WAIMEA — The Menehune Booster Club will induct four new members to its Menehune Legacy Hall of Honor. The ceremony is scheduled for April 7 at 5:30 p.m. at Waimea High School’s cafeteria.
This year’s inductees are: Steven Carl Taylor, Norman “Skippa” Holt Sr., Andrew Vidinha and Miyoshi “Boxer” Matsuda.
Vidinha was the first player from Kauai to earn a professional baseball contract. He was a star pitcher and catcher for Waimea. After graduating in 1947, he played in the five-game “On to Brooklyn” classic at Honolulu Stadium. The annual classic featured two teams — the Kunihisa All-Stars and the Whaley All-Stars — and Vidinha played for the Kunihisa team. He was named the outstanding player in the series and was “Hawaii’s Boy Baseball Player of the Year.”
The same year, Vidinha earned a spot in the World All-Stars team, playing with amateur players from across the US, Canada and Cuba He played against the Brooklyn Eagle All-Stars in a three-game “Brooklyn Against the World” series at Ebbets Field. The World All-Stars beat Brooklyn, 2-1. Afterward, Vidinha signed a contract in 1948 with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
In 1948, Vidinha played for the Dodgers’ minor league affiliates as a catcher, the Santa Barbara Dodgers and Idaho Falls Russetts teams. He had a combined .245 batting average. At the end of the season, he returned to Kalaheo and didn’t go back to the Mainland. Vidinha was a US Army veteran PFC and served in the Korean War.
Taylor excelled in football, baseball and track. In 1970, he was awarded the Waimea High School Alumni Association Outstanding Athlete Award. That same year, he was captain of the varsity football team and was given the KIF Champions Outstanding Football Player award. He was also captain of the varsity basketball team and was named KIF Most Inspirational Player.
Taylor also captained the track team and was named 1970 KIF Champions Most Outstanding Track Athlete. In his senior year, he was recognized as KIF Football All-Star running back during the Aloha Classic held at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. After high school, Taylor graduated from Boise State University in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in social work.
From 1974-77, he served as a juvenile counselor with the State of Hawaii, Judiciary Family Court. In 1978, Taylor was awarded the Honolulu Police Department’s 7st Recruit trophy for Outstanding Athlete. After 25 years of service, he retired from HPD in 2003, serving with the department’s SWAT team, Solo Motorcycle Traffic Unit and DUI Enforcement Squad. He retired as a sergeant with HPD’s Detective Division.
Holt, in 1961, competed in basketball and swimming for the Menehune. He was named to the KIF boys basketball all-star team for two years. In the same year, Holt was part of a four-man team that tied the KIF 200-yard freestyle record and won a bronze medal at the Hawaii state meet.
Holt played one year of basketball at Willamette University in Oregon. He afterward pursued playing professionally and was part of the Generals team that travelled worldwide with the Harlem Globetrotters. Currently, he coaches senior softball for the East Kauai Legends.
On Kauai, Holt served 28 years for the Kauai Police Department and was a member of the Kauai Police Commission. He retired as a sergeant in the department’s Detective Division.
Matsuda is a 1947 graduate who played baseball, basketball and football. After graduating from Waimea High School, Matsuda served in the United States Army for two years and was a veteran of the Korean War.
Matsuda was an active member of the Kauai Americans of Japanese Ancestry baseball league with the Makaweli Indians for years. As a pitcher, he helped the Kauai All-Stars team win AJA state tournaments in 1963, 1965 and 1971.
He was given the nickname “Ironman” because he was able to pitch nine innings for three straight games and also competed as a hitter. After retiring from AJA play after 43 years, Matsuda went on to play for the Kaumakani Rookies Senior Softball team.
To purchase tickets to the ceremony, call Waimea High athletic director Jon Kobayashi at 338-800 ext. 175.
