Since this is bid Aloha to Aloha Stadium week, I have to admit I wasn’t in attendance for a few of the greatest events there: the University of Hawaii over BYU beatdowns (well, the first two), UH’s great turnaround season of 1999, and most of the awesome concerts.
But, as a man who stares at GOATs for a living, much of that viewing has been done at Aloha Stadium.
Everybody’s list of most memorable is different. These aren’t all favorites of mine (and some of the details are a bit fuzzy), but they are among those that stand out the most for various reasons.
Super Pull, Dec. 15, 1984
Tractor pulling is still a big deal in a few areas of the U.S. — and it certainly was at Aloha Stadium in the mid 1980s. A crowd of 21,146 showed up for the first one, nearly 40,000 the next night, and it continued to draw for a couple of years.
I’m nowhere near a gearhead but will never forget the sight — and sound — of Bob Derrick hooking his souped-up Lincoln Continental Mark V to a 55,000-pound sled and dragging it 300 feet. The Kailua resident then popped out of the $30,000 luxury car, clad in a tuxedo, and gave the crowd a shaka.
Adrian Murrell, Aug. 28, 1987
I was among a few hundred people (it was a matinee game of a preseason doubleheader, and before prep games were televised here) who saw the Leilehua star rush for 332 yards. It’s only eighth all-time in Hawaii in a single game for a high school player.
But it was against WAIANAE.
Murrell, the greatest multi-sport high school athlete I’ve seen play in Hawaii (I’m told I might have a different opinion if I’d seen Marcus Mariota play soccer), went on to a nine-year NFL career. He had three seasons of over 1,000 yards rushing, but never got the return call to Aloha Stadium for the Pro Bowl.
Tony Gwynn and Dennis Eckersley, April 20, 1997
This is one where my memory played a trick on me. When the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals tangled in a three-game series of regular-season games, Rickey Henderson (the GOAT leadoff man, any arguments? Didn’t think so.) played for the Padres.
I had to look it up, and, no, he was not on base when Dennis Eckersley pitched to Tony Gwynn in the ninth inning of a game the Cards led 1-0. So we had to settle for just two future Hall of Famers, not three, in what they now call a high-leverage situation. Gwynn went the other way to slap a single into left, like he’d seemingly done a million times before. But then Eck got the save.
The Rolling Stones, Jan. 23, 1998
It was a movable feast, as the stage was like a magic carpet floating to every corner of the stadium, giving everyone a chance to get a view of Mick and the boys.
And Lisa Fischer, especially on “Gimme Shelter” with Jagger, just wow. After that, I knew what it must have been like to see MJ and Pippen on a night when both were at their best.
Tom Brady, Feb. 9 , 2002, and Feb. 13, 2005 (and Nov. 28, 1998)
He was named to 15 Pro Bowls — and played in two. Brady completed six passes in 14 attempts with no TDs for a total of 70 yards, with four rushing attempts for -1 yard in his NFL all-star game appearances.
He did a lot better at Aloha Stadium in 1998. Brady was the Michigan quarterback when the Wolverines put the finishing touches on Hawaii’s 0-12 season of 1998, passing for 142 yards and two TDs in a 48-17 win.
Hawaii beats Washington, Dec. 2, 2007
It was so surreal the enormity of it didn’t sink in then. I don’t know if it has even now.
The Warriors’ comeback victory over the Huskies completed UH’s regular season at 12-0. WAC commissioner Karl Benson assured us that Colt Brennan, June Jones, and the rest of the team would be headed to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl.
It seemed half of Hawaii figured out a way to join them there.
Hope Solo, Dec. 5, 2015
Solo, the goalkeeper for the U.S. Women’s National Team, literally pulled the rug out from under the USWNT’s exhibition game scheduled to be played at Aloha Stadium the next day. Solo found a seam and lifted part of the stadium surface for a photo to support claims by the team that the field was not suitable for play.
The U.S. women were right to fight for the same playing conditions as the men (namely, natural grass). But it was not a good look for them to do it after arriving in Hawaii and after thousands of tickets had been sold, many as gifts for young fans.
