Editor’s note: This is the second in a five-part philanthropic series profiling nonprofit organizations in Athens County.
Circling the duct-taped center of a worn and hoary boxing ring, two teens eyed each other over gloved fists, waiting for the chime of a bell to cue their first strikes.
A crowd of spectators surrounded the stage, howling in approval at both parties’ moves. Although they range from grade-schoolers to grandfathers, most have stood in that same ring each Monday and Wednesday evening for years. Even the newcomers knew that, the moment they stepped into the eccentric Glouster gym, they became part of a family.
Along a near-abandoned row of downtown buildings, Sam’s Gym might go unnoticed by passersby unaware of the local legends it has produced. But of all the words to describe its proprietor, “unnoticed” is not one that fits Sam Jones.
The 71-year-old, three-time U.S. heavyweight Bando kickboxing champ took over his family’s gym in 1960, when Glouster was a commercial haven for coal miners. Though the poverty-stricken village is home to the poorest school district in Ohio, Jones has assumed a lifelong mission to make its students champions in life.
“You can be a champion in the ring, that’s great, but take that hard work and move it into life,” Jones said. “When you get knocked down, which we do everyday in life — you lose your job, you lose your family and you’re down in the valley — you have to work hard to pull yourself back up.”
Jones, a cancer survivor, opens his gym twice a week to the entire town and has never charged a penny for admittance. Besides the less than $50 a month collected in a plastic donation jar in the doorway, Jones fronts the $5,000–$6,000 yearly bill out of pocket.
“There’s nothing new here. An old, sweaty gymnasium is what it is,” Jones said. “You’d think you’re walking into the ’30s when you come in here. I can smell my father, and there are boxers coming out of the walls.”
The narrow room is plastered with photos of Jones posing with champion fighters including Mike Jones, Sugar Ray Leonard, Joe Frazier and Ray Mancini. Hanging on the corner of the wall-length mirror is a pair of mini boxing mitts that he donned in 1940.
Along the wall of famous faces are photos of the many pros Sam’s Gym has spawned, such as Brian Camechis – Jones’s latest protégé – and Sue Mullett, once ranked first in the U.S. in female boxing, who makes occasional visits from Cleveland.
“Sam has always been someone I can trust,” Mullet said. “Without him, there are a lot of kids around here that wouldn’t graduate high school or might have even ended up dead.”
With his daughter as the superintendent of Trimble Local Schools, Jones keeps close tabs on many of his young trainees, such as 18-year-old Derrick Gordon, a senior at Trimble High School who has attended the gym since fifth grade.
“When I get into trouble, he gives me talks,” Gordon said. “If it weren’t for Sam’s Gym, I would probably be on the streets. It has given me a good environment.”
And the life lessons he has learned in the ring, Gordon said, have spread into his studies. After high school, he plans to attend Hocking College to study law enforcement.
“I do believe that the gym makes a positive difference in the children who go there,” said Kim Jones, superintendent of Trimble Local Schools and Sam’s daughter. “I also think that he believes — and I agree with this — that, if a child feels personally successful at some craft, then he or she will be more successful in other pursuits such those academic.”
Many of the young men who have found their places at the Glouster gym have returned to high school, Sam said, or pursued a GED after dropping out.
“They come in from off the street, they train and they work hard, and now their parents come and tell me they’re doing their studies at home when they weren’t before,” he said. “I’m really proud of those students.”
And as an advocate of education, Jones has raised ample funds for Trimble Local Schools. Every November since 1975, he holds Boxing for Books at Trimble High School. The all-day tournament allows young boxers to showcase their skills and raises money for new textbooks — which, until recent replacements, talked hopefully about the United States’ first trip to the moon, Jones said.
He has also been a member of the Trimble Local Textbook Supplies Foundation since its founding.
But textbooks aren’t Jones’s only contribution to area kids. No child who crosses the trainer’s path will lack tennis shoes, coats or even confidence if he can help it.
“Do not pass up a child,” Jones said. “When they are sitting on the corner, get them up, get them busy and start them down the road of life.”
Even for 7-year-old Justin Sayers, who Jones nicknamed “Peanut,” the low-budget boxing gym has been a confidence booster. Sayers’ mother pulled him out of public school after he often came home from school with bully-inflicted bruises.
“It helps to toughen him up and make him stand up for himself,” said Jack Waldien, a 20-year member of Sam’s Gym and Sayers’s grandfather.
And like the others, the now-homeschooler has adopted Jones’s mantra.
“I’m trying to be a champion,” Sayers said.
Sam’s Gym has not been overlooked for its impact on local youths either. The sixth-level Bando black belt, former U.S. professional kickboxing coach and Trimble High School Hall-of-Famer has been recognized by the governors of both Ohio and West Virginia for his philanthropy. Jones also received the 2006 Tomcat Excellence Award and was named a hometown hero by the Athens County Red Cross last year.
“Of course I’m biased, but I believe he’s truly a good person who really does like people ... young, older, everyone,” Kim Jones said. “He wants to empower our children to know that they can be successful.”
Tomorrow evening, Sam will yet again unlock the doors of his father’s gym, like he has every Monday and Wednesday for 50 years. Jones admits it’s not the swankiest of sweat factories, but for two nights a week, it provides a home and family for those who would otherwise be without.
“One hundred years from now, it’ll be of little consequence whether I had a professional success, a big automobile or a new house,” Jones said. “That would not make any difference. But if you can be important in the life of one child, that’s what it’s all about.”
oy311909@ohio.edu
To contribute to Sam's Gym, please take or send donations to 71 High St. Glouster, OH 45732.
