Bob Apisa never played in the NFL. Knee injuries saw to that.

But he inspired others who did eventually play football at its highest level, and that’s part of why Apisa will be enshrined in the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame in January.

“Bob was a huge influence on all of us who followed him,” said Kale Ane, who like Apisa was part of the Hawaii-to-Michigan-State pipeline that started when Duffy Daugherty was the Spartans coach in the 1960s. “He was such an imposing figure. I remember reading about him and about all his success at Farrington. Then all of a sudden he’s gone at some faraway school we hadn’t heard of.”

Ane, the longtime Punahou head coach, played seven seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers as a center and long snapper after Michigan State.

Herman Clark, Ma’ake Kemoeatu, Kimo von Oelhoffen and Manu Tuiasosopo were announced Tuesday along with Apisa as the PFHOF’s Class of 2018.

Ane’s father, Charley, was inducted in 2016. Charley Ane was a star at USC and an All-Pro offensive lineman with the Detroit Lions.

Kale remembers watching what was called “The Game of the Century” in 1966, when Notre Dame played Michigan State, which featured Apisa at fullback. Spartans kicker Dick Kenney and running back Charlie Wedemeyer were also from Hawaii. It was the first live TV event shown in the islands via satellite.

“I said, ‘Dad, I want to go to one of those two schools,” Ane recalls. “There weren’t that many opportunities at colleges for Hawaii kids, so we paid attention. We grew up wanting to be like Bob.”

Not many colleges recruited Hawaii in the 1960s. But Daugherty was ahead of the curve. Larry Cundiff, Bill Kaai, Danny Ane, Jim Nicholson, Roger Lopes, Doug Won, Arnold Morgado and Carter Kamana all found their way to East Lansing.

“Great players, all of them,” Apisa said. “I get emotional thinking about them.”

Ane said Apisa would often show up for games when he was there in the early 1970s, around the time Apisa was beginning to break into Hollywood as a stuntman and later an actor.

“He took time to talk to the punk freshman,” Ane said. “Whenever he was around he’d get the Hawaii kids together and encourage us. He and the stories we heard about him figured big in getting us there.”

Tuesday’s announcement comes two weeks after Apisa was enshrined in Michigan State’s Hall of Fame, and three days after the Spartans upset their rival, Michigan.

He’s finishing up producing a documentary film, “Men of Sparta,” about how he and his teammates dealt with racial issues during the Civil Rights era.

“Just polishing it up,” Apisa said. “Nothing’s set in stone, but we’re meeting with PBS and Fox.”

He’s also overjoyed about his grandson, offensive lineman Jacob Isaia, committing to Michigan State last week. Isaia attends Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas. But as a sophomore, he played at ‘Iolani when his mother and Apisa’s daughter, Amy Hitzeman, was an optometrist at Tripler Army Medical Center.

Also, Isaia will play in the Polynesian Bowl high school all-star game on Jan. 20 at Aloha Stadium, the same weekend as Apisa’s enshrinement ceremonies.

“My cup runneth over, man,” Apisa said. “It all makes me think of the guys I looked up to, including Charlie Ane, Al Lolotai and Al Harrington. As a Polynesian, one trait I took with me (to Michigan State) was humility. You play for your surname and you play for the state.”

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.