The Interesting Career Of Buck Lai
May 15, 2022Posted by james
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.
by james on May 15, 2022 |
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