Ali training camp gets historical marker
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - A historical marker is unveiled at Fighter's Heaven, Muhammad Ali's former training camp in West Brunswick Township, on June 3, 2023.
WEST BRUNSWICK TWP. – Atop Sculps Hill, not far from the Geisinger/St. Luke’s Hospital in southern Schuylkill County, one of the greatest boxers of all time built his training camp and, Saturday, seven years since his passing, a historical marker now graces the facility.
Muhammad Ali, from 1972 until his final fight in 1981, trained at the camp in rural West Brunswick Township.
Over time, the camp grew to include 18 different buildings, including Schuylkill County’s first mosque.
A Mahanoy City native — Gene Kilroy — first brought “The Greatest” to Schuylkill County. Kilroy was Ali’s business manager at the time and introduced the boxer to the Pollack family, who owned mink farms in the Deer Lake and Orwigsburg areas.
The camp is now Fighter’s Heaven, a restored historical site intended to “remind some, and educate others, about the remarkable and inspirational life of Muhammad Ali,” according to their website.
Saturday, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and Fighter’s Heaven unveiled a historical marker along Sculps Hill Road at the entrance to the facility.
Mike Madden, son of the late NFL Hall of Famer John Madden, bought the camp shortly after Ali’s death and deliberated on what to do with the site, eventually deciding to turn it into a historical and educational venue.
“Muhammad Ali was a very special person, and what we’re learning and the story that we’re going to tell going forward has much less to do with what he did in the boxing ring and what he did and how he conducted himself outside the boxing ring,” Madden told the Sentinel before Saturday’s unveiling of a Pennsylvania historical marker. “He was a remarkable person.”
Madden used Ali’s court battle to avoid being drafted to fight in Vietnam and the fallout from that as an example of his character.
“The government said that he couldn’t fight for four years because of something he believed in. It went to the Supreme Court, vindicated unanimously,” Madden said. “He never went back and complained or felt bitter or became the victim about the four years that were taken away from him. He just dusted himself off and moved forward.”
Bill Lewis, Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, said the historical marker program commemorates important facets of not just history in the Commonwealth but also the nation, “and in this case, the history of our world,” he said.
“We are marking a place so tied to such an incredible athlete, it’s just amazing,” Lewis said. “I’m in the generation that grew up watching Muhammad Ali fight his fights and promote and be an entrepreneur and just an amazing person and its wonderful that he has this terrific connection with our great Commonwealth.”
Aaron Snowell, a Pottsville native and hall of fame boxing trainer, spoke of the early days of the Ali camp, noting that funds were limited.
He said that much of the camp was built with promissory notes.
“After he fought, he paid the bill, but it takes good people,” Snowell said. “You can’t beat Schuylkill County people.”
Snowell also spoke of the religious significance of Ali’s life and the construction of the county’s first mosque, the small mosque at Ali’s camp.
“You can’t beat Schuylkill County people.”
Aaron Snowell, Hall of Fame boxing trainer
Two-time heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon, who was Ali’s sparring partner at the camp, also shared stories of his experiences there.
Madden said he hopes to provide a worthwhile two or three hour educational experience on Ali’s life and accomplishments.
According to the press kit distributed Saturday by Fighter’s Heaven, Ali’s camp was also “a magnet for celebrities of the day,” noting that it was visited by the Jackson Five, Andy Warhol, Diana Ross, Kris Kristofferson, and more, and that former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes got his start there.
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