The University of Hawaii Sports Circle of Honor expands by three members today, including one who is a bridge between the other two inductees.
Broadcaster Jim Leahey links retired men’s basketball coach Riley Wallace to former Rainbow basketball player Tony “Bones” Davis in this, the 34th class of honorees. Leahey was part of all 20 of Wallace’s seasons at Hawaii, while Leahey’s father, Chuck — a COH inductee in 1985 — was the radio broadcaster for some of Davis’ games in 1958-60.
“I was with Riley his entire time, saw him mold great teams and have tremendous upsets,” said Leahey, continuing his 40-plus years as broadcasting UH sports this season on radio with baseball. “I knew of Tony — my dad did some of his games from Klum Gym and, of course, you know of his points record.
“There are tremendous people, real leaders in the community, who are in the Circle and for me to be up there with all of them is overwhelming. I’m honored to be on the same Circle of Honor as my dad, who was a pioneer. When I look back on my career, I’m happy that I did it all with the University of Hawaii.”
The trio will receive their plaques during halftime of tonight’s men’s basketball game between Hawaii and Cal State Fullerton at the Stan Sheriff Center. Their permanent plaques will join the 122 others hung on the concourse walls of the arena.
Leahey is the fourth announcer to be inducted, Davis the 11th men’s basketball player and Wallace the 22nd head coach, fourth in basketball.
“It’s a high honor and I appreciate the committee for this,” said Wallace, who flew in with his family from Las Vegas. “I’ve known Jim for a long time and I knew about Tony and his points as part of our program. And of course I knew his coach (Dr. Al Saake). I am very honored.”
Davis still holds the program’s single-game scoring record of 45 points, set on Feb. 6, 1959, against what was then called Los Angeles State College. He was Saake’s first African-American scholarship player and the Rainbows’ first NBA draftee (1960).
“I never expected this, it’s wonderful, a once in a lifetime thing for me,” said Davis, who still competes in the Senior Olympics. “It’s nice to know I’m not forgotten.”
Davis was asked for his thoughts on the current NBA game, one with a 3-point shot that wasn’t in existence during his career. He was known for his long-range hook shot, sometimes from halfcourt, during his days with the Harlem Clowns and Harlem Travelers.
“The game has advanced so much, the way they’re shooting the 3,” he said. “I might have scored 50, 60, 70 points if we had it back then.”
A look at the three inductees:
>> Tony Davis: The 6-foot-10 center played key roles in victories over USC, UC Santa Barbara, Oregon State and Santa Clara as the program moved toward an all-collegiate schedule. His record 45 points came in Hawaii’s first 100-point game, 116-107 over what is now Cal State L.A. He led the team in scoring as a junior (540 points) and was second in an injury-plagued senior season (385) in which he was team captain. Davis was selected in the ninth round of the 1960 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks but never played for the team. He had a short pro career in France and Luxembourg, and remains active in the Senior National Games, having won some 25 gold medals.
>> Jim Leahey: The “Voice of UH Athletics” for over four decades, he has broadcast thousands of home and away games in football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, softball, soccer, swimming and water polo on both radio and television. He became UH’s TV voice in 1984 for KGMB, and later worked for KFVE and OC Sports. His first broadcast was as a 15-year-old sophomore at Saint Louis School when he replaced his ailing father, Chuck (lung infection), doing an all-service boxing card from Conroy Bowl at Schofield Barracks. He began his involvement with UH as the P.A. announcer for the inaugural Rainbow Classic in 1984. His first play-by-play broadcast was for KGU in 1973 with Hawaii’s football win over Fresno State.
>> Riley Wallace: The program’s all-time winningest coach (334-265) led the Hawaii men’s basketball team for 20 seasons (1987-2007), during which the Rainbow Warriors made nine postseason appearances. He was a three-time conference coach of the year (1989, 1997, 2002) and the 2001 NABC District 13 coach of the year.
His teams won three conference tournament championships and also shared the regular-season title three times. He had three All-American honorees and three academic All-Americans, with 25 academic All-WAC certificates, 11 All-WAC tournament selections, three WAC tournament MVPs and one WAC Player of the Year.
Wallace also was a Hawaii assistant coach from 1978 to 1984. He was a vocal proponent for a 10,000-seat on-campus arena and the program sold out the Special Events Arena/Stan Sheriff Center 21 times.
