Long time trainer Tom McKay left an impression on El Paso and beyond
A few years back I wrote about Tom McKay, the boxing trainer and everything man and all-around good guy. Wrote about how tough he was, how he was a force of nature, how he could not be stopped. Well, the impossible happened last week: he was stopped.
As unthinkable as it is, “The Wizard” will no longer roam these parts. He passed away Wednesday at the age of 89. There will be no more phone calls. No more flurry of emails (in all CAPS). No more projects. No more walking around with the books he authored or the programs he compiled. All that remains now are the memories.
It’s a jolt. Somehow, with guys such as Tom, you just don’t think they’ll ever leave. No matter what their physical ailments, you just assume they’ll always be around. Until they’re not.
The finality of it hits like one of his stiff jabs.
If you’ve been associated with boxing in any form in the city of El Paso, Texas — he’d always say “El Paso, Texas” — you know Tom. He’d been around seemingly since Cain dethroned Abel. He was a jubilant breath of fresh air. Endlessly energetic even as the age and health issues progressed, McKay is most famously the former trainer of Cliff “Magic” Thomas — the seven-time world kickboxing champion in five weight divisions. But he also touched lives in many other ways — he’d been a Marine, a policeman, a science teacher, a coach and an author.
This ball of enthusiasm for years carried around the book he wrote about his years with Thomas called “Magic, Magic, Magic.” From place-to-place he went, handing out signed copies and signing off with his signature line, “Have a happy.” He was a tireless promoter not just of his books — but of El Paso boxing. He participated in the sport on several fronts, whether it be trainer, author, creator, founder or friend. He was as enthusiastic about boxing at the age of 89 as he was when he discovered the sport in the 1940s.
McKay was born in Balmorhea, Texas in 1934. His father died soon after returning from the Army at the end of World War II. His mother was left broke and destitute and was forced to place three of her five children at El Paso’s St. Margaret Orphanage in the Lower Valley. Tom was one of those three. A few years later his mother cleaned enough houses to get her three children out of the orphanage when they all moved into a small South Side basement. During that time, Tom learned to fight and discovered boxing.
Eventually, McKay earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UTEP. He became a beloved biology teacher at Austin High School. He simultaneously dedicated hours upon hours to his true love, boxing. He eventually not only trained Thomas, one of the greatest kickboxing champions in the sport’s history, but also Randall “Tex” Cobb, one of the toughest fighters boxing has ever seen.
He trained countless amateurs and pros. And, in 1993, he founded the El Paso Boxing/Martial Arts Hall of Fame, serving as its CEO and President. The endeavor was highly successful for more than 30 years. He organized and emceed the annual banquets, assembled the 65-page annual booklets, and provided the inductees with plaques, jackets and rings. In 1996, the Hall of Fame partnered with Candlelighters of El Paso providing profits to help support children with cancer.
But he himself suffered from cancer. For a long time. He also suffered from heart disease, osteonecrosis of the jaw and many other ailments. He should’ve been a goner before the new millennium. Yet he was still living life, still getting around. He was still going to Golden Gloves functions. He was still teaching left hooks and feints and defense to youngsters in his backyard. He could still communicate and make people smile with his drawl and rat-a-tat-tat verbiage.
His boxers were taught to throw in combination. Tom talked in combination.
But he began to falter last week. He wasn’t communicating right. He had a weird pain on his right side. This is a man who suffered through an aggressive form of prostate cancer for almost 30 years and marched through it like a tank through a haze of smoke. But this seemed different. And it was.
The old suffering body finally gave out. He fought with the intensity of 10 Cliff “Magic” Thomas’. He hung on and hung on and finally he died with his family around him. And as soon as his dutiful wife Lety announced his passing on social media, the condolences came. And came and came. They haven’t stopped.
The guy meant a lot to people.
He was recently nominated for the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame. He’ll get in eventually. Just look at that resume. And he’d let you know about every one of his accomplishments. But he wasn’t a braggart. He was just Tom. A personality that boomed the minute he walked into a room. Strangers weren’t strangers for long. After 10 minutes, you knew exactly who Tom McKay was. And he knew you.
He loved and bonded with everybody. And everyone thought: what a nice guy.
The lesson? We’re here to live. Leave an impression.
And what an impression Tom McKay left.
Matthew Aguilar may be reached at maguilarnew@yahoo.com @MatthewAguilar5 on Twitter
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Boxing trainer Tom McKay left impression well beyond El Paso
