Cal Athletics
Late Cal alum Jerry Siebert was one of the top distance runners in the world.
Late Cal Hall-of-Famer Jerry Siebert Made Gift To Cal Athletics
This feature originally appeared in the 2023 Spring edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.
When Jon Epps was playing baseball and football for Cal back in the early 1960s, he went to the athletic department to secure the services of a tutor who could help him with a tough courseload that included math, physics and chemistry.
Epps was matched with Jerry Siebert, who knew a little something about being an athlete himself.
Siebert was a member of Cal’s track & field team and one of the top distance runners in the world. He also was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society for his outstanding work as a physics student. In short, he was the ultimate example of the Cal student-athlete – excelling at the highest level both in the classroom and the playing arena.
Siebert recognized the holistic experience he had at Cal and never forgot it. He and Epps became lifelong friends, and the two often discussed the rare combination of elite academics and athletics their experience in Berkeley afforded them.
“Jerry and I talked about that for years and years – the people that have been able to have great academic and athletic careers,” Epps said. “It’s a combination you don’t find very often.”
Siebert passed away last December. Before his death at the age of 84, he spoke of the wonderful experience he had at Cal, and how that inspired him to make a seven-figure gift to improve Cal’s Hall of Fame.
“I wanted to make a donation to make a difference,” Siebert said. “I spend a lot of years at Cal and got to take advantage of all of Cal’s facilities. It was just magic academically for every student.”
Siebert ultimately became the…
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