(Last of three parts)

In the predigital age of media, the printed word was king, and newspapers ruled. If an event wasn’t in the papers, it never happened. 

In the mid-1970s, newsrooms were shifting from “hot metal” to “cold type”—from molten lead and oily typesetting machines to early computers, photo-typesetting, and paste-up. For many, that was state-of-the-art. For me, it was the golden age of print.

It was during this transition in the print media that the greatest sports show on earth—the “Thrilla in Manila”—came to town.

How the Philippines Daily Express—my first newspaper—covered the Ali-Frazier world heavyweight title fight is a story I never tire of telling. After martial law shuttered many Manila dailies in 1972, sportswriting stalwarts Tony Siddayao, Ernie Gonzales, and Recah Trinidad joined our team, strengthening a lineup led by sports editor Bert Cuevas, Val Abelgas, Boy Manuel, and myself. This, if I may be allowed a boast, was the sports section’s version of the Dream Team.

Tony, then the acknowledged dean of sports scribes, captained the crew and stitched together the coverage of a lifetime. In the two weeks leading up to the big fight, Ernie tracked Joe Frazier, I shadowed Muhammad Ali, and Tony wrote the daily wrap-up. 

Early in the morning of Oct. 1, 1975, we were already at work at the Araneta Coliseum, servicing two papers: the morning broadsheet Daily Express and the afternoon tabloid Evening Express (of which, as a one-man sports staff, I was also the sports editor). Because the main event was scheduled for 10:45 a.m. to catch the US prime time audience, our first deadline was my tabloid; we needed to hit the streets ahead of the Times Journal’s “bulldog” edition, our lone competitor.

At 7 a.m., the choreography started. I began dictating pre-fight color and sidelights from ringside over our hotline to the newsroom. On the other end, “catchers” Bert Cuevas and senior desk editor Teddy Berbano took my copy, pounding it out on a typewriter before sending it to the composing room (a bank of typesetting machines resembling electric typewriters, the precursors of today’s computer keyboards).

When the bell rang to start the fight, Ernie took over the hotline and began filing a round-by-round.

Meanwhile, photographer Angel Guilas emptied his first roll of black-and-white film on Round 1. As soon as the bell ended the round, he passed the roll to a courier waiting beneath the ring. The courier ducked under the platform, slipped out a side exit, then gunned a motorcycle through the city’s nearly empty streets (everyone was indoors, watching the fight). He covered some 13 kilometers from Cubao, Quezon City, to our Port Area office in under 15 minutes. 

As Ali and Frazier turned up the heat and traded intense fire in the middle rounds, the photo was already being developed, printed, and pasted up on the front page of the Evening Express. 

When Frazier could not respond to the bell for the final round, Ernie promptly handed the phone to Tony, who, off the cuff, dictated the lead and the first paragraphs of the main story. 

In the pandemonium, I climbed over tables, chairs, and people to grab the official decision and scorecards, then rushed the information to Tony. When he was done with the first few paragraphs, he passed the phone to me to complete the story. I dictated the prepared background (two versions were in my notebook—one for an Ali win, another for a Frazier upset).

About 15 minutes after the final bell, we were done with our first text of boxing history. The ball was in the newsroom’s court, and the presses were warming up.

As we waited for locker-room access for the post-fight interviews, the newsroom raced to put out the first edition. And while Ernie was covering Frazier’s press talk and I was joining the pack covering Ali’s, the Port Area presses were thundering full throttle. By the time we pulled out of the Big Dome parking lot around 2 p.m., we were being greeted by newsboys hawking our work. 

“ALI WINS!” screamed the Evening Express banner.

As in a relay race, the baton handoffs were perfect, and we crossed the finish line first. It was a proud moment for all of us. 

Another job remained, but it was anticlimactic. Back at the office, we shifted our focus to the morning broadsheet. No frantic dash this time. The next morning, the front page had Tony’s banner piece (“ALI BY TKO IN 14TH”), Ernie’s Frazier sidebar, my Ali piece, Angel Guilas’ action shot, and features by Recah Trinidad and Evening Express managing editor Marita Manuel. The Daily Express landed with the full package. 

What a time to be a sportswriter.

Read more: It was every bit the promised ‘Thrilla in Manila’—and more