Longtime CHS teacher Bob Sartwell is renowned for his toughness, so it should come as no surprise that he created an event that defies 21st Century sensibilities—Boxerama. If a teacher suggested such an event today it would certainly be laughed off—no lawyer would approve it and no company would insure it. But the 1970’s were a different and more permissive time in public education.
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| Sartwell |
Even Sam Lawson, the revered Cupertino educator, understood that it was important for boys to “blow off some steam”. Sam’s outlet was wrestling, a sport he learned after World War II and brought to the west side of the valley. But wrestling would be tame compared to Sartwell’s pugilistic extravaganza.
Sartwell tapped into his past to bring the event to Cupertino High School. After participating in something similar in college, he brought “Boxerama” to where he began his teaching career— St Francis High School. Once he joined the FUHSD, he enlisted his teacher buddies to organize the springtime event at Cupertino. A fan of boxing, Sartwell also acknowledged that part of the appeal was to include students on campus who were athletic, but not members of any of the athletic teams. In the early 1970’s, CHS was experiencing its Golden Age of Sports, winning CCS titles (Division I) in Track (3), Boys Basketball (2), Boys Soccer (2) and Wrestling (1). With over 2,000 students on campus, the teams were full of good athletes and many talented athletes just couldn’t finda place on a team.
Sartwell, who coordinated the district’s Community School program, ran Boxerama out of his office with CHS Principal George Fernandez’ blessing. He enlisted PE coaches to train students in the evening in the Student Center (the Wagon Wheel of today) after basketball season ended. Says Sartwell, “It was like a real gym.” Boxing even crept into the PE department curriculum. If students were talking about fighting, it wasn’t uncommon for teachers to send them into the ring to “work things out”.
Boxerama featured a 12-card fight, each with three rounds of two minutes each. Professional referees were used, including nationally known Marty Sammon, whose children attended CHS. Sammon is also credited as a referee in Clint Eastwood’s boxing epic “Million Dollar Baby” as Referee #5. The ring was loaned from Moffet Field and ringside seats were sold at a premium with the money benefitting athletics. CHS teacher Ron Pierceall electrified the gallery as ring announcer. Tryouts were fierce as many young lads looked to get in the ring. Says Sartwell, “It gave students a chance for their 15 minutes of fame. Everybody on campus was talking about it.”
The greatest of these boxers was Mike “Bubbles” Jameson from the Class of ’72. While his high exploits in the high school ring are unrecorded and since Boxerama was founded two years after he graduated, Jameson did return to fight as an alumnus. Later on, Jameson faced some of the sports greatest legends. In 1986, he took Mike Tyson into the 5th round—a round that Tyson had not seen by his 17th fight. Jameson lost to the eventual champ by TKO. Eight years later, Jameson was knocked out by George Foreman, of Foreman Grill fame, toward the end of Jameson’s career (that fight was refereed by Mills Lane who went on to host his own TV show).
Cupertino’s interest with boxing coincided with the nation’s renewed passion for the sport. With legendary boxers like Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Foreman and Ken Norman, boxing took center stage in the athletic world. Coincidentally, Boxerama’s popularity rose and fell with Ali’s career. Just before Ali’s career came to a close, the district put a stop to this amazing tradition by pulling its insurance from the event.
*Note: On June 25, 1985, Marty Sammon officiated a fight won by Tino Grad Mike Jameson.
