Beach volleyball and the Isle of Palms just seem to go together. You need only observe the crowds that gather at The Windjammer every summer to know this is true. Yet there was a time when boxing was the main attraction. Not just on the island, but throughout Greater Charleston.
Local boxing clubs faced off at County Hall on upper King Street. Sailors competed against each other at the Charleston Naval Base. The Citadel’s boxing team was legendary, coached by “Matty” Matthews, patriarch of the Clay Matthews professional football family. Many young men applied to the military academy just for the chance to fight on his team.
There were teams around town for younger boys, too and in the 1970s, the Green Machine hailed from the Isle of Palms. Tim Scalise grew up on the island and boxed for six years, beginning when he was just 5.
“We wore green trunks of course and I had a green satin robe,” Scalise mused. “We sparred in a little building at the old playground on 27th Avenue. It wasn’t really a gym and we didn’t have a ring. But we had our weekend matches at Moultrie High School in Mount Pleasant.”
Playgrounds from across the area also hosted matches and the Green Machine competed against teams from Goose Creek, Hanahan, North Charleston and West Ashley.
The late Roy Leopold formed the team on the island. Scalise recalled that “Mr. Leopold was a tough coach – firm but fair – and didn’t put up with anything. That built character in the young kids. And if not for him, there would have been no boxing team on the island.
” When Leopold’s son, Lance, attended The Citadel, the school no longer had a boxing team, so he started a boxing club there. And his dad coached it. The family later opened a sports bar in Mount Pleasant.
Boxing was big for much of the 20th century. Seizing on its popularity in the 1920s, the beachfront resort on the Isle of Palms hosted a fight featuring the famous world heavyweight champion boxer Jack Dempsey. The resort often held special events, so naturally a boxing match would have been a major draw. Especially one that showcased “Kid Blackie.”
Dempsey was retired when he autographed this leaflet in 1960 and had by then established himself as one of the greatest boxers ever. By then, the sport’s popularity waned as football, soccer and tennis captured the attention of participants as well as spectators. In the 1980s, the “Rocky” movie franchise breathed new life into boxing for a brief period.
But competitive boxing has seen a resurgence in recent years, especially with the rise of MMA (mixed martial arts). It has also become a popular form of workout for non-competitors. Boxing utilizes the muscles of the entire body, burning calories, increasing flexibility and stamina and even improving cardiovascular health. Not to mention its stress-relieving potential. Who hasn’t dreamed of hitting a punching bag at the end of a bad day?
Today, boxing is popular with women as well as men and can be adapted as part of a fitness routine for people in nearly every age group. Dempsey could surely attest to that. At the age of 72, he was able to fight off an attack by two young men who attempted to mug him. He “laid them both out cold on the sidewalk.” As if to prove the point, he lived another 15 years.
By Mary Coy
I left there 50 years ago but still great memories. Ruth bros? Was one of them Todd Ruth? Haven’t thought of him in 50 years. I remember the old Playground building (if it’s the one that used to show movies to kids and had bumper pool table and popcorn machine, complete with ancient linoleum floor). I recall Tommy MacManus was a good boxer. Long time ago.