Every Monday, GoSwords.com will publish "This Week in 'Swords History presented by Big City Diner" which looks back at significant events and some of the memorable games that helped shape Chaminade University Athletics into what it is today.
Dec. 23, 1982: Yes, Virginia, There is a Chaminade
The University of Virginia, ranked No. 1 with consensus two-time Player of the Year Ralph Sampson and having dispatched Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown and Houston's Phi Slama Jama (featuring Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler) earlier in the season, stopped in Honolulu after defeating Houston and Utah in Tokyo, Japan.
Richard Haenisch (courtesy Honolulu Advertiser)
Meanwhile Chaminade had celebrated a significant win just six days earlier, taking down the University of Hawai'i, their Division I neighbors. However the victory was tempered by a loss to Wayland Baptist on Dec. 21.
The two teams would meet at the Neal Blaisdell Center two days later, a year after Virginia downed the Silverswords, 69-58, in Honolulu. The rematch would be substantially different and sent shockwaves that sent reverberations throughout the college basketball landscape.
In front of a crowd of 3,383, 'Swords center Tony Randolph held Sampson, a high school basketball rival in their native Virginia, in check while scoring 13 of his game-high 19 points in the first half as Chaminade forged a 43-all tie at halftime.
The Cavaliers would take a 56-49 lead in the second half and it appeared the rout was on. But Mark Rodrigues' three-point play, a long Randolph jumper and two Tim Dunham free throws would tie it at 56.
Then with UVA up 58-56 with 9 minutes, 11 seconds left, Rodrigues executed a perfect alley-oop to Dunham for a flush – two of his game-high 17 points – that changed the momentum of the game. The teams traded scores until Mark Wells' driving layup with 1:37 remaining put the 'Swords ahead for good at 70-68. Free throws from Earnest Pettway, Dunham and Wells with the help of a double-dribble violation with 10 seconds left on what was potentially Virginia's tying possession would seal the game.
When the final horn sounded, a wild celebration ensued. Richard Haenisch (nine points, five rebounds) sat on top the rim and proceeded to cut the down the nets. Head coach Merv Lopes was the toast of town. His counterpart, UVA coach Terry Holland, acknowledged it the biggest upset ever when asked by reporters outside the team's locker room after.
The story quickly made its way to the wire services on the mainland. Late night ESPN SportsCenter anchor Tom Mees was the first to report the upset but initially refused to acknowledge the score without confirmation. Even then, he had to make several calls to see if it was real.
Washington Post reporter Michael Wilbon, at the time just out of college and now an ESPN personality, was in town covering the University of Maryland football team's game against Washington in the first-ever Aloha Bowl. He made several calls to his editors on the east coast, pleading to hold space for the next morning's edition. The paper did not and Wilbon said it was the most upset he had ever been on a professional level.
The Honolulu Advertiser called it the "Miracle on Ward Avenue" while the Honolulu Star-Bulletin's headline was "Yes, Virginia, There is a Chaminade."
The upset would begin Chaminade's reputation of being the Giant Killers of college basketball and, of course, would pave the way to what is today as the Camping World Maui Invitational.
A book chronicling the Chaminade-Virginia game written by former Honolulu freelance writer Jack Danilewicz called "The Greatest Upset Never Seen" was published in 2019 and is available at most bookstores online and through The University of Nebraska Press.
