Charles "Charlie" Teetai Ane Jr., a giant in Hawai'i football whose imposing 6-foot-2, 260-pound frame of the 1950s was dwarfed only by his considerable legacy, died Wednesday in Honolulu.

He was 76 and passed away after longtime health issues.

Ane was a key two-way lineman on the powerful Punahou School teams of the late 1940s, was an All-Coast selection at Southern California in the early 1950s and was a Pro Bowl center during a seven-year NFL run (1953-59) with the Detroit Lions.

Along with former Punahou teammate Herman Clark Jr., Ane helped open the way to the NFL for local players. "They were among the first guys from here to go to the pros and by what they did, they showed players from Hawai'i could make an impact," said Punahou alum Norm Chow, offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans.

Years later, Ane would express his wonder at the number of Hawai'i-reared players who were making their marks in the pros. But Rockne Freitas, who came out of Kamehameha Schools to follow in Ane's footsteps with the Lions, said he shouldn't have been surprised. "He was among the first to show what we could do," Freitas said. "He left an impression."

Ane, who was a head coach at Damien and an assistant at Punahou, Radford and Kaimuki, also served as an inspiration to players who would follow him into coaching.

"Lessons he taught me stayed with me when I went into coaching," said Pal Eldredge, who was an offensive lineman under Ane at Punahou in the early 1960s and coached baseball at the school. "He was tough, hard-nosed, but he taught you well and cared about you."

When Chow got his first head coaching job at Waialua, from 1970 to 1972, he said he often called upon Ane for advice and recalled lessons from his playing days. "I asked myself, 'What would he do in the same situations?' "

It was a sign of the respect that Ane was held in, Eldredge said, "that people who played for him, even when we were adults, called him only 'Coach, Mr. Ane or Papa.' You never called him Charlie."

Ane was selected to five athletics halls of fame — Punahou, USC, Detroit Lions, Samoan and Hawai'i Sports. The last one, USC, came a week ago, where he was represented by his family.

Along with strength and size, Ane played football with an analytical mind and intuition. "When you'd look at the Lions' games, you noticed his was the first head (charging) out of the line," said Dave Eldredge, who played and coached with Ane at Punahou and played against him while at Stanford.

At Punahou, Ane excelled in baseball, basketball and track as well as football. At USC, he was a two-way tackle and quarterback in the single wing and played baseball before leaving a year early for the NFL. He helped the Lions to three division titles and two championships and was voted team captain 1958-59.

Ane and son Kale, who played at Punahou and in the NFL, were among the first father-son combos to play in the Hula Bowl.

Ane assisted Kale for four seasons at Punahou from 1999 and worked the 2005 state championship game from the press box. "He loved being around the kids," Kale said. "He liked to share and pass on what had been taught to him."

Said Dave Eldredge: "He's a tough one to lose."

Funeral services are being planned for May 28 at the Punahou School chapel. No time has been set. Ane is survived by his wife, Marilyn; sons Kale and Neal; daughter Malia and brothers David and Danny.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.