Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame
Former All-America defensive back Paul Dombroski played just two seasons of football at Linfield, but when combined with his post-graduation accomplishments, there’s certainly no doubt of his worthiness for induction into Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame.
Linfield teammate Wendell Say, the head football coach at Aiea High School for the last 32 years, says “When Paul first learned he was going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, I was the first guy he called. Our relationship goes back 50 years. We were the best man at each other’s weddings. He’s always garnered a lot of recognition in his career, but I know this honor is really special for him.”
Paul enrolled at Linfield in the fall of 1975 and joined Ad Rutschman’s already powerful football program. But by the next fall, the University of Hawaii had lured him back to his home state with a full scholarship offer. During the 1976 football season, he was the starting cornerback and punter at UH but struggled academically in the much larger university environment. Eventually, Paul re-turned to Linfield as a senior in 1978 and went to earn first team all-Northwest Conference honors as well as first team recognition on the Kodak and NAIA
All-America teams. He helped pay for school with a work-study position lining the football field with chalk.
Helping Linfield achieve a 9-1 record and a Northwest Conference championship, he established a program record with 10 interceptions, the second-highest mark that season among all levels of college football. And his three interceptions during a November Lewis & Clark game set a single-game record. Paul and his Wildcat teammates advanced through the playoffs to the national semifinals, narrowly falling to Concordia (Minnesota) 24-23.
Paul acknowledges that his Linfield football experience “cultivated discipline, humility and determination that helped fuel a belief that I could initiate positive change in my life.”
After graduating from Linfield, Paul returned to Hawaii and worked as a security guard at his alma mater, Leilehua High School, while coaching JV football and boys basketball.
With a lingering desire to play football professionally, he wrote a letter to all 28 NFL teams and included a brief resume. About half the teams responded by offering tryouts on the mainland. Just as he was gearing up to go stateside, the Kansas City Chiefs called him, saying they were sending a scout to Hawaii to run an open tryout in
advance of the 1980 NFL Pro Bowl. Wearing Chuck Taylor hightops and cutoff jeans, he ran through the combine with about 200 other professional wannabes. The Chiefs invited Paul to their rookie spring camp and he went on to survive two rounds of cuts to earn a spot on the full-season squad.
Paul made an immediate impact during his first preseason game with the Chiefs, intercepting two passes, deflecting two more and leading the team in tackles.
Perhaps the only player of Okinawan descent to make a National Football League roster, Paul played six seasons – mostly as a special teams contributor. He was a member of four different pro teams, the Chiefs, Patriots, Buccaneers and Browns. During his time with the Patriots, he was twice selected as New England’s Special Teams Player of the Year. The journey into professional football, Paul says, “was one of those where I was always looking over my shoulder, always on the bubble, and never got completely comfortable.”
Wendell Say calls Paul “one of those special athletes, he could do anything, pick up any sport and beat you at it. You couldn’t find anything he couldn’t beat you at.”
After his football career had run its course, he taught school for two years in Florida, did some modeling, occasional acting and dabbled in real estate. He also spent time as the logistics producer for the NBC TV series NFL Quarterback Challenge.
Paul earned his cosmetology license, and together with his wife, Caron, opened their own hair salon. He also worked for several hair care companies, including Platform Artist and Product Copy.
A survivor of breast cancer, Paul became an advocate for men’s breast cancer awareness. So much so that he chaired a committee alongside a major hospital group for the development, fund raising and construction of a Breast Wellness Center.
Paul and Caron, a former Patriots cheerleader, have been married for 39 years. Together, the Dombroskis live in Odessa, Florida, a small community just north of Tampa.
