Ex-Hawaii star tackle and record holder Levi Stanley dies at 73 | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Former University of Hawaii football teammates remembered Levi Stanley as a humble, popular and dynamic defensive lineman.

Stanley, who held the Rainbow Warriors’ record for career tackles for 35 years through 2008, died on Sunday at Kuakini Medical Center, according to friends and family. He was 73.

“Levi was a very tenacious ballplayer,” said Cliff Laboy, who teamed with Stanley on the defensive line in the early 1970s. “He was very serious. He took nothing for granted. Very strong, physically fit. He spent a lot of time in the gym training and preparing for battle.”

Defensive coordinator Larry Price developed a relentless D-line of Laboy at left end, Stanley at left tackle, Paul Lee at right tackle and Simeon Alo at right end. Pat Richardson succeeded Alo.

“The defensive line kept coming and coming (after ball-carriers and quarterbacks),” Richardson recalled.

In 1973, the Warriors, who entered as 50-point underdogs, upset Washington 10-7 in Seattle. Stanley, as usual, led the defensive charge.

“He was a local hero,” said former UH head coach June Jones, who was a backup quarterback in 1973. “In the 1970s, Levi captivated everybody, including the University of Washington in that victory up there.”

Stanley, who grew up in Waianae, was fiercely loyal to his West-side roots.

“He was very proud to be from Waianae,” Jones said. “He was a competitor, an unbelievable competitor. He represented what Larry Price wanted in Hawaii football.”

Stanley also attracted a loyal following. “Levi’s Kanaka Army” would gather on the Diamond Head side of Honolulu Stadium.

“The Kanaka Army would show up at the old Termite Palace, under the scoreboard, wearing No. 74 (replica shirts),” Richardson said. “Levi never bragged about himself. He was such a good guy, a humble, humble, humble Hawaiian.”

Former UH center David “Mad Dog” Mutter said: “After a game, he would spend a half-hour at the 50-yard line, signing autographs, giving away his chinstrap, and spending time with the kids. … He was a good all-around guy, but he didn’t fool around when it came to the game of football. He was all business.”

Retired columnist Ferd Lewis wrote in 2008: “Asked by charity workers what they wished for one Christmas, a group of underprivileged kids requested not gifts or a visit by Santa Claus, but the opportunity to meet Stanley.”

Mutter said Stanley was noted for a swim move and helmet slap — a legal maneuver back in the day — to navigate past blockers.

“He had a fantastic head slap,” said Mutter, even when Stanley played a game despite a compound fracture in his right arm. … He was one of the best, if not the best, player I was across from.”

During his senior season in 1973, Stanley set the UH career record with 366 tackles. (Linebacker Solomon Elimimian broke that record in 2008.)

Stanley played two seasons with the Hawaiians of the World Football League. His signing “bonus” was a new purple Porsche. He also spent time with the San Francisco 49ers.

Stanley was inducted into the UH Circle of Honor in 1995.

After retiring, he worked as a stevedore. He is survived by his wife, Karen, and their daughter.

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