 Born in Hawaii , Oana played five sports in high school , and took up baseball professionally after he was noticed by Ty Cobb . He spent a few seasons in the minor leagues before joining the Phillies , who sent him back to the minors after six games in 1934 . For the next decade , he played for various minor league teams , where his Hawaiian heritage proved to be both a selling point for teams and a hindrance to him making the majors , until the outbreak of World War II . Facing a shortage of active players , the Tigers signed him , and Oana played parts of 1943 and 1945 with the team . After 1945 , he was sold to the Dallas Rebels , and he finished his professional career in 1951 . He later operated a lakeside fishing business until his death in 1976 . 
