One of Coach Jimmy Correa’s favorite baseball pictures was a family photo in 2006, his grandson Kainoa Correa’s senior season on the Waiakea High team.
Coach Correa was a Kamehameha assistant and 88 years old back then. He was pictured with his son and Kamehameha coach Andy Correa; Kainoa; son and Waiakea coach Tom Correa; and grandson and Waiakea assistant Bryan Arbles.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, that photo said everything about Coach Correa: his love of baseball as the oldest active coach in the state, and the sharing of the national pastime that saw three generations on the diamond that day.
Correa earned the honorary title “Coach” due to his time giving to others. He was a volunteer coach on St. Joseph’s High School baseball team for 31 years from 1955 to ’86.
Coach Correa died at home on Sunday, Feb. 7. He was 96 years old. Born in Hilo, he lived a most wonderful life.
“In addition to all the numerous league, state, regional, and national titles he won as a coach, his favorite baseball memories were the times he got to compete against major leaguers,” Kainoa said. “It was during his time as a player, getting hits off Don Larsen and Whitey Ford, playing for manager Bill Veeck while serving in the military.
“He conversed with Yogi Berra while grandpa caught and Yogi batted. The only opportunities for locals to play with the pros were in the military and offseason all-star games.”
There were a few differences between Coach Correa and Yogi. For one thing, one guy was good looking. And he was taller than 5 feet 7.
“Grandpa was better looking. He was 5-10 before shrinking,” said a laughing Kainoa, who pointed out that both legends, one local and the other national, shared the same personable trait.
Coach Correa had a habit and fondness of saying “Hello” to everyone, even strangers. He made new best friends every time he went out for a bite to eat or to the ballpark.
He was consistent, like a Joe DiMaggio hitting streak, in character. Coach Correa was the same way on the baseball field, where he was recognized for his efforts in 1987 as the National Volunteer Coach of the Year. He’s also a member of the Big Island Sports Hall of Fame.
“When most people think old-school coach, they think yeller and tough guy, and coincidentally grandpa was the farthest thing from that,” Kainoa said. “To a certain extent, he was ahead of his time. He was the equivalent of a modern player’s coach, a relationship builder, a father figure. I’d liken him to a Hawaiian Yogi, so similar in the sense of long-term success, the quirky one-liners, odd instructional metaphors and the fact that he was revered by so many.
“You couldn’t take a trip to a restaurant, the grocery store, let alone the ballpark without men of all ages coming up to him, visiting with him, and reminiscing about old moments from when they played for him. When grown men see him they instantly are taken back to some of the best times of their childhood.
“Although he never made money coaching I always felt he was so rich with social wealth. You couldn’t put a price on the relationships he built and the lives he influenced.”
Count his grandson as one. Kainoa played at Puget Sound, where he graduated in 2011 with a degree in History and spent three years on the coaching staff.
He’s in his second year at Division I Northern Colorado as an assistant coach. He’s also the chief recruiter.
Fun at school
The best baseball education came from his grandpa, who not only offered diamond wisdom but also memorable hilarious moments when Kainoa was a youngster.
“He picked me up every day after school, and I got to sit next to him on the bench during every practice and every game, “ Kainoa said. “I loved listening to him pull players aside, and I laughed every time he would second-guess my dad and my uncle Andy aloud.
“It was like being able to sit in on a 400 level baseball course while in Little League. These daily lessons are the foundation of my baseball knowledge, and eventually, they helped to fast-track my collegiate coaching career. Not a day goes by I don’t use one of his sayings or drills.”
Coach Correa was a U.S. Army Veteran of World War II and served in Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands, where he started coaching in 1942 with the Army 298th Warriors.
Thousand words
His Cardinals won BIIF titles in 1959 and ’65, and his team captured the Colt World Series in 1981 in Indiana.
In 1988, he received a congratulatory statement made during Congress by former Sen. Daniel Akaka, who in part said, “These victories while important in themselves are more significant as a reflection not only of Jimmy’s skills as a coach but of his dedication to his community and his ability to bring out the best in his charges, his youth who rose to the challenge, not only on the diamond, but on the playing field of life. There are many in Hawaii today who are the better for having come into contact with Jimmy Correa.”
Like a sharp single up the middle, Kainoa was straight to the point about his grandpa’s contributions to the Big Island.
“To me, he’s defined more by his longevity and his unique ability to impact players over a 60-year span, in some cases multiple generations of the same family tree,” said Kainoa, recalling well that a Correa family picture in 2006 was worth a thousand words.
