The late Francis ‘Bo’ Saiki earned his status as one of the isle’s most decorated baseball and softball coaches.
Saiki, a retired zoning inspector and U.S. Army National Guard of Hawaii veteran, passed away on March 2 in Hilo at the age of 79 — leaving behind a unique and distinguished legacy of athletic accomplishment in the Big Island sports community. His memorial was held on Tuesday.
Saiki helmed some of the isle’s most dominant teams, including a softball dynasty at Waiakea High that persisted for more than a decade, a state champion PONY League baseball team and the Keaukaha AJA baseball team —and became the first-ever coach of the Kea‘au High softball team in 2000 and led the Cougars to their first state tournament appearance.
Saiki was the son of two already-legendary community figures; Dorothy “Auntie Dottie” Thompson — director of the Merrie Monarch Festival from 1968 until her death in 2010 and accomplished golfer — and Ronald “Harpo” Saiki, a famed football coach and storied figure in the Keaukaha and Hilo athletic communities.
Auntie Dottie, Harpo and Bo are the only mother, father and son to all three be inducted into the Big Island Sports Hall of Fame — joining the BISHOF among its first, second and 12th induction classes, respectively.
Jimmy Park coached alongside Saiki in Keaukaha for years, and remembers him as a dedicated, passionate workaholic.
“He was a year-round type of guy,” Park said. “He’d coach the high school girls during the (spring), then he’d coach (youth baseball) — then during the offseason, he’d coach high schools girls through league, then he’d do AJA baseball. He was year-round for 30 years plus.”
Under Saiki’s direction, Waiakea’s softball squad went 161-25 overall and 59-0 in BIIF play over a five-season stretch from 2007-12, making ten state tournament appearances.
“He was dedicated, very dedicated to the kids and to the sport,” Park said. “If we couldn’t get umpires, he would call ‘em up and he’d find umpires. He would always be around the ballpark, I’d say his whole life was mainly around the ballpark.”
Indeed, Saiki couldn’t stay away from the ballpark, and went to great lengths to make sure that his players could play and that he could coach. Saiki often paid out of pocket for expensive trips to tournaments, and spotted money for players who couldn’t afford it.
“When they went to the states, a lot of kids couldn’t afford it,” said Herbie Yasahura, former Kea‘au High baseball coach and friend of Saiki. “He helped them out. A few of them never paid back, and he never said anything. He’d tell me ‘this girl owe me over 100 bucks,’ but he’d never approach them and say ‘hey you owe me money.’”
Eugene Narimatsu, a longtime baseball coach and Hilo Little League director, knew Saiki since “forever.” The pair first encountered each other in the 1970s and became friendly rivals, coaching opposing teams in the same local baseball league.
After getting to know Saiki better, Narimatsu got to see the magnitude of his generosity and kindness.
“I had gotten to know Bo’s lighter, humorous side and generosity while sitting and talking story with him and other coaches after any game,” he said. “Bo always (yes always) brought — whenever available at the local market — cut sashimi with soy and wasabi-mustard to share with everyone there. Food was also available for the players after a game and it was always a pleasure to see the kids eat freely with one another.”
“He was real generous, I think he was kinda soft,” Yasahura said with a chuckle. “I know that a lot of us are gonna miss him a lot, and just the kind of personality he was — just upbeat.”
Park remembers one AJA game where Keaukaha’s player-to-coach ratio was too low per to league guidelines, so Saiki removed himself from the dugout and watched the game from the outfield.
“We were one player short,” Park said, “so he let me and another coach take control, and he was just way out in the outfield.”
Saiki’s coaching style was old-school and effective. He was fiery, passionate, loud and commanding — but ultimately respectful.
“Bo was a straightforward, no nonsense, bulldog of a coach,” Narimatsu said. “However, I don’t ever recall witnessing him yell, rant and rave or cuss at umpires for any ‘kicked’ or possibly ‘missed’ call. He treated the game and participants with respect.”
Though effective, Saiki’s coaching tactics were found to be abrasive by some. He was dismissed from his post at Waiakea after the end of the 2019 season, a move that Saiki and others presumed was influenced by parent complaints. It would be the last season that he ever coached high school softball.
“(Saiki) can coach,” wrote former Tribune-Herald reporter Bart Wright in a June 2019 editorial. “He’s not touchy-feely, he yells sometimes, which is as common as popcorn and hot dogs at a ballgame, but it’s a fact that some parents cringe when they hear the coach shouting at their daughter.”
But, the minor hiccup late in his career did not erase the decades worth of contributions that Saiki made to local sports — and the overwhelmingly positive impact carved out by him.
“I believe the youngsters from the Keaukaha and Hilo area are better off today because of the attention (Saiki gave to) them on or off the field,” Narimatsu said. “Bo’s legacy will live on. His commitment to the youth in the community would, perhaps, one day make it fitting to name a baseball or softball field in his honor.”