Late Hawaii quarterback Alex Kaloi arrived with 1974 win over BYU (2024)

HONOLULU — Success against Brigham Young University has proven hard to come byfor the Hawaii football team over the years, with decades-long droughts between victories.

But in 1974, no one had reason to suspect that would someday be the case. In four games between 1930 and 1960, UH claimed three of the meetings in what would much later become a regular series.

In the '74 season opener at aging Honolulu Stadium, some 14 years since UH and BYU last met, it shaped up as a big one for not only new head coach Larry Price, but sophom*ore quarterback Alex Kaloi, a Leilehua High alumnus making his first start.

The game was a late addition to the schedule, wrote the Honolulu Star-Bulletin's Dick Couch, and there was some disappointment that it would not be held at Aloha Stadium; the Halawa venue’s debut wouldn’t be made until the next season.

It was still a marquee matchup with LaVell Edwards’ imposing Cougars, who went on to go 6-0-1 in the Western Athletic Conference that season. A capacity crowd of 23,000 packed the wooden stands of Honolulu Stadium. BYU had Gary Sheide, the nation's No. 2 passer the previous year.

Kaloi, at 5 foot 10, was a true dual threat in Price’s “Hula T” offense — a four-back, sprint-out attack — with an accurate arm and quick legs. He won the job among a group of signal-callers that included future UH head coach June Jones.

Against BYU that day, UH never found the end zone, but Kaloi did enough, setting up kicker Reinhold Stuprich for five field goals in a 15-13 victory. UH also had to survive a chip shot field goal miss by BYU in the final seconds.

Kaloi was 13-for-21 for 167 yards and an interception. He rushed 11 times for 11 yards. Mel deLaura caught 10 of his passes for 143 yards.

“Kaloi played a tremendous game despite showing the instincts of a Mississippi gambler,” wrote the Advertiser’s Dan McGuire.

An important forerunner to future UH quarterbacks, Kaloi helped usher in the Rainbow Warriors’ Division I era under Price. UH joined the WAC in 1979 but would not record a WAC victory over the Cougars until their 10^th conference meeting, the well-known 56-14 rout of the No. 18 Cougars in 1989.

Kaloi, who went on to run a successful dental practice in Waianae for four decades, died on Sunday at age 67. He was lauded by notables including Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, who was a UH assistant coach under Price and helped sign Kaloi, an all-state football performer and state basketball champion at Leilehua.

He followed up the 1974 BYU win with a three-touchdown performance in a 35-9 rout of Humboldt State (two passing, one rushing). Other notable games in that 6-5 season included victories over Fresno State and Rutgers.

One of his most notable feats came on Sept. 13, 1975, when he scored UH’s first points in the first game at the brand-new Aloha Stadium. It came on a 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against Texas A&I in a 43-9 loss.

Kaloi would not put the loss on the stadium’s foreign Astroturf field when several players were offered a chance at assigning blame. “The field was all right. I just didn’t execute the plays right,” he told the Advertiser.

He helped UH to its first win at the stadium a month later, 24-7 over Portland State and his one-time backup, Jones. Later that season, Kaloi and UH achieved a 30-20 win over No. 15 San Jose State, at the time considered one of the biggest outcomes in program history. UH again finished 6-5 that year.

In his senior year of 1976, Kaloi’s playing career ended suddenly in the second game of the year, a rematch against Texas A&I.

On the last play of the first quarter, Kaloi suffered what was initially diagnosed as a pinched nerve. But it turned out to be much more serious, a slipped vertebra.

“This is a very sad day for me, probably the saddest day of my life,” head coach Larry Price said, per reporter Dick Fishback. “Alex has been our leader both on and off the field.”

Per the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Kaloi resided in Wahiawa all his life. He is survived by his wife Jan and three daughters.

Brian McInniscovers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii.He can be reached atbrian.mcinnis@charter.com.