Who was the first person from Hawaii to play in the National Football League? For a long time I thought it was Kahuku standout Al Lolotai, who played for the Washington Redskins in 1945.

Recently I met Ralph Steensen, whose uncle Harry Montague Field played in the NFL in the 1930s — 10 years earlier.

Field was a standout at Punahou School, then called Oahu College, where he played football from 1927 to 1930. He also was on the track and swimming teams.

Field was half Hawaiian. He was born in Iao Valley on Maui in 1911. His English father, Bill, operated the Maui Hotel until 1927, when the family moved to Oahu.

“His mother, Margaret, was pure Hawaiian,” Steensen says. “She was the sister of composer David Nape, and were descendents of the last ruling high chief of Maui.

“I knew him well, when I was a boy, and remember his tales of surfing with Duke Kahanamoku, or paddling with he and his brothers. They won the Outrigger Canoe Club regatta three years in a row from 1927 to ’31.

“Field played tackle at Punahou and was captain of the team in 1929. He was an ILH (Interscholastic League of Honolulu) all-star and was recognized as one of Hawaii’s great football players. After graduating from Punahou, Field played for UH under coach Otto (‘Proc’) Klum for a year, and then transferred to Oregon State.”

Oregon State University, like many teams back then, often had just enough players for a game to take place. The 11 players had to play both offense and defense.

On Oct. 21, 1933, Field and his fellow players at Oregon State competed against the University of Southern California at Multnomah Field in Portland, Ore.

University of Southern California was the top team in the country at the time and had won 25 games in a row. With only 11 players, Oregon State could not substitute. USC made over 18 substitutions.

Several times Oregon State held USC from scoring from within 20 yards of the end zone. The game ended in a 0-0 tie.

“Their toughness and stamina allowed Oregon State to end USC’s 25-game winning streak,” wrote Richard Shmelter in “The USC Trojans Football Encyclopedia.”

For that they were called Iron Men. USC gave the game ball to Oregon State, a custom back then, usually awarded to the winning team.

“It was a dramatic and thrill-packed game, which broke the charm of Trojan impregnability,” wrote L.H. Gregory of The Oregonian newspaper. “The story is of the flaming, unconquerable spirit of these 11 Oregon State boys with hearts of steel,” he wrote.

Field graduated from Oregon State in 1934 and then played in the National Football League for the Chicago Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals) from 1934 to ’36 and in the American Football League for the Los Angeles Bulldogs in 1937.

He was an all-pro tackle in 1936 with the Cardinals and in 1937 with the Bulldogs. In his last season with the L.A. Bulldogs (of the AFL), he was also all-pro. Papers then said he was the first tackle to make all-pro in both leagues.

Steensen gave me a copy of his 1935 contract with the Cardinals. His salary was listed as $125 per game, about $2,200 in today’s dollars. Today’s NFL players earn roughly $30,000 per game or more.

A letter to Field from the Cardinals dated June 1934 said they did not pay transportation to Chicago for their players, but would make an exception for him. They asked him not to tell the other players.

After his football career Field acted in a few Hollywood movies in minor roles. His contract paid him $90 a week — the equivalent of over $6,000 a month today.

Field came home to Hawaii and coached football from 1941 to 1950 at Punahou.

“His team was on Maui on Dec. 7, 1941,” Steensen says, “when Pearl Harbor was attacked, and because most had ROTC training, the team was commanded to patrol Maui beaches. They didn’t get home for three weeks.”

Field married Princess Abigail Helen Kapiolani Kawananakoa, a niece of Prince Kuhio. Field was elected to the state Senate in 1962. He was one of the founders of Aloha Week, his obituary said, and he instigated the first Lahaina “Whaling Spree.”

Field died on May 23, 1964. He and his wife were buried at the Kawananakoa family plot at Oahu Cemetery.

In 1980 Punahou held its first installation banquet of its Athletic Hall of Fame. Field was inducted along with 14 other “O” Men, including Al Harrington, Charles Wedemeyer, “Buster” Crabbe and Alfred Castle.

Punahou was once called Oahu College, and boys today earn the letter “O.” Girls can earn a “P.” It’s the only school in the state to award different letters to boys and girls.

At the banquet Field was called “one of Punahou’s all-time great athletes.” They said the “Pun skipper was in a class by himself,” and ticked off the highlights of his career listed above.

Steensen hopes that one day his uncle will be inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame. Tomorrow, by the way, would have been his 105th birthday.

So is Field the first Hawaiian to play in the NFL? The National Football League dates to 1920 (as the American Professional Football Conference), so it’s possible someone from the islands beat out Field. If you know anything, drop me a line.

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Bob Sigall, author of “The Companies We Keep,” looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories each Friday of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at sigall@yahoo.com.