Hawaii Islanders

For the minor league Arena Football team, see Hawaiian Islanders.

Hawaii Islanders 1961–1987 Honolulu, Hawaii
Team Logo Cap Insignia
Class-level
Triple-A (1961–1987)
Minor league affiliations
Pacific Coast League (1961–1987)
Major league affiliations
Chicago White Sox (1987) Pittsburgh Pirates (1983–1986) San Diego Padres (1971–1982) California Angels (1969–1970) Chicago White Sox (1968) Washington Senators (1965–1967) Los Angeles Angels (1962–1964) Kansas City Athletics (1961)
Name
Hawaii Islanders (1961–1987)
Ballpark
Les Murakami Stadium (1986–1987) Aloha Stadium (1976–1987) Honolulu Stadium (1961-1975)
Minor league titles
League titles	1975, 1976
Division titles	1970, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984

The Hawaii Islanders were a AAA minor league baseball team, based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1961 through 1987. The Islanders were originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics. They played their home games at Honolulu Stadium, Honolulu's Aloha Stadium and later at Les Murakami Stadium. After being one of the most successful minor league teams, the Islanders faltered and ultimately moved to the mainland as the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in 1988.

History

The Islanders were originally an amateur team, but on December 17, 1960, the Sacramento Solons, a longtime PCL stalwart, moved to Honolulu. Minor league baseball was then in free fall, as sparse attendance, rampant major league TV broadcasts, expansion and franchise shifts at the major league level, and retrenchment in farm system support caused the contraction of many leagues, and the utter collapse of others. By the end of the 1960s, however, Hawaii was the model franchise for the minors. In 1970, the Islanders, then an affiliate of the California Angels, won 98 games and drew over 400,000 fans to lead the PCL and the minors as a whole.

Due to being 2,500 miles from their nearest opponent, the PCL had a unique schedule for the Islanders. Initially, teams made a four- and a seven-game visit to the Islands, with the Islanders doing the same. Later, as the league expanded, the Islanders played an eight-game series against each team in order to cut down on travel costs.

The travel costs also applied to radio coverage. In the early years of the team in the 1960s, the Islanders radio announcer would use the old method of "re-creating" the road games in the Honolulu radio studio, which was used by most major league teams during the 1930s and 1940s. In those days, the team's radio play by play man was Harry Kalas, who had just gotten out of the service. When Kalas later moved on to the mainland (with the Houston Astros and later the Philadelphia Phillies), he was replaced as Islanders play by play man by Hank Greenwald (later a broadcaster for the San Francisco Giants); Greenwald was succeeded in turn by a young Al Michaels. Other Islanders broadcast alumni included Ken Wilson, Les Keiter and Mel Proctor.

The 1970 team was named #38 out of the top 100 Greatest Minor League Teams of All Time as selected by MiLB.com.

In the early 1970s the Islanders were the closest thing to an independent team in the high minors. While standard minor league working agreements in recent times require a minor league team to cede complete control of its roster to its major league affiliate, the Islanders' early deals with the San Diego Padres typically called for the Padres to send only about six players to Hawaii. The Islanders' management signed players on its own to fill most of the roster spots, and was free to trade, sell or release them without approval from San Diego.

Ultimately, being located thousands of miles from the other PCL teams proved too much of a challenge. The Islanders achieved success and stability as a longtime affiliate of the Angels and the Padres, but when those teams found tie-ups closer to home, Hawaii shifted from organization to organization. It was also affiliated over the years with the Kansas City A's, Washington Senators, California Angels, Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Its last club, in 1987, finished last in its division and last overall in attendance (a little over 116,000) in the PCL.

Prior to the 1988 season, the team moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, and became the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, where its been ever since.

Aftermath and influence

Five years after the Islanders left Hawaii, the minor league Hawaii Winter Baseball was founded in 1993 and played their games from October to December. The league was affiliated with the Major Leagues and continued play until 1997, and from 2006 until it folded a second time in 2008.

Notable alumni

• Hank Allen
• Bobby Balcena
• Barry Bonds
• Carmen Fanzone
• Tony Gwynn
• Dick Lines
• Winston Llenas
• Jim McManus
• Diego Segui
• Derek Tatsuno
• Mark Thurmond
• Jay Ward
• Bobby Valentine
• Harry Kalas (Announcer)
• Al Michaels (Announcer)

Year-by-year record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
1961	68-86	6th	Tommy Heath / Bill Werle	none
1962	77-76	5th	Irv Noren	none
1963	81-77	4th	Irv Noren
1964	60-98	10th	Bob Lemon
1965	75-72	6th (t)	George Case
1966	63-84	10th	George Case
1967	60-87	12th	Wayne Terwilliger
1968	78-69	3rd	Bill Adair
1969	74-72	4th	Chuck Tanner
1970	98-48	1st	Chuck Tanner	Lost League Finals
1971	73-73	4th (t)	Bill Adair
1972	74-74	5th	Rocky Bridges
1973	70-74	5th	Rocky Bridges / Warren Hacker / Roy Hartsfield
1974	67-77	6th	Roy Hartsfield
1975	88-56	1st	Roy Hartsfield	League Champs
1976	77-68	2nd	Roy Hartsfield	League Champs
1977	79-67	2nd	Dick Phillips	Lost League Finals
1978	56-82	8th	Dick Phillips
1979	72-76	8th	Dick Phillips	Lost League Finals
1980	76-65	5th	Doug Rader	Lost League Finals
1981	72-65	3rd (t)	Doug Rader	Lost in 1st round
1982	73-71	5th	Doug Rader
1983	72-71	5th	Tom Trebelhorn
1984	87-53	1st	Tommy Sandt	Lost League Finals
1985	84-59	1st	Tommy Sandt	Lost in 1st round
1986	65-79	9th	Tommy Sandt
1987	65-75	9th	Bob Bailey

Cultural references

Pernell Roberts guest starred in a two part Hawaii 5-O episode, "The Grandstand Play," as a former major league star who moved to Hawaii for the benefit of his son (played by Elliot Street), who gets mixed up in the murder of a local socialite.

The Islanders baseball team is mentioned on a number of occasions in the 1980s television series Magnum, P.I. The main character played by Tom Selleck was a baseball fan for the Islanders and often wore a Detroit Tigers ball cap.

External links

• Islanders a fan hit during 27-year run