ON THIS DATE IN 1948: Richard Mamiya practices being a pioneer

On this date in 1948, Richard Mamiya became the first UH quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards in a 55-0 win over the Redlands.

Mamiya started the game in relief of starting quarterback Sol Kaulukukui, coach Tommy Kaulukukui‘s brother, who injured his shoulder earlier against Michigan State.

Sol Kaulukukui still managed to kick all seven extra points for the Rainbows.

Mamiya, who was also a star on the basketball team, was credited with 302 yards on 31 attempts including a 75-yard bomb by the official UH statistician but wire services credited him with 328. That mark held for 36 years until Rafael Cherry hit receivers for 332 yards against Wyoming.

Mamiya suffered a fracture of a bone at the base of his spine the previous December but recovered in time to lead the UH basketball team in scoring less than a month later.

For all of the Saint Louis school standout’s heroics on the playing field, they were nothing compared to his future endeavors.

Mamiya went on to become one of the world’s most celebrated heart surgeons and completed Hawaii’s first heart bypass in 1970. He was featured in Time Magazine for “performing 350 consecutive operations without a single fatality” and estimated that he performed more than 10,000 heart surgeries in his career and 20,000 other types of operations.

He was among the first inductees into UH’s Circle of Honor in 1982 and died last September.