Saratoga News
Columns
Paying tribute to a true Hall of Famer ... my brother?
By Dick Sparrer
It was a thrill to hear the words when the selection committee made the announcement: Sparrer to be inducted into the Los Gatos High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Could it possibly be true? Could an average (hey, who said below average?) player from a high school football team that won only one game his entire senior year really make his school's athletic Hall of Fame?
I was honored. I was overjoyed. I was humbled. I was ... wrong!
"No, it's not you we selected," said committee member Butch Cattolico, correcting my mistake. "It's your brother, Max."
"My brother!" I shrieked. "You picked Max? But what about me? I was all ready to give my speech."
"Well, you can still give a speech," said Cattolico. "You can introduce him the night of the induction ceremony."
So I did ... last Saturday night at La Rinconada Country Club. And for those of you who weren't there, this is part of what I had to say. (For those of you who were there, go ahead and turn now to page 49 and read about Trent Edwards getting drafted by the Buffalo Bills! Heck, now they'll probably put him the Hall of Fame before me, too!).
It went something like this:
"You know, this is just the story of my life. I've been walking in my big brother's shadow for as long as I can remember. And now they tell me this is his night and not mine?
"I remember my first day at Los Gatos High School. I reported to first period PE--you know, of course, only the best athletes had first period PE!--and when I walked into the lobby of the boys gym there it was for everyone to see ... Max's school broad jump record on the track and field record board. And as if that wasn't bad enough, when I went into the gym to register, coach Andy Hardin was checking me in. He looked at my registration card, looked up at me, quickly looked back at my registration card, looked back at me and said, 'Sparrer? Are you as good a football player as your brother?'
"So how are you supposed to answer that question? I answered like any freshman would--'I dunno.'
"I think for my entire first year of high school football the coaches called me Maxie every day in practice. That's enough to give a guy a complex.
"But I'm much more mature now and I can deal with this situation much better than I could have as a high school student. So it's my honor tonight to introduce my big brother, Max Sparrer, upon his induction into the Los Gatos High School Hall of Fame.
"Before I do, I'd like to compare my brother and me to the great brother team of Tommy and Henry Aaron--you all remember Hank Aaron, don't you ... he's the guy who hit home runs without using steroids. Anyway, for many years they held the major league record for most home runs hit by brothers with 768. Hank had 755 ... Tommy had 13.
"Anyway, Max and I are a little like the Aarons. We combined for more than 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns as seniors. Max had 950 yards. Oh, and he scored all the touchdowns.
"Still, I've always been proud to be Max Sparrer's little brother. I was so proud that I wore his No. 20 jersey my senior year, and I even more his lightweight Riddel football shoes. Well, I may have worn his shoes, but I certainly couldn't fill them.
"Max missed his junior season with a broken ankle, but he came back as a senior to win his team's Most Valuable Player award, he was the only unanimous selection to the all-league team and he was named as an all-Central Coast Section halfback.
"But Max wasn't just a great football player at Los Gatos High, he was also an outstanding track and field athlete. As a senior Max won four medals in the league finals in the 100, the relay, the 180 low hurdles and the broad jump.
"It was in the 180 hurdles and the broad jump where he truly starred. Max won the league title in the 180 lows, and he was second in the broad jump. Earlier that year, he had cut loose with a leap of 22 feet, 8 1/4 inches in the broad jump to break the school record by more than a foot. It was a record that would stand for 15 years, and 45 years later it still ranks as the third best in school history.
"So I wish I knew then what I know now when coach Hardin asked me if I was as good a football player as my brother, because I would have said, 'Are you kidding, my brother is in the Hall of Fame.' "
Max was one of 10 very deserving athletes to gain induction last Saturday night, and it was my honor and privilege to introduce him as a new member of the Hall of Fame.
I really didn't have any choice ... his name was already on the trophy.
