1953 Hawaii Rainbows football team

The 1953 Hawaii Rainbows football team represented the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa as an independent during the 1953 college football season. In their second season under head coach Hank Vasconcellos, the Rainbows compiled a 5–6 record.

1953 Hawaii Rainbows football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–6
Head coach	Hank Vasconcellos (2nd season)
Home stadium	Honolulu Stadium

1953 Western college football independents records

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Pacific (CA)			–					4	–	4	–	2
San Jose State			–					4	–	4	–	1
Hawaii			–					5	–	6	–	0
Nevada			–					2	–	3	–	0
La Verne			–					3	–	7	–	0
Cal Poly San Dimas			–					2	–	6	–	0

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 4	Islanders	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii	W 13–6	22,000
September 17	MCAS Kaneohe Bay	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii	W 22–13	7,500
September 26	at San Diego State	Aztec Bowl San Diego, CA	L 7–40	8,500
October 3	at Utah	Ute Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	L 24–47
October 10	at Pacific (CA)	Pacific Memorial Stadium Stockton, CA	L 8–26	11,000
October 21	Naval Station Pearl Harbor	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii	L 7–12
November 1	Hawaii 49ers	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii	L 13–27	6,000
November 8	Pacific Army	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii	W 28–6
November 15	Barbers Point NAS	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii	W 26–0	500
November 22	Naval Station Pearl Harbor	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii	L 7–27	3,000
December 4	Lewis & Clark	Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii	W 34–12	7,500
Homecoming