On-Air Now
On-Air Now
Listen Live

40 Years Ago Today

By Lance Tominaga, ESPN Honolulu Web Editor.

Happy Sunday! Today we hop into our ESPN Honolulu Time Machine and journey back to the sports happenings on Halloween 1981 – exactly 40 year ago. At the time, Ronald Reagan was in his ninth month as U.S. President, a first-class postage stamp was 15 cents, and the No. 1 song on the Billboard charts was Arthur’s Theme (Best that You Can Do) by Christopher Cross. Erie’s what happened in sports:

♦ In Little Rock, Arkansas, Waipahu’s Andy Ganigan scored a shocking second-round KO victory over Sean O’Grady to claim the newly-created World Athletic Association lightweight title. Ganigan dropped O’Grady three times in that final round, causing the referee to halt the bout via three-knockdown rule. Said Ganigan, “I was prepared to go 15 [rounds], but I saw an opportunity to end it. He came straight in but met my left hand.”

♦ Future BYU running back Lakei Heimuli rushed for 162 yards to lead Kahuku to a 20-7 upset win over Castle. With the victory, the Red Raiders improved to 3-3 on the season. The Knights fell to 5-2 and dropped into second place in the OIA’s Windward Division.

♦ The UH-Hilo women’s volleyball team notched its 15th straight win by sweeping Nevada-Reno at home: 15-3, 15-11, 15-3. The Vulcans solidified their No. 1 ranking among NCAA Division II schools.

♦ Future Pro Football Hall of Fame QB led the Miami Hurricanes to a 17-14 upset over Penn State, handing the No. 1-ranked Nittany Lions their first loss of the season. Two other future Hall of Famers also had big days on the gridiron: Georgia RB Herschel Walker rolled up 112 rushing yards and four TDs in a 49-3 blowout over Temple. And out west, USC’s Marcus Allen had an even bigger day, rushing for 289 and four TDs to lead the Trojans over Washington State.

♦ In the NBA, Julius Erving scored 22 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a two-point win over the Atlanta Hawks. George Gervin poured in 27 points to help the San Antonio Spurs get past the Denver Nuggets, and a young rookie guard named Isiah Thomas scored 28 to lead the Detroit Pistons over the Chicago Bulls.

# # #