "That made me even more so want to be a coach someday because I saw how many lives he touched, not just improving them on the field, but more so how important it was to be better off the field."

One didn't have to be an Eldredge to become a coach for the same reasons.

"He definitely showed he cared about you more, not just as an athlete, but as a person," said Punahou football coach and alumnus Kale Ane, who played for Eldredge. "He talked about values and character and competing and weighed each one equally."

Former Punahou football player Galen Kitamura remembered a coach who brought out the best in his players.

"You could do some things you didn't think you were capable of doing," he said.

Eldredge III is the winningest coach in Punahou's football history at 103-41-4 record. He won four ILH titles from 1959 to 1962 and 1968 to 1976. He coached the Buffanblu baseball teams from 1965 to 1970, compiling a 78-24-1 record, capturing two state crowns.

Eldredge III was born Dec. 16, 1931, in Lahaina to David "Pops" and Leilehua (Judd) Eldredge. The 1949 Punahou graduate went on to play football at Stanford, where he earned a degree in education. He also earned a post-graduate degree from the University of San Francisco. He returned to Punahou in 1956, where he taught math and science, started the Hawaiian studies program and founded Punahou's Holoku Pageant.

The Punahou Athletics Hall of Famer is survived by wife, Jean Eiko; sons David "Boy" IV (Valerie) and Duane (Sue); daughter Cynthie (Richard) Keeno; brother H.J. "Pal"; sisters Hattie (West) Phillips and Bertha Lima; and 13 grandchildren.

Services will be at 3 p.m. Sunday at Punahou's Hemmeter Field House. A luncheon and reception is set for 11:30 a.m. in the cafeteria .

Aloha attire and no flowers are requested.