Center for Labor Education & Research, University of Hawaii - West Oahu: Honolulu Record Digitization Project
Honolulu Record, Volume 10 No. 20, Thursday, December 12, 1957 p.6
Like Father, Like Son — Football's In The Blood Of Scrappy Willie Croziers, Their Records Show Read About Our Rugged Irishmen
Willie Crozier Jr. has always been an avid follower of the local football leagues.
This year, he took more than just a passing interest in the prep loop. And he had a very good reason for doing so.
His son, Willie III, was a first string guard on the St. Louis High eleven.
Papa Crozier was well rewarded for the special attention he showed in following the destinies of his son and the Saints this past season.
Willie III's stirring line play throughout the season, which helped St. Louis under new coach Jimmy Clark hoist themselves up from a cellar position in '56 to a thirds-place the with Kam this year, did not go unnoticed by the so-called "experts."
Dream Come True
Willie III's exploits were indeed well recognized.
He was accorded the highest honor a prep player could hope to achieve in the city league. He was named to a guard position on the 1957 Honolulu Interscholastic all-star team.
Papa Crozier, himself an old time grid standout with Crusaders (then known as St. Louis College) and later with the Senior League Town Team, was a proud daddy as he watched his ton bring his high school playing days to a close in a blaze of glory on Thanksgiving Day at the stadium. The Saints defeated Kam 14-0.
In a way it was a dream come true for Willie Jr.
Back in 1925, when the elder Crozier hung up his cleats after a fairly brief but outstanding stint at SLC and with Scotty Schuman's Townies, he looked forward to the day when his own son, would follow in his footsteps and keep the Crozier name alive in sports at his alma mater.
All of which brings us to Papa Crozier's playing days.
While most people today associate-Willie mainly with business and politics old timers will tell you that Willie was quite a player in his prime.
Then as now he was a fighter He gave his all while he was in the game. Today, in business or in politics or in just everyday life, Willie is an individual who has always been unafraid to speak out for his rights even if it meant at times stepping on the toes of the Big Five. Incidentally Willie served a hitch in the Territorial Legislature in 1933-35 as a member of the House.
Present Mayor on Team
He did his playing in organized football from 1919 to 1925. Those were the good old days when Red Grange was running wild for Illinois, Notre Dame's famed Four Horsemen were making the nation's sport headlines, Ernie Nevers was starring for Stanford and here in the islands the University of Hawaii "wonder team" was making history.
The grid games, be it prep or senior league, were real humdingers. The teams played for keeps and dished out some real knock-down-drag-out brawls, Willie recalled.
"I had the distinction of playing with and against some, of Hawaii's greatest football players," said, the one-tune SLC lineman, now a graying 55 years of age.
Willie was a member of the Saints' first grid team. That was in 1919.
He said the team was composed of only 13 players and was coached by Lincoln Achiu. Members of that "iron men" team included the following:
Peter Kamalii, center; Willie" Crozier and Archie Hoopili. guards; Keong Soong and Louis Kamalii, tackles; Sam Hipa and Mona Williams, ends; Neal Blaisdell (present city mayor), quarterback; Willie Blaisdell and In Bun Hee, halfbacks; and Joe Camacho, fullback.
Willie's brother, Clarence (Fat) Crozier, now residing on Maui, and Stephen Kahoopii were the other players on that team.
Two Great Tears
The Saints played McKinley at old Kam Field in Kalihi. on November 11, in an exhibition game. The heavily favored Micks won by a narrow 7-0 margin.
SLC officially entered the prep loop in 1920 playing three games, losing 0-3 to champion Punahou, 14-26 to McKinley, and playing to a 0-0 tie with Kam.
The Saints made great strides during Willie's final two years in school.
They finished in second place in both 1921-22, losing to the champions in the regular season play but turning the tables on the titlists in the annual Thanksgiving Day games both years.
The Saints had a 4-1 slate in '21, losing their only encounter to champion McKinley 7-27. They came back to shut out the Micks 14-0 on Turkey Day. Their other victories were: 22-0 over Kam, 14-13 over Punahou, and 25-0 over Honolulu Military Academy;
In '22, SLC had another great year, again dropping their lone contest to the champs — Kam in this case, 14-27, but bouncing back on Thanksgiving Day to clobber the Warriors 22-7. In other '22 games, SLC beat HMA 14-0, Micks 12-0, and Puns 6-3.
Coached by Bill Rosa
Willie remembers the Crusaders' 22-7 victory over Kam as one of the best during his high school days. SLC coach then was Bill Rosa.
St. Louis stars in that game played at Punahou's Alexander Field were: Neal and Timmy Blaisdell, Sam Hipa, Ducky Swan, Robello, John Spencer, Freitas and Cabrinha. Kam standouts were: Greig, Kuhlman, Chan, Ahuna, Pekelo and Apo.
High school games in those days were played at Alexander Field or Kam Field.
Willie's weight during his prep school days was 142 pounds. He went up to ISO in his final senior league days.
Looking back at his playing days with the Town Team, Willie singles out the games against the San Francisco Olympic Club and the University of Hawaii "Wonder Team" in 1925 among his best remembered games.
Oddly enough these were games which the Townies lost — 0-41 to the Olympics and 6-14 to the Deans now known as the Roaring Rainbows).
The 1925 Olympic Club aggregation was one of the greatest in the organization's history, going undefeated in 11 games that season. They defeated California and Stanford among the big schools on their schedule.
Local Greats
The Olympics, who played their last game in Honolulu in 1931, beating the Townies-13-0, was an independent team composed of ex-college stars.
The '25 outfit was nucleused by such greats as Jimmy (Rabbit) Bradshaw of Nevada U., Percy Locey of Oregon State, Jimmy Needles of USF, Ted Shibkey of Stanford, Buck Bailey of Washington State, Norm Cleveland of Stanford and others.
Bradshaw starred for Nevada's great team which invaded Hawaii in 1920. The Wolfpacks defeated the University of Hawaii 14-0 that year.
Bradshaw returned in 1939 as coach of Fresno State. UH routed the Bulldogs 38-2 in the Shrine game. Bradshaw's team gained some consolation by defeating the Healanis 21-6, in their second local outing.
Getting back to that '25 Town Team-Olympics contest, Bradshaw was practically the whole show for the visitors. He gained a total of 335 yards and scored 11 points, which included one TD and five conversions.
Some of Hawaii's greatest gridders were Willie's teammates on that combine. They were: Johnny Traut, center; Herman Clark, tackle; Bernard Farden and Red Steele, ends; Joe Bishaw and Tom Black, ex-St. Marys star, guards; Red McQueen, present sports editor of the Advertiser, quarterback; Bill Kuhlman and Peterson, halfbacks; and Louis Goeas, fullback.
The Townies lost to Washington State in the Christmas Day tilt that year 7-24. The University of Hawaii thumped the Cougars 20-11 in the New Year's Day encounter.
Powerful Line
Willie remembers the Town Team's loss to the UH Deans because that was the game in which the "Wonder Team" was scored on for the first time in two years.
Town Team scored in the final seconds of play on a pass play from Nick H6opii to Red McQueen. The game was played on Armistice Day at old Moiliili Field. It was not till a year later that the Honolulu Stadium was built, the Townies edging the Deans 14-7 in the first game played on the stadium turf.
The "Wonder Team" was loaded with some of the biggest names in Hawaiian grid history, including such stalwarts as: Bill (Doggie) Wise, Eddie Fernandez, Duke Thompson, Pump Searle, Johnny Morse, Jim and Bruce Cruick-shank, Walter Fernandez and Al Lemes.
The Honolulu Advertiser in its Nov. 12 morning issue described the Townie-UH game as follows:
"A sturdy defense, built around a fighting forward wall was the secret of Town's success yesterday. The front line of the Townies was unlike anything put on a gridiron in past games by Schuman.
"It was well knit, strong at all times and carried a terrific punch when on the defensive. Traut at center, stood out as the bulwark with Clark, Black, Bishaw, and Crozier doing nobly."
The contest, was billed as the "big game" of the year and attracted a capacity crowd to Moiliili Field.
UH was a 20-point favorite."
Payne’s Dropkick
The game featured a punting duel between Hoopii and Peter-son of the Townies and Morse and Walter Fernandez of the Deans.
UH left after the game for the Mainland to play Occidental College.
Another game Willie recalls as being a real donnybrook was the 6-6 tie game with Navy in 1924. That was the one in which Lionel (Dusky) Brash, ex-McKinley flash renowned for his great open field running, picked his way 50 yards on a pass interception to score in the dying moments of the game to salvage a tie for the Town Team.
The Navy's Frank Payne booted two field goals, one from the 40-yard line and the other from the 37-yard stripe. Payne did it with the now forgotten drop kick.
Willie said Navy defeated the Town Team in December 1923, the year he joined Schuman's team following his graduation from St. Louis. Navy won 12-6.
Willie played for Palama during the latter part of the '22 season after the close of the prep schedule. This was his first taste of Senior league football.
The Town Team was composed of ex-high school and a few Mainland college players, Red Steele, for instance was from the coast and worked for Schuman's Garage, according to Willie.
He pointed out that Scotty Schuman, who managed and coached the Townies, was well liked by the players. "He was a square shooter and treated all of us swell," said Willie.
Rates Cummings Clark High
"We got full medical care, uniforms and after the season got paid a fee for our expenses based on our performances. Scotty always arranged for a get-together after the games either at Wo Fat's Chop Sui, the Silver Dragon the Kailua Tavern or at Scotty's home. The Silver Dragon used to be a fancy joint, located upstairs, right opposite where the Hawaii Theater is located," Willie added.
Willie rates Brick Cummings among the greatest he has played with. It is his opinion that Herman CIark, another Town Teammate, would have made All-American if he had the chance to attend college on the Mainland.
"Johnny Traut, who played for McKinley before joining the Townies I think was a great center," said Willie.
He had high praise for Maui Matsumoto and Pat Nakamura (now with Kaimuki High), both lineman who starred for the Micks. He also spoke highly of Tonm Black and Joe Bishaw of the Townies.
Galt Great Coach
Willie said Carter Galt, ex-Yale Ail-American, was a great coach. He recalled that Galt assisted Bill Rosa at St. Louis during his last years at SLC.
Willie attended the University briefly in 1923 and would have had a chance to be on the "wonder team" if he had continued his education. He quit school to go to work for the U. S. Internal Revenue Department.
Besides football, Willie went in for rowing with the Myrtle crew, played a little baseball, and was on the water polo team in school.
Two More Players
Willie proudly points out that although his son will he gone next year, there are two more little Croziers coming up the ladder who hope to 'continue to keep the family name in the sports spotlight at St. Louis High. Fourteen-year-old Michael will be out to win a berth on the Crusader eleven come next fall. He tried out for the junior varsity team this year.
Little Dennis, 12-year-old, who has already embarked on his grid career (he played for
Kalanianaole in the Pop Warner Little League) already has his sights on making the varsity when he gets up to, SLH.
The two lads will not only, be following the footsteps of their dad but other relatives who have excelled in local grid circles. They are:
The late G. D. (Jinkie) Crozier,-a cousin, who starred for Punahou; Joe (Oiae Man Gang) Wong Leong, an uncle, ex-St. Louis tackle; Chris Crozier, a cousin, former Maui St. Anthony tackle; Charles Crozier, a cousin ex-SLC tackle; Campbell Crozier, a cousin, ex-McKinley back; Clement Crozier, a cousin, ex-Mick tackle; Abraham, Fred and William Hall, all cousins and ex-SLC linemen; Edwin Hall, a cousin ex-SLC tackle; Dan Dunn, a cousin, ex-HMA halfback; George (Sonny) Dunn, a cousin, ex-HMA end.
It is only common humanity to feed the hungry. If our hospitals are too big, too complex, too impersonal to do these small kindnesses for the sick, something is very wrong.