Did you know the ʻEwa plantation boy who founded the Asahi baseball team was the father of Dr. Richard “Doc” Noda, who helped build the Waipahu Jackrabbits?
Their story connects three generations of sports, service and opportunity, from early baseball diamonds to plantation playing fields and a state championship at ʻIolani School.
Born in ʻEwa in 1892 to Japanese immigrant parents, Steere Gikaku Noda organized the Asahi baseball team in 1905. He was only 13. The boys came from a Japanese camp near Liliha and King streets, and their modest beginnings offered little hint of the team’s future success.
Steere took on nearly every responsibility. He managed the club, captained his teammates, handled its finances and became its first standout pitcher and hitter. Players initially wore cotton shirts and khaki pants. They had neither caps nor spikes during their first year.
The Asahis eventually captured 15 Hawaiʻi Baseball League championships and traveled to Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan. Baseball gave the players opportunities to represent Hawaiʻi and form friendships across the Pacific. In 1968, Japan honored Steere with the Fifth Class Order of the Rising Sun for promoting goodwill and friendship.
His interests extended well beyond playing ball. A biography in congressional statehood hearing records documents six years as a deputy collector with the Internal Revenue Bureau and 14 years interpreting for the district court. He also umpired senior baseball games and judged amateur wrestling tournaments.
What began on baseball diamonds more than a century ago grew into a tradition of teamwork, mentorship and community pride. Steere Noda is in the middle row, third from left. Photo: Honolulu Star Bulletin, April 18, 1931.
Steere became an attorney in 1924, served in the Territorial House of Representatives and State Senate, and helped shape Hawaiʻi’s future as a delegate to the 1950 Constitutional Convention. The Hawaiʻi Sports Hall of Fame inducted him into its inaugural class in 1998.
His son, Doc Noda, brought that commitment to Waipahu. As an Oʻahu Sugar Company physician, he cared for plantation families. Through the Jackrabbits, he also helped create opportunities for their children to grow through sports.
Coach Kenneth “Ken” Kimura, educator Domingo Los Baños Jr. and Mac Flores joined the many people who helped build the program. Flores became one of its most familiar and influential leaders. Together, volunteers developed baseball, football and basketball programs that gave hundreds of children a team to join and adults who believed in them.
Making those opportunities possible took work. Families roasted and sold kālua pig and huli huli chicken, knocked on doors and organized fundraisers. The Jackrabbit Carnival brought another source of support, filling the community with food, rides and entertainment.
Every sale helped meet a practical need: uniforms, equipment and opportunities to play. Parents and volunteers invested their time so children could learn discipline, make friends and experience the pride of representing Waipahu.
Rick and Carl Noda share their love of baseball came from their dad, Dr. Richard Noda. Photo: Josh Koh
That spirit reached Doc’s own children: Rick and Carl Noda, Cynthia Lum and Linda Look. Rick and Carl played Little League, Pony League and other baseball programs. Even while attending ʻIolani, they returned to play for Waipahu during the summers.
Linda continued the family’s athletic tradition as a coach at ʻIolani, leading its girls water polo team to the 2007 state championship. Her husband, Wendell Look, devoted 43 years to various roles at ʻIolani, including 35 years as head football coach before stepping down in 2026.
Today, the restored Waipahu Sports Legends Monument at Hans L’Orange Park honors Doc Noda, Kenneth Kimura, Mac Flores and other community figures whose contributions reached beyond competition.
Their legacy lives wherever someone volunteers to coach, raises money for uniforms or encourages a child to try. The Noda family and the Jackrabbits helped make those acts of service part of Ewa and Waipahu’s story.
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