Long before Waipahu became the community it is today, its sugar plantation fields were bringing together families from different cultures and backgrounds. And on the playing fields, another kind of community was taking shape.
Sports became an important part of life in plantation-era Waipahu. Baseball diamonds, playing fields and recreation programs gave children a place to gather, compete, make friends and learn lessons that reached far beyond the game.
That history can still be seen today at Hans L’Orange Neighborhood Park, where a new monument honors 19 Waipahu sports legends who helped put their hometown on the map.
Among those honored is Dr. Richard Yoshiharu Noda, remembered not only as “Doc,” a physician who cared for generations of Waipahu families, but also as one of the community leaders who helped create opportunities for young people through the Waipahu Jackrabbits.
A Family Tradition of Baseball and Service
For the Noda family, the connection to baseball and public service began even before Doc Noda's generation.
Doc's father, Steere G. Noda, was a respected community leader who served in the Hawaiʻi State Legislature and was also involved in establishing organized AJA baseball in Hawaiʻi.
Although Doc Noda did not play baseball himself, he was a sportsman. He was a wrestler and believed strongly in physical fitness and the value of sports in a young person's life.
His sons, Rick and Carl Noda, and daughters, Linda and Cynthia, grew up hearing that philosophy and experiencing it firsthand.
Rick and Carl Noda share their love of baseball came from their dad, Dr. Richard Noda. Photo: Josh Koh
A Doctor Who Was Also a Coach at Heart
Dr. Noda spent much of his career as a physician for the Oʻahu Sugar Company, caring for plantation workers and their families. He became known simply as “Doc” Noda, the kind of doctor people could call at any hour. He was known throughout Waipahu not simply as a doctor, but as someone who cared about people.
His sons remember their father keeping a medical bag in the back of his car and answering calls in the middle of the night to care for someone who was sick or injured. That same spirit extended to his children.
Rick and Carl grew up playing baseball, and their father encouraged them every step of the way. His backyard training methods were anything but fancy. He hung a car tire from a mango tree, and the boys practiced batting against it to build strength and improve their swings.
But Doc's vision extended well beyond his two sons and two daughters.
Building the Jackrabbits
Dr. Noda was part of a group of Waipahu leaders who helped establish the Waipahu Jackrabbits, working alongside educators, coaches and other volunteers to give local children opportunities to participate in organized sports.
Among those instrumental in building the program were Coach Kenneth “Ken” Kimura and educator Domingo Los Baños Jr., along with Mac Flores, who would go on to become one of the Jackrabbits' most recognizable and influential leaders.
Together with many other volunteers, they helped turn an idea into a youth sports program that would touch generations of Waipahu children.
The Jackrabbits grew to include baseball, football and basketball, giving hundreds of young people a place to play, learn teamwork and stay active.
There was no big sports budget. Families and volunteers had to make it happen themselves. They raised money by roasting and selling kalua pig and Huli Huli chicken, going door to door and organizing community fundraisers. The famous Jackrabbit Carnival eventually became another beloved Waipahu tradition, bringing families together with food, rides and entertainment while helping support youth sports.
It was fundraising with a purpose: give the kids a team, a uniform, a place to play and something positive to be part of.
What began on neighborhood playing fields became something much greater: a shared sense of belonging that connected families across generations. Photo: Hawaii Sports Museum
More Than a Game
That mattered in a plantation town where schools, neighborhoods, families and organizations were helping bring together people from many different cultures.
Hans L’Orange himself recognized the importance of recreation. In 1924, the beloved Oʻahu Sugar Company plantation manager persuaded the company to set aside several acres of low-yielding cane land for a recreation area for workers. His belief was that wholesome recreational and social activities were important to the happiness and health of plantation workers.
That recreation area eventually became Hans L’Orange Park, a place deeply woven into Waipahu's athletic history.
It was here that young athletes played, families gathered and generations of children learned what it meant to be part of a team.
One of those young athletes was Henry Kawaihoa “Prince” Oana, born in Waipahu in 1910. Oana went on to play Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies and Detroit Tigers, making his MLB debut with the Phillies in 1934. Historical research notes that he played at the baseball field established at Hans L’Orange Park as a young athlete.
His story is a powerful reminder that a child playing on a local field can dream beyond the boundaries of the plantation.
The Ripple Effect
Perhaps the most meaningful part of Dr. Noda’s story is that his influence did not end with the children he coached, encouraged or helped. It continued through his own family and the generations that followed.
Rick, Carl and Linda became athletes themselves. Rick and Carl played Little League, Pony League and other baseball programs and continued playing for Waipahu during the summers, even while attending ʻIolani School. They were part of a generation of children who grew up around adults who believed their time, effort and dreams mattered.
Their sister, Linda Look, became the women’s water polo coach at ʻIolani School, following in her dad's footsteps to impact generations of young athletes. Linda was also an outrigger canoe paddler who competed with the Waikiki Beach Boys. Coaching ran in the family. Linda’s husband, Wendell Look, served as ʻIolani’s head football coach for more than 40 years.
For Doc’s children, the Waipahu of their childhood was more than a place on a map. It was a place where people knew one another, looked after one another and showed up for the kids.
As Rick recalled, Waipahu was “kind of a big family.”
That simple description may capture what the Jackrabbits meant better than any list of championships or statistics. It was a community built around showing up, believing in young people and giving them a place to belong.
And in many ways, that spirit continues today.
A monument has been installed at Hans L'Orange Park where you can see all the sports legends from Waipahu that helped shaped the sports scene. Photo: Josh Koh
Those children grew up. Some became athletes. Some became coaches, teachers, parents and community leaders. Others simply carried with them the lessons they learned about teamwork, discipline, friendship and showing up for one another.
That is why the monument at Hans L’Orange Park is more than a collection of names. It preserves the stories of people who invested in young lives and, in doing so, helped shape the Waipahu that came after them.
The scoreboard tells you who won a game. The stories of the people who played, coached and cared tell you what the game meant.
Did You Know?
Waipahu's sports legends didn't just make history on the playing field. They created opportunities for young people, and those opportunities became part of the stories of families across generations.
Dr. Noda's story is one of them. So are the stories of Ken Kimura, Domingo Los Baños Jr., Mac Flores and the many volunteers who helped build the Jackrabbits.
Their names now appear on a monument. But perhaps the most fitting tribute is found somewhere beyond the monument itself: in the children who got their chance to play, the families who came together to support them and the generations that carried those experiences forward.
In that sense, the story of the Waipahu Jackrabbits is still being written.
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