Sammy Santos

Name: Sammy Santos
Birth Name: Macario Santos
Hometown: Seattle, Washington, USA
Birthplace: Philippines
Died: 1972-12-31 (Age:70)
Height: 169cm
Pro Boxer: Record

Born Macario Santos. Exact date of birth in 1902 unknown. Santos was a distant cousin to fellow boxer Tommy Santos.

Because times were tough, he joined the United States Navy in the Philippines in 1919. After getting into a fistfight with a junior grade officer, Macario went AWOL (absent without leave). He then turned to prize-fighting. He adopted the name "Sammy" to evade the military police and because it was a catchier name than "Macario." He was eventually found by the police in California and arrested in the middle of a bout. But they allowed him to finish the fight before they took him to the brig. After doing his time, he returned to boxing. Santos retired early in his career because of blurred vision in his left eye. But he soon returned to the ring.

Santos married Virginia Nicol, a University of Washington student. (She died in 1935, aged 23, of tuberculosis.) After retiring from the ring for good, when he began to lose vision in his right eye, Santos became a trainer at Nate Druxman's gym at Seventh Avenue and Pike Street. One of the boxers he trained was the future World Champion Al Hostak. Another was Harry (Kid) Matthews. In 1945, after an unsucessful operation, Sammy became blind.

From the book HUM BOWS, NOT HOT DOGS by Bob Santos (Sammy's son)(2002).

The Ring magazine (May 1972 issue) reported that Santos's career ran from 1923 through 1933, and that he kayoed Ray Miller in one round in 1927, Cleveland. Santos died in 1972 in Seattle WA at the age of 69. Exact date unknown.

The California portion of Sammy Santos's record is courtesy of the research of Chuck Johnston, IBRO Member and BoxRec Editor.