The Hawaiians (WFL)


The Hawaiians were a professional American football team based in Honolulu that played in the World Football League. They played two seasons, 1974 and 1975. Their records were 9–11 in 1974 and 4–7–1 in 1975. Their home stadium was Honolulu Stadium in 1974 and Aloha Stadium in 1975. The best known player to play for the Hawaiians was former Dallas Cowboys running back Calvin Hill, though quarterback Jim Fassel became better known as a head coach decades later. The Hawaiians head coach was Michael Giddings who guided the Hawaiians through both the 1974 and 1975 World Football League seasons.
The franchise was originally going to be called the Honolulu Warriors, but a local team had trademarked that name. As a result, the team was known simply as "The Hawaiians", although the press frequently mistakenly called them the "Honolulu Hawaiians" or the "Hawaii Hawaiians." They were owned by real estate developer Christopher Hemmeter for the first season. He was named league president in 1975, and sold the Hawaiians to jewel merchant Edward Sultan, Jr.
To keep the NFL out of Hawaii, the WFL had the Hawaiians play their games on Sundays, while the rest of the league played on Wednesday nights. This resulted in confusion, since one team played a different schedule from the rest of the league, and teams had to fly back to the mainland Sunday night to play again on Wednesday night. The franchise also made the mistake of allowing a same-day tape delay of their home games, meaning many Hawaiians' fans would watch the game on TV later on that day. Eventually, the Hawaiians switched to playing on Wednesday nights.
Even with these missteps, the Hawaiians represented a serious attempt to form a viable professional football organization, one that at least had the potential for success had the WFL been better run. They were one of only three teams that did not miss a payroll during the league's first season. Hemmeter and his original partner, Sam Battisone were among the few owners thought to be capable of fielding a team in 1975.
It was the first and, to date, only major professional American football team to establish its home base outside the contiguous 48 states.

Schedule and results

1974 regular season

WeekDayDateOpponentResultAttendance
1WednesdayJuly 10, 1974at Florida BlazersL 7–818,625
2WednesdayJuly 17, 1974at Southern California SunL 31–3832,018
3SundayJuly 21, 1974Detroit WheelsW 36–1610,080
4SundayJuly 28, 1974Chicago FireL 29–5312,608
5ThursdayAugust 8, 1974at Jacksonville SharksL 14–2143,869
6WednesdayAugust 14, 1974at Birmingham AmericansL 0–3943,297
7WednesdayAugust 21, 1974at Memphis SouthmenL 8–6025,123
8SundayAugust 25, 1974Jacksonville SharksL 8–1410,099
9SundaySeptember 1, 1974Houston TexansW 33–1510,248
10FridaySeptember 6, 1974at Portland StormL 6–1515,551
11WednesdaySeptember 11, 1974at Houston TexansW 24–179,061
12WednesdaySeptember 18, 1974New York StarsW 17–1412,169
13WednesdaySeptember 25, 1974Philadelphia BellL 16–2114,497
14WednesdayOctober 2, 1974Birmingham AmericansW 14–812,039
15WednesdayOctober 9, 1974at Philadelphia BellW 25–224,900
16WednesdayOctober 16, 1974at Portland StormL 0–3N/A
17WednesdayOctober 23, 1974at Chicago FireW 60–1720,203
18WednesdayOctober 30, 1974Memphis SouthmenL 31–3320,544
19WednesdayNovember 6, 1974Southern California SunW 29–813,780
20WednesdayNovember 13, 1974Portland StormW 23–014,245

Playoffs

1975 regular season

WeekDayDateOpponentResultAttendance
1SundayAugust 2, 1975at Philadelphia BellL 15–213,266
2SundayAugust 9, 1975at Portland ThunderW 25–247,709
3SundayAugust 16, 1975Southern California SunL 19–3715,862
4SundayAugust 23, 1975Chicago WindsW 28–1710,313
5SundaySeptember 7, 1975at Memphis GrizzliesL 17–3715,132
6SundaySeptember 14, 1975Jacksonville ExpressW 33–1518,479
7SundaySeptember 21, 1975at San Antonio WingsL 11–3010,871
8SundaySeptember 28, 1975at Shreveport SteamerL 25–3221,348
9SaturdayOctober 4, 1975Birmingham VulcansL 16–2918,894
10SaturdayOctober 11, 1975Philadelphia BellW 14–1310,789
11SundayOctober 19, 1975Southern California SunL 7–2615,905