“The Greatest!”
When people hear those words, most know, at least those thinking in an earthly realm and those over 40, that you’re talking about the iconic Muhammad Ali — three time (1964, 1974 & 1979) heavyweight boxing champion of the world!
Growing up, I actively followed Ali’s boxing exploits and enjoyed his poetic banter with announcer Howard Cosell. Ali passed away in 2016 from complications of Parkinson’s Disease, and the world surely lost a once-in-a-lifetime athlete and personality. Luckily, we did not also lose the sights and sounds of this skilled, thoughtful, flamboyant, humorous, and poetic showman, thanks to Mike Madden, son of the late-great football player, Coach, and announcer John Madden. Mike has made it his passion to save and restore the Champ’s former Training camp, “Fighter’s Heaven,” located right in our backyard — only a 1.5-hour drive from Williamsport — at Deer Lake, PA, just off Route 61 near Orwigsburg. And what a wonderful job he has done.
Established in 1972, Muhammad trained for some of his biggest fights in this facility. “Rumble in the Jungle” in 1974, and the “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975. I had driven Route 61 many times over the years and knew the camp was somewhere nearby. Still, like so many opportunities, I was always too busy getting-on-with-getting-on-with-life to stop and enjoy what was right before me, and too often later in life to regret bypassing such places, with the thought, “I’ll stop next time.” But often, the next time just never comes.
Well, fate sent me another opportunity to go see The Greatest’s camp about three years ago when my sister was moving to Orwigsburg. She had asked me to help her move in. I got to her new place in plenty of time. My mom always said if you are not early, you’re late! Unfortunately, my sister does not often adhere to the same “mom” philosophy. So, in addition to getting there way too early, my sister called and said they were about two hours behind schedule. I thought, great, what to do for three hours in Orwigsburg? Wait — Ali’s training camp!
With the help of my trusty GPS, and admittedly stopping for a few in-person directions — I’m a man, but not afraid to admit when I’m lost — I finally found Sculps Hill Road, where the camp is nicely nestled about 1/2 mile up the mountain overlooking the town. With giddy anticipation, I proceeded up the somewhat steep incline, navigating a few hairpin curves until I leveled out on a flat section. To my right were a few cabin-like buildings; to my left, a number of smaller cabins nestled higher up in the terraced hillside.
My first thought was that my GPS had led me astray, that this could not be the right place, as the structures all had seen better days and looked like they were just waiting for the wrecking ball. No one was around to ask if I was in the right place.
To the left, there was a seemingly hand-lettered sign somewhat mockingly saying Welcome to Muhammad Ali’s Training Camp, and all around, “No Trespassing/Keep Out signs!” My heart sank. The huge rocks that Ali had brought in for motivation were still there with the names, each hand-painted by his father, of greats like Rocky Marciano, Joe Frazer, and Sonny Liston, just to name a few. Still, even these classic mementos were not enough to salve my disappointment. I went dejectedly to help my sister.
Flash forward three years when I read that someone had purchased the Camp and planned to restore it to the glory days of the Ali camp. A friend Bob — an Ali fan also battling Parkinson’s disease — and I quickly planned a road trip. Upon reaching the site, it was wonderfully apparent that the past three years had been well worth the wait. We were both thrilled seeing how obviously the Camp had been carefully transformed back to how it must have been when the great Ali had lived and trained there. There is no formal entrance, and you are left to explore the buildings on your own. We were lucky enough to be greeted by the camp maintenance man who told us he had been there during many of the Ali training camps. He proceeded to give us a quick exterior tour pointing out the various buildings and filling us in with some enlightening history of the place and the various people who had spent time there.
We learned that Ali had purchased the site after having been training on a local mink farm owned by his long-time business partner Gene Kilroy. Since that ring was outside, the weather presented some obvious difficulty to consistent training, so the Sculps Hill Road site was selected.
On the newly purchased site, Ali put four main buildings in the lower section of the camp: his personal cabin, a cookhouse/kitchen, a place for his family to stay, and of course, the large structure that housed a full-size boxing ring where he trained/sparred and utterly delighted the many fans that came to see him there. On the left were several small cabins on the adjacent hill where his training partners would stay when there to spar with the Champ. The cabin where Ali stayed during training camp is off to the far side of the complex and made of old railroad ties and is very rustic —no electricity, no heat except for a wood burning stove and a beautiful mountain stone, open-hearth fireplace, a pump-faucet sink. In one corner sits a rope bed, the type where Ali slept, and two rocking chairs where he could relax and chat with visitors, the likes of Jim Brown and Dick Cavett — pictures of which are displayed inside the cabin. Next to the bed sits an old pair of boxing shoes that look almost like army boots, which Ali wore when he ran, claiming that when he took them off, his feet were much quicker — a trademark of his fighting style.
Outside the cabin is a large bell sitting high upon two posts with a rope hanging down, which Ali would ring every morning at 4:00 a.m. to signal to his sparring partners in the upper cabins to be down there by 4:30 a.m. to start running the local hills with the Champ!
Next is the Cookhouse/Dining area where cooks would prepare and feed Ali and all the fighters there to spar. All had to abide by the main cooks rules of “My Kytchen,” posted largely and conspicuously on the wall next to the main dining table, like “Don’t criticize the coffee as you may be old and weak yourself someday,” and “This is my kitchen, if you don’t believe it, start something,” just to name a few.
Next to the Cookhouse is a large, stacked pile of timber where Ali would hold court with the many visitors after meals. On the far side of the main area is a log cabin Ali’s family stayed in while he was in camp. Across the road, near the small cabins that dot the hillside, is a tall white building that served as Muhammad’s Mosque, where he went to pray.
And then, of course, there is the largest building which contains the rebuilt spacious ring where Ali sparred and trained and entertained many a celebrity, newscaster, and anybody who wanted to watch him train — it was free to watch! Pictures of celebrities like Kris Kristofferson, the Jackson 5, Elvis, and many others adorn the walls. A video monitor replays the many great fights of the Champs, of course, narrated by the great announcer Howard Cosell. You literally feel like you are there, actually watching the fights! Inside each building, there is an abundance of Ali photographs, news clippings, and videos of Ali speaking in his playful, funny, and poetic style.
The painted rocks now have storyboards behind them — as sad to say — most youngsters today have no idea who fighters like Rocky Marciano, Sonny Liston, Larry Holmes, and many others were. Thanks to Mike Madden, those youngsters now have a place to go to learn about that past magical age of boxing, and old-school folks like myself can go to relive those glory days when “The Greatest,” for a special time, ruled the boxing ring world. Check it out at http://www.fightersheaven.com, but do plan a trip to see it in person — you will not be disappointed.
