In remembering the University of Hawaii’s 1980 baseball team, it is easy to forget the details.

That team, which was a victory short of a College World Series title, has been inducted into UH’s Circle of Honor and will be celebrated with this weekend’s unveiling of a commemorative mural on the outfield wall at Les Murakami Stadium.

But Sam Kakazu, a former UH relief pitcher, echoed the widely acknowledged belief the 1979 team was “the more talented team.”

In 1979, the Rainbows won 63 of their first 66 games, earning the nation’s No. 1 ranking, before injuries led to a 69-15 final record. Derek Tatsuno won an NCAA-record 20 games that season, his last with the Rainbows ahead of playing professionally in Japan. “That team was awesome,” said Ricki Bass, an outfielder for UH in both those seasons.

“That (1979) team was stacked,” said Collin Tanabe, the catcher. “And then we lost everybody. We were like, ‘Holy crap, what are we going to do now?’ We needed to bond together, play together.”

The 1980 Rainbows were an ensemble without stars. “Our name players were freshmen,” said Tanabe, referencing soon-to-be breakout pitchers Chuck Crim, Bryan Duquette and Alan Lane.

They also were a mix of styles. Several players used to hang out in the training room listening to Kalapana and the Brothers Cazimero. In the locker room, the soundtrack was Led Zeppelin with several singing in arena-rock voices while plucking air guitars.

“But when we got on the field, harmony came out,” Tanabe said of the bond in 1980. “It was unreal. We were all in great harmony. That’s how I would explain it. We didn’t have any superstars. We were just a bunch of misfits that went out and played. I would win this game, and then Ricki Bass would win the next game, and then (outfielder) Kevin Williams. We all rotated. We didn’t bank on one guy all the time.”

The leader was Les Murakami, the head coach whose full-time job was with the school’s auxiliary services. Murakami’s arms-folded mannerism belied a fun-loving coach who had an appreciation for each player’s mettle.

“He’s a great gambler,” Tanabe said. “He made some moves that were like, ‘What the hell are you doing, Coach?’ But they worked. It’s not like we’re going with the odds. There’s a left-handed pitcher, so we’re going to bring in the right-handed pinch hitter, right? He would bring in the the left-handed pinch hitter. ‘Why are you bringing in the lefty against the lefty?’ But it worked. Go figure. He went with his gut instinct, and he had really good gut instincts.”

The 1980 Rainbows were as good on the road (14-4) as at old Rainbow Stadium (41-12), where seats were metal bleachers and fans smuggled in their own meals. “The freshman phenoms,” Kakazu said of Crim, Duquette and Lane, “did not care about being on the road. Crim was fearless. Duquette was happy-go-lucky. Winning on the road was key.”

The 1980 Rainbows won the Western Athletic Conference, and qualified for the NCAA Regionals in Austin, Texas. They beat Texas-Pan American and Louisiana Tech, then knocked off host Texas 7-3 to earn a berth in the College World Series.

UH assistant athletic director Masaji Saito then told the team there was not enough money to return to Hawaii for the five-day break ahead of the CWS in Omaha, Neb. The team voted to remain on the mainland. When Saito spoke of the financial challenges, a player reportedly yelled: “Use your charge card!” The Rainbows used Texas’ facilities before heading to Omaha.

At the CWS luncheon, “everybody else is wearing suits,” Tanabe said. “We’re coming down in slippahs and shorts and T-shirts. We looked horrid. We were totally out of our league. Everybody counted us out. It didn’t matter what we did outside the field — when we were on the field, we played like a team. It was fantastic. It was a Cinderella story with almost a good ending.”

In the CWS, the Rainbows beat Florida State 7-6, then defeated St. John’s 7-6. Future MLB All-Stars Frank Viola and John Franco were on St. John’s’ pitching staff. The Rainbows then upset Miami 9-3 to set up the showdown against Arizona.

Arizona’s 1980 roster featured eight future MLB players, including Terry Francona, Craig Lefferts, John Moses and Casey Candaele. The Wildcats won 5-4, and two days later 5-3 for the title.

“It was a thrill of a lifetime to be part of that,” said Bass, who will attend this weekend’s ceremonies. “I always think of the movie ‘The Bad News Bears.’ The Bad News Bears didn’t win it all. They lost the championship. The movie is ‘The Bad News Bears.’ I think of us as the Bad News ’Bows. We don’t know who won it, but the story is about us.”