Gaylord Carreira could turn the world on with his smile.
“He was just a delight,” former Hawaii quarterback Michael Carter said. “He was fun to be around. He was always happy.”
Carreira, an inspiration to the UH football team and its fans, died at his Nanakuli home on Saturday. He was 60.
Carreira was born with Down Syndrome, a condition that did not prevent him from competing in sports or assisting the Rainbow Warriors.
“To be honest, University of Hawaii football was his life,” his nephew Gally Carreira said. “His best years were there. That was all he would talk about. That was all he would think about. Everything he did was for UH football.”
For two decades, beginning in the 1980s, Carreira was a fixture at UH practices and games. During workouts, he would retrieve footballs and help with equipment staff. At Aloha Stadium, he would pick up the tee after kickoffs, roll toward the sideline, and then stand to lead an arm-waving cheer of “wooh-wooh.”
“He had the whole damn stadium making that noise,” said John Veneri, a sportscaster and former UH receiver.
“The fans loved him,” Carter said. “We loved him. He spent all day with us. He was at practices. He was part of the team. He was our brother.”
Carreira grew up in Varsity Circle, which was near what was then known as Cooke Field on UH’s lower campus. “We climbed over the fence to play at UH,” Gally recalled.
They would run on the field and play basketball on the neighboring blacktop.
“I remember getting into free-throw-shooting matches with him, and I could never beat him,” Gally said. “He was very athletic.”
Carreira won medals in the Special Olympics, found his groove at Stadium Bowl-O-Drome, and was the first to volunteer for … everything. Mae and Lancelot Carreira refused to let their youngest son believe a disability was disabling.
“They set him up to be as happy as he could,” Gally said. “That guy’s smile was infectious.”
Former UH coach Bob Wagner was not sure when Carreira became part of the Warriors. “All I know was Gaylord was at practice,” Wagner said. “He was always upbeat. He was a good guy. The players really took him in. To me, he was inspirational.”
Carreira and the players exchanged inside jokes. His favorite was to extend his hand and when a player tried to shake it — psych! — he would pull it back. After that, Carter said, “he would give you the ‘ah-hee.’”
“That was his saying,” Veneri said. “He had all these phrases. He’d always say, ‘Hey, big boy with the big chest and the small head,’ or ‘tutti-frutti.’ All the former players who were around him still say those things. That’s how we greet each other. The little things he said had an effect on us.”
Equipment manager Ken “Froggy” Fujimura gave Carreira a UH jersey he wore around campus.
“He was positive to have around for the players,” Wagner said. “I used to talk to the players about how fortunate they were. Here’s Gaylord, who didn’t have the fortune they had. Regardless of whether they’re not doing well or not playing or this or that, here’s Gaylord with his situation. And he’s got a great attitude. As tough as things were, Gaylord had it tougher. But he was so positive.”
When he was a toddler, his family was told the life expectancy of a person with Down Syndrome was 25 years. On his 30th birthday, the entire team showed up to celebrate at his parents’ home.
“The front yard is very small, but they just packed in there,” Gally said. “They really made him feel special. He loved the family atmosphere they brought to him. They made him feel he was part of the team.”
In the early 1990s, Carreira moved to Nanakuli. His family would drive him to town every morning. He would catch the bus back home. Sometimes Guy Antti, a UH volunteer, would drive. When the team learned of Carreira’s commute, players who lived on the West side offered rides.
After Wagner was dismissed as head coach following the 1995 season, Carreira began volunteering at Saint Louis School. “He was a good assistant coach,” said Cal Lee, who was the Crusaders coach at the time. “He was fun loving. He was so energetic and happy to be around football.”
When Nick Rolovich was named UH’s head coach in 2016, he sought Carreira’s return for a game. At first Carreira turned down the offer. He was working with Nanakuli High’s football team. “He was loyal to Nanakuli,” Gally said. “He has that in him. ‘If I’m committed to a school, I’m going to stay at that school.’”
At the urging of Carter, Carreira agreed to participate in the game.
In recent years, Carreira experienced health issues, most related to diabetes. But family members said he remained upbeat.
“We gave him a lot of respect,” Wagner said. “He was part of the team. He was one of us.”
