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.