Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 2, 1 February 1991 — Unele Tommy-- a lifetime of achievements [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Unele Tommy-- a lifetime of achievements

by Ken Ige Former OHA chairman Thomas Kaulukukui Sr. got a special, well-deserved present on Christmas Day. He was presented the Mackay Yanagisawa Lifetime Achievement Award during pregame ceremonies at the 1990 Eagle Aloha Bowl at Aloha Stadium. A letter notifying Kaulukukui of the award states, "Your accomplishments in the sports world, coupled with your interest in Hawaii's youth and love of our state, are just a few of the reasons we have designated this 1990 honor to you." After reading Kaulukukui's list of achievements as an athlete, one might expect him to wear blue Spandex tights and a red eape. A brief summarv:

When he was 19, he played for and coached the Shell Oil 135-pound barefoot football team in Hilo and became the youngest eoaeh to lead a team to the state championships; in 1933, Kaulukukui was chosen to play shortstop on an all-star baseball team that featured Babe Ruth (not the candy bar) at first base; at the University of Hawai'i, he lettered four times eaeh in football and baskeball, twice in track and five times in baseball (there were no NCAA regulations limiting participation tofour seasons); in a 1935 football game at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Kaulukukui co-coached the UH football team until the war started. In an earlier interview, he recalled, "The radio said, 'Take cover. Pearl Harbor is being bombed.' So I went outside . . . and I saw the smoke.

"I saw the Rising Sun," he said of the markings on the undersides of planes as they flew over Waikiki — after they had bombed Pearl Harbor. During the war Kaulukukui helped organize and lead the Varsity Victory Volunteers, a group mainly comprised of university students of Japanese descent, who built facilities at Schofield Barracks. He also pitched for the Engineers team in baseball against other service teams.

After the war he coached the UH Rainbows from 1946 to 1950 during whieh time the Bows, with a fullback named Don Ho, burst the tiny bubbles of — this should give UH fans the warm fuzzies — B-Y-who? And if that wasn't enough, Kaulukukui also coached the UH baseball team and was athletic director from 1947 to 1951.

In 1953 and 1954 he coached the Hula Bowl teams, then moved to Michigan as an assistant eoaeh at Michigan State while earning his doctorate. In the 1960s and 70s, Kaulukukui scouted Hawaii High School football players for Michigan. He introduced Pop Warner youth football to Hawai'i in 1955 and was named by the nahonal

association as the Pacific Region Commissioner. Kaulukukui also was commissioner for the Babe Ruth youth baseball program. He has worked with several government and community service organizations and still plays an active role in sports throughthe Mormon Church, as Hawai'i Region director of the church's athletic program.

"It's the people I meet," said Kaulukukui. He said he enjoys seeing people that he's met through sports. "When someone comes up and says, 'Hi Coach! Remember me? I was on your Pop Warner team' — that's what sports is all about. "When they say, 'Hi Coach! — that means they remember me," he said. And, he added, "I feel better if you eall me 'Coach'."

Even concerning OHA, Kaulukukui said, "Unele Tommy' is more respectful than Chairman of the Board'." One person that still calls Kaulukukui "Coach" is Lydia Namahana Mai'oho, chairwoman of the Native Hawaiian Preservation Task Force. Namahana played softball and volleyball for Kaulukukui during World War II. He was a second lieutenant and she worked for the U.S. Engineering Department whieh was headquartered at Punahou School. "She still remembers more of the sportsmanship and things like that rather than the games we won," he said proudly.

As for sports today, Unele Tommy pointed out an example of his biggest criticism. "On television, the only time the coaches shake hands is after the game." He added that the handshake is usually very terse "and then they walk away. "That," he said, "is not the game of sports." In a resolution drafted last month, the Board of Trustees thanked Unele Tommy for his service "during a period of accelerated growth and expansion for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs." One of the original board members, Kaulukukui has been an OHA trustee since 1980. The resolution noted Kaulukukui's many eontributions to Hawai'i as athlete, educator, administrator, eoaeh, insurance executive, eommunity volunteer and church volunteer.

"Unele Tommy," the resolution states, wasalso nominated by then President Richard Nixon to be the United States Marshal for the District of Hawai'i. Kaulukukui has received many other awards and has been named to the Hawai'i Sports Hall of Fame, Who's Who in Hawai'i and Distinguished Alumni of the University of Hawai'i.

Felice and Tommy Kaulukukui with others honored at the 1990 Eagle Aloha Bowl. "My wife is always included," said Unele Tommy.

Next to him are Farrington footbail eoaeh "Skippa" Diaz (center), surfer Rell Sunn and Kahuku running back Mark Atuaia.