Blast from the past
With a half hour remaining in today’s practice, former head coach Bob Wagner was summoned to address the Warriors.
Wagner spoke of fighting through this weekend’s conditions — Laramie’s thin air, possible chilly rain — and enjoying Hawaii’s blue skies and friendly people.
And then Wagner became lost in emotion.
“Once you stand in front of the University of Hawaii football team,” Wagner said, “and they have the white helmets, and a few guys had the rainbow stripe on the side, and you’re out here on the practice field where I spent 19 years … I mean, there are a whole lot of memories flushing in there.”
He then smiled.
“And I’ve gotten older,” Wagner said. “That had an effect.”
Wagner and his wife are preparing to move back to the Big Island, where they plan to build a house on land they purchased a few years ago.
Wagner and the rest of the 1992 team will be honored at the 2017 Green & White Celebration on Sunday, Oct. 15, in the Stan Sheriff Center. The 1992 Warriors are part of this year’s Circle of Honor inductees.
For ticket information to the event or other inquiries, please call (808) 956-4598 or contact AKA@KoaAnuenue.org.
GO WARRIORS !!!
BEAT the POKES !!!
brought this over from previous blog …
from ST’s column …
The Cowboys are trying to rebound from Saturday’s 49-13 loss to Oregon, during which heralded quarterback Josh Allen was held to 9-for-24 passing for 64 yards and zero touchdowns.
*** Allen appeared to be affected after he was hit on the right arm while throwing in the first half and by an ankle ailment in the fourth quarter. ***
During Monday’s teleconference, Allen told reporters he is physically fit. “It’s a little sore,” he said of his throwing arm, “but nothing terrible — nothing that probably will prevent me from practicing or even playing this week. It’s not even a question.”
At 1-2, Allen expects the Cowboys to rally, as they did last season when they surged from a 2-2 start to win the Mountain Division. “This is a team that’s going to be on a mission the rest of the season,” Allen said.
– – – – – – –
*** Our D has to rough him up, like the Beavs did. ***
Rough him up, early and often.
Good to see Wags back in the islands…A very good man & his teams always were known for their ferocious defense. Glad to hear he will be back on the Big Island.
What was Wags doing recently, after his stint at KS-Hawaii?
Here’s a link to a MidWeek article from 2014 about what Wags has been doing since retiring as Kamehameha Schools Hawaii.AD: http://www.midweek.com/coach-wagners-excellent-retirement/
Also a nice quick bio on Wags’ football coaching career: http://www.redirectify.com/people/bob-wagner.html
A big Mahalo to coach Wags for the wins and memories.
Fond memories of Wags in position meetings, where all of the K brothers would try and get his goat, and his voice would crack……sometimes, its the really small things in life that you remember. A very solid coach and even better man.
History: “This season marks the ninth time that Wyoming is Hawai’i’s conference-opening opponent, most of any school in UH history. Seven of the eight previous meetings were held in Laramie, Wyo., with the Cowboys holding a 5-2 advantage. ref Hawaiiathletics.” So if history carries any weight, the advantage goes to the Cowpokes……..but History is not playing on Saturday.
#5. H-Man:
Mahalo for the links,
“Bob Wagner is having the time of his life.” Yes, Enjoy !!!
It was sad to see Wags get fired as he was a fixture for a long time and had some historic wins. Of course, the biggest win was the BYU victory and that puts him in the history books. I know he had a few mediocre years but he was the coach that I felt the worst for when he got fired.
I’m glad his life turned out okay for him.
So great to see coach Rolo connecting with legends from past Hawaii teams. Also great lesson for current players that missed their treatments. You gotta earn the right to run sprints, practice with your team, and get better.
# 9. Big Fan September 19, 2017 3:16 pm
” It was sad to see Wags get fired …..
I’m glad his life turned out okay for him. ”
Yes, I agree.
Good luck to Bob Wagner!
I think the UH owes him big-time… not because he took us to our first bowl game and finally beat BYU (several times), but for the way he was unceremoniously fired so a new coach (Von Appen as it turned out) could replace him.
I have much aloha for Coach Wagner, who may have been one of the best defensive minds along the lines of Greg McMackin.
Wags getting forced out is a poignant lesson that loyalty is a two-way street. When I hear talk about JJ, it makes me pause, as in coaching, there is always a 50% chance you will get canned, best case scenario, the other 50%, you choose to leave on your own. Loyalty only goes so far when you have to factor in wins and losses.
Boolakanaka — yes, loyalty and expectations of fans/admin.
My memory may be spotty and selective, but I recall Paul Johnson and many of Wagner’s coaches were hired away to other teams after success. I worked with Souza’s wife at a school and was aware of the coaches getting offers they couldn’t refuse as she complained about not seeing her husband at home as he ascended the coaching ladder. Plus, Daddy Wags didn’t get us to another bowl game in years (3 or 4 at least!).
As for JJ, there would have been calls for his removal if he didn’t get us back to a BCS bowl again in a few years. Look what happened to McMackin for not making a Hawaii Bowl. Great success raises our expectations really high… 🙂
Alright coach Wags. One of my favorite coaches.
Kean Wong.
Grand slam home run.
Durham is up 1-0 in AAA final.
In an alternate universe, Durham has two ex-Bows.
Carlton Oswalt makes that field goal in Provo, Paul Johnson precedes Bob Wagner, and Ken Niumatalolo is our current head coach.
*succeeds
Still have a copy of Coach Wagner’s “Getting the Edge” book about the UH Football Program which chronicles his time at Manoa from 1977 up to 1992 (from assistant hired by Larry Price, coaching the DBs and DC under Dick Tomey, and his getting the head coaching job). Wags had a vision for UH football, but was hindered by ridiculous entrance standards that helped WAC opponents and an administration that had no interest in improving facilities and funding for the program (“You did well with what we currently give you. Why do you need this and that?”).
So far we have:
UH – WY
27 – 24 Raider Dogs
31 – 20 bg
31 – 27 cappie the dog
35 – 28 Ipu Man
35 – 30 ballerz
38 – 28 Sangamon Keith
38 – 31 H-Man
38 – 31 boolakanaka (H-Man guessed this first so might want to pick something else)
38 – 35 akuhead2
42 – 28 Petey808
42 – 38 oldtimer808
44 – 42 Sausage McMuffin with Eggs
56 – 14 Akamai Okole
Please let me know if I missed any or if I recorded any scores incorrectly.
Here’s a list of Wagner’s wins over P5 schools and BYU:
1988 Haw 27 Iowa 24
Haw 41 Oregon 17
1989 Haw 56 BYU 14
Haw 23 Oregon St 21
1990 Haw 59 BYU 28
1992 Haw 24 @ Oregon 21
Haw 36 BYU 32
Haw 36 Pitt 23 (not P5 but should be mentioned)
Haw 27 Illinois 17 (Holiday Bowl)
1994 Haw 36 Oregon 16
Haw 21 @ Cal 7
Hawaii 31 – Wyoming 23
A touchdown catch by a TE with less than 5:00 left.to seal it.
1992 Holiday Bowl Warriors team.
The only UH football team to win a non-Hawaii bowl, well, bowl in recent history.
Got at least ONE Super Bowl Winning ring owner on that team also—a Ma’a Tanuvasa.
Cappie it was a one game playoff.
U H 14 THEM 31
Wyoming 28 UH 24
UH DL will be ineffective and DBs will play too soft and allow WR to break free.
Rolo was 3-1 last year on the road against the Mountain West, with a particularly impressive win against Air Force … a place that i think is even harder to win at than Laramie. I expect Coach Nick to have the boys pumped. The Cowboys are going to be tough at home but they are not the same team they were last year. The 2016 Cowboys would take us down. The 2017 Cowboys are struggling to find a running game and wide receivers that can be counted on. I look for us to go to Ursua early and often…and our defense to play well enough.
UH 31 Wyoming 28
1992 Holiday Bowl Warriors team.
Paul Johnson (HC of Georgia Tech) was OC for that team. Wags put together a winning team of coaches and players.
21.
He had some impressive wins, but of course P5 back then and P5 now is on a completely different level
are*
https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Edge-Football-Bob-Wagner/dp/B003L7ED02
The fly-in-the-ointment will be the possibility for freezing rain come Saturday night in Laramie. Cold weather, our guys can manage, but freezing rain is another thing. That’s why Rolo had his QBs put their hands in ice water before throwing a pass during practice. Just hope it doesn’t rain. Should be a good game otherwise.
So weather report now says it will feel like 30 with light showers-that’s as of now. Saw the Warriors play there in 13. It was about 15 -20 degrees-no effect. We are a football team. Warriors are gonna be just fine. Full throttle complete game period. They ain’t that good and we need a clean hard effort that’s all. GoWarriors!!!!!
Up tempo play would keep the onfield players warm.
As for bench, need hot seats…
Need the defense to get some pressure, contain Allen, and get off the field. Not an easy task especially with the altitude and the temperature. However, they didn’t wake up early every day this summer to train hard for that to be an excuse. We finally get a win on ESPN and come home 1-0 to start conference play.
BOWS 37 cowboys 32
If it rains and the balls get heavy, won’t it affect Allen’s passing as well? Might work in favor of the Warriors since we already have an established running game.
New post: http://www.hawaiiwarriorworld.com/?p=44715