During the 1970s, tennis had a surge in popularity. Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King squared off in a "Battle of the Sexes" match on national television, and Hawaii had its own professional tennis team, the Hawaii Leis. This month we look back on the Leis franchise.
World Team Tennis was founded in 1973. The concept was groundbreaking because it was the first time in which men and women were on an equal basis in terms of professional sports.
On Feb. 20, 1974, a local hui was formed, headed by Honolulu attorney William Schoen, to purchase the San Diego Swingers franchise and move it to Honolulu. There were four divisions in the WTT, with the Leis franchise participating in the Pacific Division.
Dennis Ralston was named player-coach of the Leis. Ralston, a former U.S. Davis Cup captain, was the youngest player to win doubles at Wimbledon, taking the title in 1960 at the age of 18. The first player signed by the Leis was 22-year-old Australian tennis star Ross Case. The team was rounded out by Ann Kiyomura, Valerie Ziegenfuss, Mike Machette, Kristy Pigeon and Brigitte Cuypers.
Nine matches were played at the HIC (now Blaisdell) Arena, and 13 at the McKinley High School gym.
The Hawaii Leis first game was held May 7, 1974, against the New York Sets at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. Their initial win put the franchise in first place in the Pacific Division since Los Angeles and San Francisco had yet to play and Denver had lost its first contest.
Then the losses began to pile up as the Leis played six out of seven nights, all in different cities. The players were tired, and the female players had to do their own laundry because their additional team uniforms hadn’t arrived before the season started.
Their first home contest was played before 2,689 fans at the HIC Arena against San Francisco’s Golden Gaters franchise on May 20, 1974.
Matches aired on KHVH radio with broadcaster Greg Lucas and Honolulu Advertiser sports writer Rock Rothrock. Initially, 30 people called into the station to voice their approval, but three others asked why a tennis match was broadcast on radio, rather than television.
When the Leis played at McKinley High, some players expressed displeasure with the school bells ringing in the gym while they were concentrating on their serves.
The Leis participated in community events, appearing at new tennis court dedications and offering themselves to the public for free clinics and exhibitions throughout the islands.
The Leis drafted five local tennis talents — Charlie Panui, Jim Osborne, Heather Dahlgren, Stan Pasarell and Peter Burwash — to participate as part of the practice squad.
On June 12, 1974, Billie Jean King and the Philadelphia Freedoms played the Leis before a crowd of nearly 6,000 fans at the HIC. King’s return the following season would result in the largest crowd (6,295) to witness tennis in state history.
The Leis would close its inaugural season with a 14-30 record in 1974, which included at one time a losing streak of 15 games in a row.
In 1975, California lumberman Donald Kelleher took over ownership of the team. The new season brought forth changes to the Leis, as both Ralston and Case left the team. The team acquired Australian tennis legend Margaret Court in a draft trade for Chris Evert. Court helped bring renewed interest to the team, and attendance figures rose to among the highest in the league. The new player-coach hired was tennis star Butch Bucholz.
The Leis finished 14-30 for the second straight year, one of the worst records in the league.
Romanian tennis star Ilie Nastase signed with the Leis for the 1976 season, his arrival prompting high hopes for the franchise. But Nastase failed to complete even half the season and walked out for good during a game.
Late during the 1976 season, the Leis began scheduling games in Seattle; Portland, Ore.; and Victoria, British Columbia. These games were considered "home" games, despite being played on the road. What the team was doing was testing waters for attendance figures in other cities.
Attendance fell in 1976, and the Leis’ record would be the worst in the league at 12-32.
On July 30, 1976, it was announced the Leis would move to the Pacific Northwest. The team was renamed the Sea-Port Cascades, sharing its home court with Seattle and Portland. It would fold after two seasons, along with World Team Tennis.
Former Hawaii Leis Ralston, Court and Nastase were inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
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A.J. McWhorter, a collector of film and videotape cataloging Hawaii’s TV history, has worked as a producer, writer and researcher for both local and national media. Email him at flashback@hawaii.rr.com.
