During this month in many communities, including New York City, we are celebrating Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. Current Yankees shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa is from Hawaii. He is of Samoan, Hawaiian, Japanese and Caucasian descent. Bet you didn’t know, though, that 100 years earlier another native of Hawaii played locally at shortstop and then third base. He just missed his chance to play in the major leagues before influencing the college game, along with basketball, in our area.

William Tin Lai was born in Hawaii during 1895. Known as Tin Lai or Buck Lai, he was the son of Chinese immigrants who had arrived during the late 1800s. Buck was an exceptional athlete. At age 17, he joined the Hawaiian Chinese University Nine traveling baseball team. From 1912 to 1916, the team barnstormed the U.S. mainland, playing against other college opponents in stadiums around the country. During 1918, Buck was signed to participate in spring training with the Philadelphia Phillies. He never played with the team. He was sent to the Bridgeport Americans, a Phillies minor league affiliate, for more training and experience.

Following several seasons with the Americans, Buck opted to join the semi-pro Brooklyn Bushwicks that played home games at Dexter Park in Woodhaven, Queens. On May 10, 1922, the team moved Buck from shortstop to third base. He would excel at the hot corner, earning raves from teammates, opponents, fans and the press. During his time with the Bushwicks, he played with and against many baseball legends, including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

Buck was given another opportunity to play with a major league team when he was signed by the New York Giants during 1928. However, he never appeared in a game. Several years later, Buck returned to Hawaii to create his own traveling team. The All Hawaiian Nine, simply known as the Hawaiians, consisted of Hawaiian-American players of Japanese and Chinese ancestry.

Following his playing days, Buck became a scout and instructor for the Brooklyn Dodgers and then he was named athletic director at Long Island University in Brooklyn. He coached baseball and basketball at the college from 1949 until 1960. Buck also penned two books that have become popular with coaches: “Championship Baseball” provides the techniques about teaching the baseball skills developed at the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers’ College of Baseball and “Winning Basketball” features the basics about individual skill and team strategy.

William Tin “Buck” Lai is a treasure of the Hawaiian and New York sports scenes. Let us forever celebrate his special contributions to collegiate and professional baseball and basketball.

There is so much to like about K’Andre Miller of the New York Rangers. Fans like his play in the defensive zone, especially that long reach, and he has displayed several unique moves on offense, too. K’Andre has matured at the pro level in just a few years and he has the potential to become an outstanding NHL player.

There also is so much more to K’Andre than what he shows us on the ice.

K’Andre is driven by playing at his peak. He has always tried to be the guy that teammates can count on in any situation. He takes pride in his reliability and he tries to use this to influence the play of teammates.

The Rangers blueliner is most proud of all the hard work, sometimes along a rocky road, that he needed to employ to get to the NHL. He uses the ups and downs as motivation. He calls himself a workhorse.

The pressure of the NHL, for K’Andre, is addressed through meditation that includes yoga and finding that peace of mind and calmness. This is getting him to his next on-ice achievement—consistency.

K’Andre gets it! He realizes that he has one of the best jobs in the world and loves it. He understands the Rangers history and that wearing the team sweater is both a blessing and a dream come true.

Then, there is K’Andre’s biggest booster. His mother sacrificed a lot for her son during his formative years. He recalled that he broke a stick when he was about 12 years old prior to a tournament. His mom put in a little extra time at work for the money so he would have a new stick for the games. According to K’Andre, she always tried her best to provide him with the best possible life. He connects with her every day through texting, calling, Facetime, or any other available technology. According to K’Andre, mom is his best friend.

The Ranger defenseman is from Minnesota, so New York City has been a big change from Hopkins (population 18,000). He enjoys the social life of the big city, seeing so many different faces every day and experiencing the culture and the style. He also has many more restaurants to sample his favorite meal of pasta.

Even though K’Andre is only 22 years old, he already knows that he has attained a prominent platform where he can serve as a positive role model and influence the next generation of players or just hockey fans.