Hawaii mourns the gentle giant of sports

Bill Kwon was not large physically, but he was a giant in the Hawaii sports world during a writing and editing career at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that spanned more than 40 years, and then another 10 as a golf columnist at the Honolulu Advertiser.

Kwon, 81, died of natural causes early Wednesday at Nuuanu Hale. Kwon, a lifetime Honolulu resident, mostly in Manoa after growing up in Palama, had lived at the facility the past year.

No story was too big or too small for Kwon. He covered everything from the Prep Bowl to the Super Bowl in his tenure as a sports clerk, reporter, editor and columnist at the Star-Bulletin from 1959 to 2001.

His favorite games were golf and football, but he covered them all. And his interests went way beyond sports. He was a voracious reader.

“I will deeply miss one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met,” said longtime friend and colleague Ann Miller. “Bill could talk so clearly on just about any subject. Sports was obviously his favorite, especially golf and the University of Hawaii, but he had great knowledge and an amazing memory about almost anything. Mostly, he was just good fun to be around. Those are the people you always want around you.”

Local icon

Kwon was limited from participating in most sports because of a severe childhood hip injury that left him with a limp. But he was an avid golfer, something NBC and Golf Channel analyst Mark Rolfing reflected upon when hearing the news of Kwon’s passing.

“These have been some rough days for me,” said Rolfing, who attended Arnold Palmer’s funeral on Tuesday. “I was in Latrobe (Penn.) yesterday and now this. He was an icon, just like Arnold Palmer. In Hawaii golf Bill Kwon was an icon.

“A lot of people would say they were friends of Bill Kwon. He had so many friends, probably more than he knew. It was the way he communicated and the passion he had for Hawaii. Not just golf. So many different people in Hawaii felt like they were friends of Bill and they were.”

Although he was the consummate Hawaii local boy, Kwon was comfortable with people from all over, of all ages and walks of life.

“I’ve always thought of Bill as the true Renaissance man of Hawaii. He was wonderfully bright, well-read, and a very well traveled man of the world,” said Eric Risberg, an Associated Press photographer based in San Francisco who became a good friend after they met on assignment in 1994. “I really enjoyed hearing many of the stories that he would share. Growing up in Portland with the Pacific Coast League I always liked his stories about the Islanders and the old Honolulu Stadium.”

Kwon’s love of sports also included basketball. He often mixed golf with business, playing a round or two with former Hawaii men’s basketball coach Riley Wallace and former UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida.

“He loved the University of Hawaii and was a good sports writer,” Wallace said. “We often played golf together. He was a good friend.”

Fair reporting

Yoshida echoed that sentiment.

“Bill and I went back a long way from high school days when I was at Leilehua (coaching football) and he was covering the high school beat,” Yoshida said. “He was someone we all respected in the business. When he wrote an article, he was always fair.

“High school sports were always a big thing with him, took a special meaning. When he was growing up, high school sports was a big thing, the only thing really, here. He was someone we (coaches and league administrators) felt we could trust in regards to how he reported stories.”

Genuine interest

Rolfing also felt Kwon was fair when writing a column or story. He always knew what were the most important aspects of being a reporter.

“Bill was a great listener,” Rolfing said. “He really always took the time. He had a lot of Arnie in him. He took the time to stop and talk with people. Walking down a hole took longer with him than with superstars of the game because every person wanted to say something to Bill because he knew them or, he knew their family. And he was genuinely interested. He never looked through you, he looked at you.”

Kwon had huge “guns” way before arms were known as that, and could whack a golf ball.

“I probably played with him a dozen times, a couple of pro-ams,” Rolfing said. “He was a hoot to play golf with. He enjoyed the game for what it was. He enjoyed the game, but always wanted to hit it farther. His arms were like Popeye.

“He was a perfectionist (in his work). But he did it quietly, like everything else. He was a gentle man,” Rolfing added. “He wanted things to be right when he wrote them. He was a great voice who did so much for Hawaii golf. Particularly in the ’80s. Such a voice for the game. He spread so much information and that spread enthusiasm. Didn’t matter. Hawaiian Open, high school, club, ladies. He never wanted the ladies clubs tournaments to be overshadowed.”

Kwon’s many professional honors included a lifetime achievement award from the Aloha Section PGA in 2012. He was also recognized by the NFL for supporting the Pro Bowl’s run in Hawaii.

All-around fun guy

Reporters and other colleagues saw the best in Kwon nearly every day at work. He was fun to be around in the office and at the events you covered with him. Retired Star-Bulletin sportswriter Jim Easterwood, who now lives in Paduca, Ky., was taken aback by the news.

“It is sad to hear,” said the 80-year-old Easterwood. “He had a talented department. What I remember is from outside of the paper when we used to go to the outer islands and play softball games. He always got a big kick when we could beat the Advertiser in tennis, softball, anything. Despite his leg problem, he was a good softball player and a pretty good golfer.”

Kwon is survived by his sister Dee Kuwaye. Services are pending.