Catalogue cover from the 1998 Monterey Sports Car Auction and welcome letter written by Jack Boxstrom
The Monterey Sports Car Auction came to life in the early 1980s with enthusiast Rick Cole, and after a successful period of growth with Rick, control was passed on to various partners in the late 1990s. Around the same time, our fearless leader, “Uncle Rob” Myers, saw the potential of the venue and auction business and organized a swift purchase with help from “Uncle Buck” Kamphausen, a successful California-based businessman and car enthusiast. What began as a small event was swiftly becoming the place to be, and it had little to do with uncles or beards.
Myers was not a car auction novice; he had conducted seven other sales by this point, including Meadow Brook, Newport Beach, Novi, Michigan Spring and Fall, and three Canadian events. (RM’s ownership of the Monterey Auction actually began in 1997, but due to the timing of the purchase, actual consignment involvement began in 1998).
By early 1998, Rob made me an offer “I could not refuse,” and I became Managing Director of the Monterey Sports Car Auction, the “Fourth Beard,” in effect joining board members Rob, Mike Fairbairn, Dan Warrener, Buck Kamphausen, and collector Ross MacEacheran. Nowadays, we list dozens of Car Specialists in RM Sotheby’s hierarchy, but in 1998, four guys, ably assisted by the ever-efficient Dana Santavy (Brezzi), consigned about 200 cars to the two-day event. (Kathy, my partner then and now, credits me with over 60, or one-third, of the total consignments.)
Today, we do not accept major entry duplication – back then we featured no fewer than four Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadsters, two Gullwing Coupes, four Porsche 906/910 GTs, and at least four Shelby Cobras in the same two-day sale. My own road racing, which began modestly in a Morris Minor in 1961 and vintage/historic events in the late 1980s, meant that I knew quite a few competitors personally. So, when it came time to reduce a collection, my friends naturally considered me and the Monterey Auction as their disposal venue.
1959 Porsche RSK Spider from the Frank Gallogly Collection
Successful retired bond trader Frank Gallogly, later affectionately known as “Cranky Franky,” was a firm believer in driving all his automobiles. “These cars were not built to sit in garages or at some concours, swarmed over by weenies with Q-tips,” he would say. After a health scare, he consigned five superb Porsches: a 1966 906 LH, 1977 935 Turbo, 1959 RSK Spyder, 1962 Elva Porsche MK7, plus a sweet Abarth 1000 SP Roadster.
Don Marsh, a self-made man who drove a truck in a stone quarry as a teenager, in 1954 partnered with a far-sighted group, including Ohio friends Bob Fergus and Harry Brinker, to form the Midwestern VW Distribution Corporation. In the early 1970s, he began IMSA GTO racing and later Camel Lights, scoring class wins in the 1985 Daytona and Road America events. Recent interest in Colorado Grand-type road rallies meant a seven-car reduction for the Marsh Collection, including his 1955 XKSS/XKD Jaguar, 1967 Ford GT40, 1952 Allard J2X, 1971 Daytona Coupe, 1967 Lamborghini Miura, and a 1938 SS 100 Jaguar.
U.S. Forces pilot Bob Pond, who displayed cars in his massive aircraft hangar, consigned a further six cars, including his Aston Martin DB4GT, chassis no. 0166 L, which was estimated at $250,000. (Today, 20 years later, DB4GTs sell in the $3,500,000–$4,500,000 range! And forget today’s catalogue deadlines – if you have not consigned by a certain date, your car will not be accepted for an RM Sotheby’s sale.)
Back then, while onsite, a few days before the first Monterey auction, my phone rang, and I recognized the unmistakable voice of Hollywood star Bruce Willis. “Jack,” he rasped, “Demi Moore and I are splitting, and I’m sending you a tractor trailer of cars for your auction.” (Nothing fancy, mind you – just Chevys, Fords, and maybe a T-Bird.) Later, as he drove a car off the trailer into the auction, he leaned out of the window and said, “Yep, sure smells like Demi in here” – a subtle reference to her perfume.
My last “Monterey Jack” memory-lane item concerns the beautifully printed color catalogue. Dan Warrener, in charge of the production, for some reason did not list the cars in their block run order. As an example, Warrener, a big fan of the Jaguar marque, listed four Jaguars, a McLaren M5 GT, a 300 SL Roadster, three Ferraris, and two Porsches as the first 11 cars in the catalogue – half of these being Friday and half Saturday consignments! This, of course, resulted in frantic page-flipping as the cars appeared on the block. “What were you thinking, Dan?” I asked. “Well Jack, I just wanted the catalogue to look nice,” he replied. Needless to say, this feature did not repeat in the 1999 Monterey Sports Car Auction.
