Ah Kong Pang was voted to Life Membership in the Outrigger Canoe at the Annual Meeting on February 28, 1977. Pang was voted to the honor posthumously, having passed away in July 1976.
Pang, who was a veteran beachboy, was a long-time member of both the Outrigger and Hui Nalu Canoe Clubs. If you saw the name Duke Kahanamoku, Dad Center, Gay Harris or John D. Kaupiko, you’d probably also see Ah Kong’s name. He served in all capacities as a canoe racing official in the 1940s and 1950s, was a coach and paddler. In 1958 he represented Outrigger at the HCRA Annual Convention.
As a youth, Ah Kong was a swimmer. He was selected to the Hawaii team that went to the 1932 Far East Olympics as a breaststroker. He played water polo for the Waikiki All-Stars. He was also a fisherman, holding the Hawaii record for the biggest fish caught between Black Island and Makapuu Point for many years–a 95-pound ulua.
Although he paddled for Hui Nalu, Pang’s greatest contribution to the Outrigger was probably the time he spent handling the Outrigger’s canoes.
Off the beach he was a fire hydrant engineer for the Board of Water Supply.