Tom Kaulukukui

{{Short description|American football player and coach (1913–2007)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox college coach

| name = Tom Kaulukukui

| image = Tom Kaulukukui Polynesian Football Hall of Fame display.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Exhibit for Kaulukukui at the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1913|1|22}}

| birth_place = Honolulu, Hawaii Territory, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2007|3|9|1913|1|22}}

| death_place = Kailua, Hawaii, U.S.

| alma_mater = University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

| player_sport1 = Football

| player_years2 = 1934–1937

| player_team2 = Hawaii

| player_positions = Halfback

| coach_sport1 = Football

| coach_years2 = 1941

| coach_team2 = Hawaii

| coach_years3 = 1946–1950

| coach_team3 = Hawaii{{efn|Co-head coach with Eugene Gill}}

| coach_years4 = 1956–1959

| coach_team4 = ʻIolani

| coach_sport5 = Baseball

| coach_years6 = 1941

| coach_team6 = Hawaii

| coach_years7 = 1947–1949

| coach_team7 = Hawaii

| admin_years1 = 1949–1951

| admin_team1 = Hawaii

| overall_record = Football: 42–19–3

| bowl_record = 3–2

| tournament_record =

| championships =

| awards =

; As a player

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors No. 32 retired

| coaching_records =

}}

Thomas Kaauwai Kaulukukui (January 22, 1913 – March 9, 2007) was an American football player and coach.{{cite news |title=Tommy Kaulukukui, sports legend, 94 |first=Wes |last=Nakama |newspaper=The Honolulu Advertiser |date=March 10, 2007 |url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Mar/10/ln/FP703100329.html |access-date=October 18, 2010 |quote=Famed Big Island athlete did it all, then went on to coach at UH, 'Iolani}} He served as the head coach at the University of Hawai'i in 1941, as co-head coach with Eugene Gill, and from 1946 to 1950.{{cite news | title =Tom Kaulukukui Records by Year | url =http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/coaching/alltime_coach_year_by_year.php?coachid=1227 | work =College Football Data Warehouse | accessdate =December 1, 2007 | archive-date =October 23, 2006 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20061023012326/http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/coaching/alltime_coach_year_by_year.php?coachid=1227 | url-status =dead }} From 1956 to 1959 he served as head coach of 'Iolani preparatory school in Honolulu.

Kaulukukui was a standout college athlete who earned 17 letters in five sports and was the University of Hawaii's first All-American football player. He was nicknamed "Grass Shack" by legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice. His number, #32, is only one of two numbers to have ever been retired by the Hawaii football program. He was inducted into the University of Hawai'i Sports Circle of Honor in 1981 and the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame in 2021.{{cite web|url=https://hawaiisportshalloffame.com/kaulukukui-thomas-kaawai/|title=Thomas Ka'awai Ka'ulukukui|work=Hawaiian Sports Hall of Fame|access-date=November 21, 2024}}{{cite news|title=Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Unveils Class of 2021|website=Polynesian Football Hall of Fame|url=https://www.polynesianfootballhof.org/releases/polynesian-football-hall-of-fame-unveils-class-of-2021}}

During World War II, he served as a lieutenant in the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Prior to joining the Army, he was in a work battalion with Japanese-Americans who were not permitted to volunteer for the military. After his coaching stint at Hawaii ended, Kaulukukui ran an insurance agency before being appointed as federal marshal for the District of Hawaii in 1959.{{cite news|url=https://archives.starbulletin.com/2007/03/10/news/story06.html|title=Isle sports legend defined wisdom of warrior|newspaper=Honolulu Star-Bulletin|date=March 10, 2007|access-date=November 21, 2024}} Kaulukukui was also a trustee for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for 12 years and was chairman in 1989.{{cite interview|last=Kaulukukui|first=Thomas|url=https://www.vietnamwar50th.com/assets/1/28/Kaulukukui_Thomas_Captions_Transcript.pdf|title=Kaulukukui, Thomas USA|work=50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration|access-date=November 21, 2024}}