Kenneth A. Bray

Kenneth Augustine Bray (May 26, 1895 – January 9, 1953) was an Episcopal priest, teacher, sportsman and coach. He founded the athletic program for Iolani School from 1932-1953, establishing the "One Team" philosophy touted by many teachers, coaches and students in Hawaii. His influence in the sporting community of Hawaii has been widely accepted and he has been honored as a member of the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame.[1] His biography, The Ol' Man: Father Kenneth A. Bray, co-authored by Don Johnson and Ronald Oba, was published in 1994.

Biography

Kenneth A. Bray was born on May 26, 1895 in Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire, England. His father, the Reverend Thomas William Bray, was once a vicar of St. Paul's Church in Aberdeen, Scotland.[2] Father Bray earned the Bachelor of Divinity degree from General Theological Seminary in New York City and was ordained in 1909. He taught both Greek and Latin at St. Stephens College and Nashotah House, Wisconsin. He also taught at Choate School in Wallingford, Connecticut and Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania[3] where he coached basketball, baseball, lacrosse and football. During his early teaching years, in 1917, Bray enlisted in the military for service in World War I.

It was in 1932, when Father Bray arrived in Nuuanu, at the small campus of Iolani School where much of his legacy would one day be anchored. During the next two decades of athletics, Father Bray distinguished his players with traditions that exemplified outstanding character qualities of excellence, humility, hard work, discipline and sportsmanship. Numerous championships over two decades came as a result of Bray's coaching, including a "Clean Sweep" of three championships (1950-1951) in football, basketball and baseball in the same school year.

Seabiscuit's horseshoe

In 1939, following the epic victory of Seabiscuit over War Admiral in the match race at Pimlico racetrack in Maryland (1938), Father Bray wrote a letter to Charles S. Howard, the wealthy owner of Seabiscuit. He explained how the display of courage had drawn the admiration of not just of an entire nation, but of young athletes from a small school in Honolulu. He requested one of Seabiscuit's horseshoes. Howard responded with more than a letter. He sent one of the shoes Seabiscuit used during the dramatic win against War Admiral. The shoe became a talisman for Iolani football players who would ceremoniously kiss the horseshoe on their bus rides to the old Honolulu Stadium.

Influence

Many of Father Bray's "boys" went on to become leading high school and collegiate coaches, teachers, business leaders, and professionals in the medical and dental fields. On June 24, 1981, the Father Kenneth A. Bray Athletic Complex was dedicated at Iolani School. One of Father Bray's notable players is Mervin Lopes who coached the Chaminade University Silverswords basketball team in an upset over the University of Virginia Cavaliers in the 1982-1983 season. The Cavaliers were ranked first in the nation led by All-American seven footer Ralph Sampson. According to ESPN it is number seven among the top ten sports upsets of all time.[4]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.hawaiisportshalloffame.com/xbray.htm
  2. ↑ name="The Ol' Man: Father Kenneth A. Bray" p.5
  3. ↑ name="The Ol' Man: Father Kenneth A. Bray" pp.6-9
  4. ↑ http://www.espn.go.com/page2/s/list/topupsets/010525.html

External links

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