As a Punahou kindergartner in 1983, Chris “Buster” Small ’96 would watch his older brother Radford ’84, a senior, play on the buff ‘n blue baseball and football teams. A decade later, when Chris became a varsity athlete competing in the same two sports, he would utilize both his brawn and brains to forge a Hall of Fame career.
Small’s development as a baseball catcher was overseen by a couple of experienced mentors; his brother had played the position, and Punahou varsity baseball coach Pal Eldredge ’64 had been a former catcher himself. Small made the varsity roster as a freshman and became a four-year starter.
At 6 feet and 215 pounds, Small had the physical build and skillset of a prototypical high school backstop – “big, strong and solid, with a power bat,” says Eldredge. What made him exceptional was his cerebral side, as a psychologically tough player with a high in-game IQ. This allowed him to thrive as a catcher, the defensive captain calling the game from behind the plate. Small was named first-team All-ILH and All-State his sophomore year in 1994.
Small’s role as a center for the Punahou football team also made use of his smarts. After playing running back as a freshman on JV, he started his sophomore year on varsity calling out blocking schemes and snapping the ball for the ILH’s top offense that put up 327 yards per game. Small was honored as a first-team All-State center for both his junior and senior seasons.
After Punahou, Small played catcher for four years at Princeton University, where the Tigers made it to the Ivy League championship game every season, winning it his senior year. He played two seasons in Single-A baseball in the Toronto Blue Jays organization, and now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he works in the finance industry.