Cormac O’Carroll contacted me recently about rugby in Hawaii, something I know next to nothing about.
Rugby just celebrated its 50th anniversary in Hawaii and a local team, the Hawaii Harlequins, borrowing the name of a famous English club, came out with a book about the team’s exploits going back to 1964.
I looked into it further and found that American football developed out of rugby. The word "touchdown" came from rugby, because the object of that game is to carry the ball and place it over the opponents’ goal line with an actual "touchdown" of the ball or kick between the posts.
The game developed at the Rugby School in England in 1823. The school dates to 1567 and can be found 75 miles north of London.
Former team member Bob Hampton says that "the Harlequins were born in 1964 through the passion and dedication of Dr. Jack Keenan, who at the time was chief resident at the Queen’s Hospital.
"I remember that often, after rough games, several players from both teams would go with Jack to Queen’s to be patched up. We met many of the Queen’s doctors in this way, and who, after repairing our wounds, would often become players themselves."
Honolulu lawyer Rich Turbin played on the Hawaii Harlequins in the 1970s.
"The first time I walked onto a rugby field was at Keehi Lagoon in 1970," Turbin said. "I didn’t know the difference between a bocci ball and a rugby ball. I had just arrived in Hawaii and was beginning my job as a deputy public defender after a stint in Western Samoa as a Peace Corps lawyer.
"Another ‘baby,’ Deputy Public Defender Rick Rost, brought me to my first Hawaii Harlequin game. He convinced me that I should consider playing rugby."
While watching, a player was injured and the captain asked Turbin to sub for him.
"Get that bleeping guy out of here. He doesn’t know what the hell he is doing!" another player yelled back after a few minutes.
"I couldn’t agree with him more," Turbin recalls, "but I was the only substitute available. Nevertheless, I was hooked and I became a Harlequin lifer.
"These guys were my first family in Hawaii. I spent every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon and evening as well as the Saturday game with them.
"They nursed me through the Hawaii bar exam, drank prodigious amounts of Primo, Steinlager and other brews with me, and convinced countless fair lassies that I could be trusted to take them home after bacchanalian rugby bashes. That was before I met the love of my life, the fair maiden and rugger hugger, Madame Rai Saint Chu!
"That was the most fun time I ever had," Turbin said, "and some of the best times of my life. We were all unique, crazy individuals operating solo, but a dynamic, gutsy team. ‘All for one and one for all’ on the rugby pitch, at the postgame parties, and even in our professional lives."
Real estate investor and author ("Rich Dad, Poor Dad") Bob Kiyosaki also played with the Harlequins in the 1970s.
"In 1973, I was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii," Kiyosaki says. "I had just returned from my tour as a helicopter gunship pilot in Vietnam. I had about a year and a half before I was a free human being again."
At a job fair, Kiyosaki met a recruiter for Xerox. Kiyosaki thinks he was hired to sell copiers because he had played for the Navy rugby team in Pensacola, Fla.
The recruiter, Geno Ma- garrity, "reached into a cooler under the table, brought out four beers, popped the tops, and we began telling rugby stories."
"Over the beers, I found out that Geno had played in the NFL and played rugby in California. Once the beers were gone, Geno said, ‘Here’s my card, make an appointment, come see me for a formal interview — and show up for practice on Tuesday.’
"‘Practice?’ I asked.
"‘That’s right,’" said Geno. "‘I’m recruiting for Xerox and the Hawaii Harlequins.’
"A few years later, the Hawaii Harlequins scheduled a trip to New Zealand and Australia. Naturally Geno and I wanted to go. The problem was, it was a three-week trip and Lenny, the branch manager at Xerox would not approve our time away from work.
"For a month, Geno and I discussed the trip, a trip of a lifetime. Finally Geno said, ‘You and I are not getting any younger. We don’t have many years of rugby left. You and I will not remember 21 days of work — but we will remember 21 days of playing rugby, drinking beer, and chasing women for the rest of our lives.’
"Geno and I walked into the Honolulu branch manager’s office and told him we would not be coming to work for 21 days. If we returned and were out of a job, so be it," Kiyosaki recalls. "We were willing to pay the price.
"Twenty-one days later, Gino and I returned to work and all Lenny said was, "Welcome back. Now get back to work." I went on to become one of the top-ranked salesmen, consistently in the No. 1 or No. 2 spot, in the Hono- lulu branch.
"Geno was right. Touring New Zealand and Australia did become one of the high points in our lives. Some of my greatest memories were formed on that tour. We would not have remembered those 21 days quite the same way had we stayed in Hono- lulu and worked at Xerox."
Turbin has become one of the top personal injury lawyers in Hawaii and Kiyosaki has written nine books that have sold 26 million copies. He owns more than 1,400 properties.
The Harlequins passed the 50-year mark and still maintain a strong presence in local and international rugby, winning two of the past three Hawaii championships. The club hosted international tournaments that brought hundreds of teams and tens of thousand of players and supporters from around the world to our shores.
The Harlequins’ book is a great read with more than 40 contributions from its members over the past five dec- ades and is an amazing mix of hilarity, commitment and camaraderie that only the game of rugby can offer.To learn more or to order the book, go to www.hhrfc.org.
Bob Sigall, author of the “Companies We Keep” books, looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories each Friday of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at Sigall@Yahoo.com.
