4/30/2023 0 Comments Lights out boxingSchmidt likes to tell the story of a fight his father, Ray Schmidt (Col ’39, Educ ’64), had against the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis in the late 1930s. If they cheered during the round, the ref could declare the opposing fighter the winner. “They had to revive him so that he could box his match,” the 1970s-’80s coach Schmidt says.ĭuring the action, though, fans had to be careful. According to lore, there was once a Harvard boxer who became so overwhelmed by the spectacle that he fainted. The backdrop to the success was Mem Gym, which provided a home-court advantage similar to the one the UVA basketball team enjoys at John Paul Jones Arena today. By 1929, the event had grown to nine schools, setting the stage for what would become one of the most impressive reigns by any UVA team, in any sport. In 1928, a record-breaking 3,000 fans came out for the tournament, according to Corks & Curls. Soon, Virginia would become one of the top teams in the country. That year, Virginia went 4-2 and won the inaugural Southern Conference boxing tournament, which was held at Memorial Gym and featured Virginia Tech, the University of North Carolina, the University of Florida and the University of Georgia. A year later, the sport received varsity status. With a motto of “Fight your best but never foul,” LaRowe took the reins of the program in 1926. “Lefty,” as he was known, lost just one match in his career and competed in the Olympics. Leftwich (Col ’25) was the star of those ’20s teams. When Memorial Gym opened in 1924, boxing really took off. “With the exception of football, the proportional attendance was greater than at any other sport during the entire year.” “A wave of wild enthusiasm swept through the University during the boxing season, and over 2,500 people saw the three meets,” reads a Corks & Curls recap of the 1923 season. To the delight of fans, the Cavaliers defeated VMI (twice), Washington and Lee, and MIT. The next year, competing in a makeshift ring constructed in Old Cabell Hall-a venue that was a fraction of the size of the football team’s home at Lambeth Field-Virginia went 4-0. In 1922, LaRowe, with the help of jack-of-all-trades coach Henry “Pop” Lannigan, led Virginia to a win over Washington and Lee University.Ĭoach Johnny LaRowe with his co-captains.Īlbert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library According to UVA historian Coy Barefoot (Grad ’97), word got around that LaRowe had experience in the sport, and students looking to form a team recruited him to be their coach. “Everyone loved it because we were winning,” he says.Īt the heart of this success was LaRowe, a former Marine who ran a billiards parlor on the Corner. It was just filled to the roof.”įans became intoxicated by the action, according to Dr. “The student body turned out every week we had a bout. “It was the sport at the University,” says former boxer Mortimer Caplin (Col ’37, Law ’40). As the football team struggled-it managed only two winning seasons during that decade-Grounds reveled in the boxing team’s glory. From 1932-36, UVA went 28-0-2, winning the Southern Conference tournament every year. Programs from the annual Southern Conference tournament held at Mem Gym in the 1920s and 1930s.Ĭoach Johnny LaRowe built UVA into that national powerhouse. “It was a sad end to a proud tradition,” says Peter Schmidt (Col ’70, Darden ’74), who coached UVA’s final intramural teams in the mid-1980s. Boxing was demoted to an intramural sport, eventually disappearing altogether. Then, less than two decades after those dazzling heights, the sport was knocked to the canvas. In the history of UVA athletics, boxing is the only team to go undefeated in consecutive seasons-from 1932 to 1936 the team didn’t lose once. These are the rules of this “gentleman’s sport.” Only when the bell rings after the three-minute round can the onlookers react to what they have just witnessed.Īnd in those 1930s, what they saw was sheer domination. As the combatants in the ring let loose with a barrage of haymakers, the fans are barred from uttering a peep. The crowd erupts.īut moments later, there are no cheers-only the sounds of fighting. A spotlight shines on sinewy figures emerging from the entrance. With dates on their arms, they hurry to find seats on the bleachers or standing room on the overhead track. The tuxedo-clad Virginia men make their way into a jam-packed, adrenaline-filled Memorial Gymnasium. Lights Out UVA dominated college boxing for years, and then the years caught up with itĪlbert and Shirley Small Special Collections LIbrary
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