Sometimes the stars align and things that seem improbable somehow come together and make sense.
That’s how Gene Kaneshiro felt when he was asked to sit on the board of directors of the Honolulu Symphony in 1980. Kaneshiro was the owner of the Columbia Inn restaurant on Kapiolani Boulevard next door to the newspaper building. He was pretty handy with pots and pans, but musical instruments were not in his wheelhouse.
He was good with a baseball bat and was manager of the restaurant’s softball team. The Columbia Inn Roundtable All-Stars were named for the round table in the back of the bar, where so many reporters hung out during the day to avoid actually working.
Thurston Twigg-Smith, publisher of The Honolulu Advertiser, told Kaneshiro, “We need to diversify the board and be more inclusive to the Asian population.”
Kaneshiro agreed to be on the board. At first he felt he didn’t have much to contribute. But then he learned that Donald Johanos, the new symphony music director, had come from Pittsburgh and that the symphony there had a softball team.
“Aha!” Kaneshiro thought. “The stars are aligned. I took my cue and challenged Maestro Johanos to have a softball game, pitting his team against the now infamous Columbia Inn Roundtable All-Stars.
“It was made up of print, radio and television personalities, some local entertainers and others who hung out at the restaurant.
“Some of the members of the Roundtable All-Stars were Don Robbs, Bob Sevey, Joe Moore, Jimmy Borges, Don Chapman, Howard Dashefsky, Dave Donnelly, Jim Hackleman, Danny Kaleikini, Kimo Kahoano, Neil Abercrombie, Artie Wilson and Randy Cadiente. Les Keiter was our official announcer.
“The stated purpose was to show the community that the members and staff of the Honolulu Symphony were just ordinary people, not the high-strung, stereotypical musicians and staff who had no interest or talent in sports.
“We hoped to publicize the membership drive and season ticket sales,” Kaneshiro said. “Maestro Johanos took the bait, and a date was set at the University of Hawaii baseball stadium.
“Publicity began on the television stations and newspapers by the members of the Roundtable team. On game day, 600 fans were treated to a fun afternoon of slow-pitch, no-steal, no-slide softball, played by a very competitive symphony team against a bigheaded team of All-Stars, whose only practice was carrying the cooler from the car to the dugout.”
Oh, say can you see
The contest began on a musical note with Guido Salmaggi singing the national anthem. Salmaggi (1916-2019) was director of auditoriums for the City and County of Honolulu but had an operatic background. He had sung “The Star-Spangled Banner” in many major league stadiums and other sporting events here and on the mainland for 10 presidents, from FDR to George Bush.
“The late Wally Amos was there with his kazoo, passing out cookies,” Kaneshiro continued. “He was a regular on our team and always brought cookies and laughs. In my opinion, he was not the most graceful athlete on our team, but entertained the crowd with his good-natured antics. And we loved his original Famous Amos cookies!”
Comedian Andy Bumatai gave Johanos a nickname he felt had more pizzazz. He called him “Donny J.”
Jim Leahey
“The late Jim Leahey, our catcher, was in great form,” Kaneshiro recalled. When the first batter for the symphony team came up to the plate, Jim saw he was a short, skinny, frail guy whose baseball cap was way too big for his head.
“Leahey, in his most macho voice, called time out to ask the batter, ‘What instrument do you play?’
“The batter said in a meek voice, ‘Clarinet.’ Jim began waving his arms for the outfielders to move in closer, not expecting this insubstantial clarinet player to hit it very far.
“Lo and behold, Don Robbs, our pitcher, gave him a juicy one right down the middle, and the clarinetist stuck his bat out and hit it for a single. He then asked his first-base coach, a trombone player, ‘Now what do I do?’”
Natural athlete
Former journalist Don Chapman was surprised to discover that Johanos was a natural athlete. “He was as skilled with a bat as a baton. It changed the way I subsequently watched him conduct the orchestra.
“I was playing center field when Johanos hit a sinking line drive in my direction. I made a sliding catch and robbed him of a hit to end the inning.
“‘Sorry, Don,’ I said as we passed.
“‘Great catch, Don,’ he replied. He was a classy guy.
“The game went on with many comedic happenings. It was a fun afternoon for both the fans who attended and the players on both teams.
“The media coverage on the evening news and in the two dailies was great, and we met our goal of showing a different and fun side of the members of the Honolulu Symphony.”
Maestro joins All-Stars
“Our team showed some restraint against a formidable team made up of trombone, clarinet, French horn, trumpet players, violinists and office workers,” Kaneshiro said. “The final score was Columbia Inn All-Stars 18, Honolulu Symphony 5.
“Maestro Johanos was a far better ballplayer than I expected,” Kaneshiro said, “and we recruited him to join the Columbia Inn All-Stars for other games.”
Columbia Inn vs. ‘Magnum, P.I.’
One of the most memorable games was between the Columbia Inn All-Stars and the cast and crew from the TV show “Magnum, P.I.” on March 19, 1983.
The game was at the UH baseball stadium before a sold-out crowd. People came in droves to see Tom Selleck play. Proceeds went to two local charities, which netted thousands of dollars. The Columbia Inn All-Stars had played the Magnum team a few times and had never won.
The Magnum bat girl, wearing red shorts and a blue visor, was Selleck’s girlfriend, Jillie Mack.
“Tom Selleck had a great game. He hit a single, two doubles and a home run, which should have been caught,” Leahey lamented, “except Honolulu Symphony maestro Donald Johanos misjudged it in right field.”
The game had its comedic moments, newscaster Joe Moore recalled. “Our manager, Jim Hackleman, called a time out around the sixth inning. I was brought in from left field to pitch to Tom Selleck. Hackleman slipped me a grapefruit that had been painted white to look like a softball.”
The crowd was yelling out encouragement for Selleck. “I lobbed it to him and he took a mighty swing. He connected with the grapefruit and it exploded, to the delight of the fans.”
Going into the final inning, Columbia Inn was in the lead. Chapman was pitching. He described the action:
“We had two out, and much to the delight of the crowd, the Magnum team sent Tom up to bat — out of order! With the crowd cheering for a Selleck hit, I got him to pop out, and the cheers turned to boos, directed at me! We won the game 14-9. It was good fun!”
Performances
The Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra has performances coming up on May 17 (“The Music of Studio Ghibli”), May 18 (“Mother Goose and the Hen: Ravel, Haydn and Mozart”), June 14 (Keola Beamer) and June 15 (Brahms’ Symphony No. 1).
Bob Sigall is the author of the five “The Companies We Keep” books. Contact him at Sigall@Yahoo.com or sign up for his free email newsletter at RearviewMirrorInsider.com.
