ON THIS DATE in 1961: Earl Harbin’s return home pays off

Earl Harbin went from a star at Kamehameha to fourth string at Oregon State to starting quarterback for a winning Hawaii squad.

On this date in 1961, Harbin threw two touchdowns and Hawaii beat the Kaimuki Spartans 19-18 in front of a crowd of 750 at Honolulu Stadium.

The victory clinched third place for Hawaii in the Athletic Association of Hawaii. Faasuka Lutu scored all three of Kaimuki’s touchdowns and later enrolled and played at UH.

Harbin completed 13 passes for 180 yards in his sophomore season with the Beavers, but lost 27 yards on 13 carries. He failed to letter the next year after playing just 53 minutes. Hawaii newspapers reported that the lefty dropped out of school in March and Oregon newspapers reported that he was expelled. He was married to Cynthia Hemmings in Honolulu in August and then showed up for fall camp at UH and took the starting quarterback spot from Louis Ventura by October.