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12/12/2006 Archived Entry: "Boxing Trainer Sam Colonna Speaks Out on Closing of Windy City Gym"
Boxing Trainer Sam Colonna Speaks Out on Closing of Windy City Gym
By Juan C. Ayllon
Photo by Mia Aigotti
Sam Colonna (left) with female boxer Rita Figueroa at Windy City Gym
CHICAGO – Another boxing landmark is shutting its doors this month.
Last month, it was Detroit’s highly acclaimed Kronk Gym, a boxing enclave renowned for spawning world champions like Tommy Hearns, Michael Moorer and Mike McCallum.
Now, just across Lake Michigan, Chicago’s Windy City Gym is slated to close on December 31st.
Both gyms were beset with financial problems. With the Kronk, the final straw was the theft of copper pipes that cut off their water supply. With Windy City, it came down to a mandate to build an expensive partitioning wall.
Like the Kronk, Windy City is ensconced in a gritty neighborhood and has a rich history. According to Windy City Gym’s website, http://www.windycitygym.com, the gym began as “Johnny Coulon’s Gym” back in the 20s when former world bantamweight champion Johnny Coulon founded it on the southeast side of Chicago. Legendary champions like Sugar Ray Robinson, Barney Ross and Joe Louis trained there.
With the passing of Coulon, Clarence Griffin took over operations and moved the gym to its final location at 4401 W. Ogden Avenue. Griffin passed and, in the 70’s, Tom Fornarelli took over. The gym changed hands again in 1988, when Bob O’Donnell took the reigns of operations. Chicago Golden Gloves took over from there.
Windy City’s counterpoint to the Kronk’s high profile trainer Emmanuel Stewart is head trainer Sam Colonna. According to BraggingRightsCorner.com, Colonna has trained professional fighters like Andrew Golota, Angel Manfredy, Angel Hernandez and Vaughn Bean, as well as scores of amateurs he’s guided to success at the local, regional and national levels.
Taking time from his busy schedule, Colonna spoke out about the closing of Windy City Gym.
JUAN AYLLON: Tell us about the closing of Windy City.
SAM COLONNA: Well, it’s been going on for the last year. The city came in and they found a lot of violations with the building, stuff that had to be done. (For instance), they wanted us to change the doors to metal doors. We went downstairs and changed the doors. They wanted us to fix the floors. We fixed the floors. They wanted us to repaint the building. We repainted it. And, there were just odds and ends that they wanted us to do, like change the exit signs. We changed the exit signs.
And it seemed like every time we did something, they found something else wrong with it.
You know, the city wanted it up to code, which, we can’t really blame them. They really wanted the place the way it’s supposed to be.
But, now, then we find out, the last (thing) they told us is that the place was not zoned to have a boxing gym there!
We were there almost 30 years. Nobody ever said nothing to us.
Now, we bought it from Bob O’Donnell, and he bought it from Fornarelli, and Fornarelli bought it from Griffin.
It was just down the line, we ended up with it, Golden Gloves—I’ve been there for 15 years, myself. And this was the first time anybody ever said anything like that to us, you know?
Then, they wanted us to do something with the floor. It was “four hour fireproof,” where, if a fire started downstairs, the fire wouldn’t penetrate to go upstairs for four hours. I never heard of anything like it in an old building like that!
Then, they’re saying that the first floor and the second floor, there’s got to be some kind of wall between into the entrance. And the guy downstairs [owner Howard Gossage], he’s like, ‘That’s it. I’m selling the building. I’m not going to put no more money into it. It doesn’t make sense.’ He said this to me: ‘For you guys to put any more money into it—money that we don’t have anyways, you know—because the building’s for sale and there’s somebody pending to buy it!’ So, it’s like, ‘You know, the 31st, you guys gotta go.’
And, the guy’s been more than like an angel to us, really. We’ve had the place all those years rent-free—you know, utilities, everything!
His first name is Howard. I don’t even remember his last name, believe it or not. The guy was very low-key, just loved to help, you know? And, he told me the story of how he got involved. He goes, ‘My father was a Golden Glove fighter and Windy City didn’t have a home, 25-30 years ago,’ he said, ‘and ABC had a special on it on the news, and they left a number. I called that number and since then, the gym’s been here.’ That’s how he got involved, he said.
Now, we need a home. We need a new place and we’re looking for someone to give us the same deal if we could find them, someone who could help us with another building or to give it to us really cheap rent, because we can’t really afford it.
We charge the kids $20 a month. The adults? They pay $35. That’s basically just to keep the place going with equipment and buying different things to have, transportation for the kids when we go to tournaments, and stuff like that. That’s basically not even making it, you know?
And that’s where the Golden Gloves helps out a little bit. (Still), they’re not inclined to have that kind of money to put into another building.
So, that’s where we stand right now as of the 31st. Everybody’s going to be scattered everywhere.
JA: Can you tell us about any other options out there?
SC: It’s like, I want to have my own place, and that was like having my own place. Now, there’s been other offers made to me. A couple guys have asked me to open up a gym with them.
I might take an offer here and there, but I still want to be someway, somehow tied with Windy City. Hopefully, that something happens where someone comes through and we’re going to keep Windy City open. But, you know, the day is long. It doesn’t have to be that I have to be at Windy City from morning to night. Now, I could be somewhere else, starting another gym, maybe, and hopefully Windy City will get going again, where I could spend maybe the mornings there or the evenings there or whatever, you know.
Right now, as it stands, we have no gym at all. After the 31st, we have no place to go.
JA: What will you do with all the memorabilia? Will you be selling it off?
SC: No, no. We’re going to keep all that stuff, ‘cause I know that we’re going to open up another place somewhere, somehow. I don’t know how long it’s going to take. Down the line, we’re going to open up another Windy City. I have no clue right now. Hopefully, something happens in a couple weeks, you know?
And, that’s about it. That’s where we stand right now.
JA: Any thoughts you’d like to pass onto the patrons of Windy City or fight fans in general?
SC: Well, I’d like to say that the members that we have, they’ve been loyal to Windy City, and hopefully, when we open up another one, if it’s two weeks or it’s two months, or it’s six months, that they’re going to come back and still be loyal to us.
We house a lot of young kids that, if it wasn’t for Windy City, they’d probably be out there selling drugs, getting into gangs, getting arrested, or getting shot on the street. So, I know that we’ve changed many lives through Windy City. And we hope that we continue doing that.
So, hopefully, somebody out there will help us to continue what we’re doing.
* * *
Did I fail to mention that those who ran the Kronk likewise hope to resurrect their gym at a new location? Although it’s a long shot, maybe, just maybe, this next year both the Kronk and Windy City will have successful reopenings in common, too.
Replies: 3 Comments on this article
The Chicago Park District may have a site depending on who they decide to hire as a full time boxing coach whithin the next few days.
I am one of 3 applicants, if I am chosen, Windy City will be moved to a new site.
Posted by rfornuto@aol.com">Rick Fornuto @ 12/14/2006 09:50 AM EST
Great article Juan. I'm so sorry to hear about the closing of Windy City gym. A few years back my wife Julie learned how to box there. We never met a better bunch of people. I hope someone lends them a hand ... the world needs more Windy City Gyms.
Glen (the Weezel's personal trainer)
Posted by Glen @ 12/13/2006 06:05 PM EST
It's just very sad. Going into Windy so many years ago, I was so intimidated, now, I feel like I am going home to see my family. I have made life long friendships there. Sam and Willie, Nora, Rachel, Macho - so many. Hopefully - we can somehow keep the "family" together. Windy City has so much history - it has to be carried on somewhere.
Posted by Rita @ 12/12/2006 11:33 PM EST
