In Black America; Black College Coaches: James Smith and the Gemini Health Club

music It was 1971 when Ron Mitchell took the job as head basketball coach at Boston University. I'm John Hanson. Join me this week on in Black America. We are a very nicely-knit 45-hundred-student community where you can be an athlete, a student and you can participate in all types of on-campus activities. In college coaches this week on in Black America. This is In Black America, Reflections of the Black Experience in American Society.

I take a great amount of time with our kids, our coaches do, and the thing we try to sell at Prairie View, we are a community, whereas in the case of places like University of Texas I don't know if they could offer that kind of thing with the numbers they have. We are a very nicely-knit 45-hundred-student community where you can be an athlete, a student and you can participate in all types of on-campus activities without any problems. Conway Heyman, head football coach at Prairie View A&M University. It was 1971 when Ron Mitchell took the job as head basketball coach at Boston University. Since that time, there has been a slowly growing number of Black coaches who have been selected to direct teams at predominantly white major universities. A good number of these coaches got their start at Black Colleges or University. Nearly everyone has heard of Eddie Robinson head football coach at Grammar and State University.

Mr. Robinson is the all-time winning-est coach in college football history. I'm John Hanson. This week the Gemini Health Club Triathlon Meet, former heavyweight champion James Bone Crusher Smith, and Black College coaches with Conway Heyman, head football coach at Prairie View A&M University in Black America. We probably had for the first six games the toughest one AA schedule probably in the country. All right, taking game one, TSU as a rivalry you can never tell which way it might go. TSU just happens to have the number one passer in the country and the number two running back in terms of total yardage in the country. So it's easy to see you as they do have a bona fide program as well. McNeese was ranked in the top 15-1 AA at the end of last season. That was our second opponent.

Steven had Austin and Jackson State and Grammar were ranked in the top 15 in preseason polls in our right now. Playing University, I'm excuse me, Southern University was not ranked but they're on their way. They won four straight games. They just completely overwhelmed Mississippi Valley. And I'm sure Southern is on his way to be getting ranked in the top 20 as well. So we feel that the toughest part of our schedule has definitely gone by and that's not to undersell to other people. But I dare to say anybody else in the country in the first six games that played four nationally ranked teams. And we've come out of it, not down, last game against Grammar, I think exemplifies the spirit and the positive attitude our kids have. We've also come out of it with very few bumps and bruises and I attribute that to a very extensive weight training program. Coach Conway Heyman joined the Preview A&M University staff in 1981 as the offensive lying coordinator.

In January of 1984, he was officially named the head coach. Prior to then, Coach Heyman spent nine years in the National Football League. The highlights of his professional football career were with the Houston Olives, where he played in two American football conference championship games and was named to the AFC All Conference team in 1979. Today, Coach Heyman has put together a hardworking staff, some of whom are former professional football players themselves. I spoke with Coach Heyman on the eve of the first annual state capital football classic, regarding the importance of an education, the state of black college sports, and his own football career. I played little league football, I played high school, college, and ten years in professional ranks. I guess I've always had a yearning to see just what I could do with other young people. Wherever you offer that opportunity, I feel it's the greatest job in the country, and for me, it's a really a stroke of luck on my part to even get the job.

What teams did you play for in your ten years of professional? I played for, I drafted by the Redskins, by George Allen. I was the second pick in 1971. I also played with the Rams, the Patriots, and I finished up during the Bump Phillips era in Houston. I played all six years, Bump was there. Being a coach at the historic black college, I'm quite sure it's more to coaching than you. What do you try to instill in the student athletes that come before you? Okay. Now, if I may, I'd like to address that particular question fully in. The job at Prairie View is not one of just exonals, it's not one of taking the young men on the field and pulling in through their paces. There's been one also that has demanded that we correct some misinformation that more or less has served to undermine the effort, not only of the football program at Prairie View, but also the college itself.

Many times when we go out to recruit, we are bombarded with information that says, if you go to Prairie View or any black institution, you can't get a job. I can't understand that. It does not true. It's alive. But nevertheless, the coaches from predominantly white schools using that ploy to try to recruit students. The sad part about it is some of the parents believe it because they don't know any better. And that's maybe that's a role that we at the predominantly black schools need to articulate a little better. And I'm hoping to do so right with this, but that's the saddest part, that's been one of the hardest parts to correct. And a product of that misinformation has been that we had to go out of state to get some top players. We don't want to have to do that, we're forced to do it. Going out of state and recruiting out of state players is the mentality of out of state student athletes, so their parents having a better perception of what a black college

education can provide their sons or daughters. For the most part, those students and their parents are involved with seeing their sons graduate from college. The part of the very meaningful experience that allows them to be athlete and student. Athlete and student. The true epitome of the marriage that the intercollegiate sports is supposed to hold. And I will challenge anyone in this state of Texas to show me that they can provide a better marriage to those two than what we can. We honestly, earnestly direct our kids to being athletes, students and members of the campus, enjoy the community, the whole ball of wax, because I personally don't feel it's even worth going through unless you can develop yourself from head to toe. The proposition 48 have any effect on the program you had at PV? It's going to have an effect on a lot of programs. I'm looking right now at Texas A&I as a young man, I figure his name right now is a running

back. He's running over everybody. He couldn't get in part of you, but he got in Texas A&I because it's Division II. Yes, it's had an effect. It has had a great effect on us, but nevertheless, we feel there is a bright horizon down the road if we can get kids who are intelligent, who are disciplined, and not way we're kind of kids. So, there is a blessing. We've just got to get to our share of them. Historically, over the years, most of the high-spin trophy winners and the Outland trophy award winners have been from the Division I schools. Have historically black colleges or SWAC conference schools been neglected? I'm quite sure among the ranks of the NFL, if given the chance, these players succeed. Well, let's bring one to mind. I'm sure you know this name, Waller Payton was in the high-spin running. If he didn't go on the Mississippi, he'd have won it. He won the Jackson.

As you know, you're in the media, high-spin trophy is media. You can take a look at the last before the running backs were started to win it. When you had the Pat Sullivan's, the Doug Flute, those guys have not very very well outside of college football. There's a lot of media involved in that, even though they may have been good college players. They may not, however, have been the best. PV may not have the extensive equipment that other Division I schools have, but I'm quite sure it's adequate. With that in mind, how do you get a college athlete to come to PV? Well, first of all, we do have, we have nice-looking uniforms, we have good equipment. Our equipment is on the rise. We expect, we'll compare with anybody, we play in terms of it, so that's not a problem. What we hope to sell at PV is the total college experience, a guaranteed appearance that we're going to really take a look at your kids.

We're going to try our best to serve in your, in your state to make sure they go to class, to make sure they work hard at graduating, make sure they get 100% on the football field, and to make sure that they're good citizens when they leave, prior to UNM University. Are you a disciplinarian or are you treat young men as young men? I would characterize my form of coaching as a firm but fair. One of the things that we stress constantly. I don't have superstars, everybody's treated equally. If my first string guys don't act right, they get penalized. If my 55th string guys don't act right, they get penalized, so we operate under the posture of firm, but we're fair. Taking the consideration, the study, time, as students must undertake in college. How is that dictated as far as your scheduling of practices? Okay, we don't have a problem with that, and one of the other things we've done. We focus in on what we feel is the critical problem with most student athletes.

The critical problem is developing some type of study habits. Many of the kids are bright. Many of the kids have loads of academic ability, but they have poor study habits. So what we have done at Prairie View is focus in on that particular aspect. What the results have been or as follows. We have been able to take our squad from a number of 45 to 96, and we can't get rid of the kids. We lost one young man from last year to this year because of academics, and he was eligible, he was eligible, but he was not operating at the stands that we want him to operate at. There's no problem scheduling with class. The real issue is how committed are your students, how committed is the faculty, how committed is your academic department, and I think we've found that right very well. What type of football does the Panthers play?

We're exciting, and anybody watching this play, we got six wide receivers, four of which I don't know if we run with anybody that plays in the state of Texas, including the Southwest Conference. They can run. We got two kids out of California that quick as a hiccup, they run down the field, they both run for a four, and they can run. They catch the ball real well, and we got, like I said, we had six kids who run very well. We last week, our running game came around much better than before, and we're really excited about that too. Any type of special conditioning plan you have, your athletes doing the off season, are they involved in spring sports, or basically they're concentrating on football? We have spring sports, several of our players play spring sports, but overall I had to say our emphasis is in our Winner Workout program, of which 98% of our players participate, running, weightlifting, basketball wrestling, some of the other things like that. We encourage our athletes to be well-rounded, students, athletes, and more than anything

we want commitment. He's historically Black College are having some financial problems. Is it having an effect on the athletic program at prayer view? No, I think we need more money like anybody else, UT, probably said it need money too, or Texas A&M or some of those schools, but at the same time, I think just with the showing last week of 34,000 people for a one-double-a game against Grammling, and I think that's phenomenal. We have been able to help ourselves at the conference because of the gate revenue. We don't have to access the television. But at the same time, I think we have encouraged an image or a following that is going to be enough to carry us over financially, but we do need more alumni donations. Well, I'm finding a question. You mentioned the no television contract. Do you foresee that becoming a reality in the future?

I think it's all a part of organizing, mobilizing funds, and here's where you guys can really help us. It lasts week in the state of Texas. I think there's one game that outdrew us, and that's including the Southwest Conference. Texas against Rice had less people. You have H.H.H.S.S.S.M.U. and Boston College had less. We need it. We have a following also. It needs to be reported. There is a product there worth looking at. I've had many Division I AA schools in Texas tried to get games with us because they know we have a following as well. So what I'm saying is once we get a little better reporting in the media, I think the chance to organize, mobilize, and get a chance for a television contract will become a reality. One way, Heyman, Headfoot Ball Coach at Prairie View A&M University.

On Saturday, March 7th of this year, World Boxing Association Heavyweight Champion James Bone Crusher Smith put his title on the line against World Boxing Council Champion Mike Tyson, the youngest heavyweight champion ever. Mike Tyson won the contest by an unanimous decision by the judges. This fight will not go down in the annals of boxing history. I spoke with James Bone Crusher Smith a week before the bout. Well, I went to grammar school and high school in the area and went to junior college in Kansasville, James Punt technical college, in Kansasville, and transferred to show university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Okay, do you obtain your degree in what? You have a degree in business administration. Why did you become interested in boxing? Well, I run out of things to do. I want to be famous, and I want to be a part of history. I want to be remembered when I'm long gone, and I feel like I have accomplished a spot

in history, but I plan to make a even bigger spot in history, and that's what I'm mainly concerned about now, and I got a great opportunity, March 7th, and getting by Mike Tyson. I think I will be the undisputed headweight champion of the world. Who were some of the people that nurtured you into boxing in the early days? In the early days, in the amateur's Herbert Ruffing, I think he's still in Germany now, that's when we got started, and we had a lot of fights at 35 fights, and in the amateur's I was 31 and 4, the military. Okay. Okay. And when did you turn pro? November 1981. November 1981? Yeah. And do you remember that first fight? First fight with a six round fight in schedule with James Broad, ESPN. And the outcome of that fight.

I got stopped in my first professional fight. And 4th round. Did you think you had embarked on a career that really wasn't for you at that time, or at that time, I felt like professional boxing was for other people, it wasn't for me. But it didn't take me too long to go back to the drawing board and realize that I should have never been in there with James Broad at that particular time. And especially in a six round fight, I was going very well, you know, for the first three or four rounds, but a six round fight I should have never been in my first professional fight. Were you ill-prepared, or he was just a better fighter at that time? He probably was a little better at that time, and ill-prepared, and I was doing things on my own. I was my own trainer, my own manager, and all that, and, hey, they always try to throw me to the lions, and I usually come out good, the winner. And we do anywhere from three to eight rounds with sparring partners, and they have instructions to come after me, just like Mike Tyson would do.

I put a bounty on my head of $500, if they can knock me down in sparring with a liqueur punch, they get $500 right on the spot. Have you been knocked down yet? I haven't been knocked down yet, but I've knocked them down several times. Okay, once you prepared yourself, and when do you think about going to Vegas for the last two weeks, or you're spending a week before the fight in Las Vegas? Yeah, I think we're going to Vegas for the last two weeks, around the 20th or 21st, 20 seconds, something like that. With the Unification Series at HBO, Millibar, and King Productions are putting together, is that a good thing? Should there be one World Heavyweight Champion? I think there should be one undisputed Heavyweight Champion, and one champion in each weight class. I can speak for the Heavyweight Division. I think it's a great thing that Don King puts loose, that dynamic duel, HBO. I think it's a great thing that they're doing to make this thing a success, and it's a

great thing for boxing. What is your projected weight around fight time? It'll be around 230, give or take a pound or two, but I feel real good at that weight. I fought 10 with a spoon at 228. Besides professional boxing, what are some of your other interests? Well, I like to read, and I'm involved in buying a cell and property, and I'll real estate a very active in the community, and doing that. I'd like to get into management, you know, managing other fighters. I had one guy that I was managing, but I had to give him a release. But I'm looking around for things like that to stay involved in the community and kind of help out anywhere I can. Push your current manager and trainer. Alan Cornberg and Carl King is my co-managers, and Emil Griffith is my trainer. Okay.

How long do you plan on fighting professionally? Well, I'm just taking one fight at the time, and I just want to make sure that I stay ready, stay prepared, and win each fight, and we'll see what happens after that. Former WBA Heavyweight Champion James Bone Crusher Smith. On July 12th of this year, the Gemini Health Club, located in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, will hold a triathlon meet. I recently spoke with Jim Charesi of Gemini Health Club. Well, actually, it's Gemini Health Club at Landrhaven, where we're located in Mayfield Heights in Northeast Ohio, and we are basically a health club for the community. We are involved with a lot of the high schools here. We have a brand new aerobic class here, which is a low impact aerobics, which is coming out of New York, which is not so much of the pounding and not so much pain. No pain, no gain is something we don't go by here. Okay. The club itself, we've been here for three years now, and we've done quite well, and we're going to start with this triathlon, which we're sponsoring, an association with Minute

Men, and cystic fibrosis, our proceeds from this will go directly to cystic fibrosis. How did you all come up with an idea, and I would assume it's somewhat unique at Health Club, sponsoring a triathlon meet? Well, you know what we did? Actually, we were watching on 60 minutes, the full triathlon, which is the 26 miles in the swim, and the 50 mile biking, I believe it is, and we thought it might be a nice idea to let the average guy jump in and give it a shot. So we're going to have, we're going to call a mini tri, which will be a half a mile swim, located here in Menor. Then we're going to have a 25 mile bike, which will go through Menor, and Willoughby, and Willoughby Hills, and the bigger part of it will be in the Mayfield Heights, the Mayfield Village area, and then we'll have a 10k run, which is 6.2 miles. And we figured by doing this, we'll be certified, by the way, and by doing this, it gives the average person a shot at this, maybe to work towards an all-out triathlon. And we figured, well, let's see if we can get the community involved in some of the younger

people and older people, see what we can come up with, and so far, to date, everything has worked out well. Everyone has been working with us, we have all the sponsors we need, and it looks pretty good right now. Who are some of the sponsors? You mentioned Minute Man by the other sponsors? Right now Minute Men, and right now we have a lot of people here in the area that are helping us as smaller sponsors, but right now we're looking in the many other areas to cover that, but right now our main sponsor is Minute Man and Minute Kemp. And the big thing is that who got behind us actually was Cypherosis, the fact that they thought it was worthy enough, worthy enough cause, but we think it's a worthy enough cause of the worthy enough event to be associated with us. They like the fact that we're going to give the average guy a shot, really. Is this the UNICEX main companion against men, or women, or women, or is it? Or the different age groups for men and women from the age of 15 to 19, 20 to 24, 25 to 29, 50 to 55, and 55 and up. I'm quite sure you are looking for semi-professional athletes, those that have had formal training

in the particular sport. Yes. How can they get in contact with you by listening to this program? They can either write to us at the address, which is 21-01 Lander Road, Nathaniel Heights Ohio. It's 4-4-1-2-4, and that's obviously the Gemini Health Club, where they can call, call us directly here, numbers 461-14-04, and there are many people interested in maybe just the special facets of the triathlon, so we're going to just jump in for the run. Yeah, I was going to ask you, if you're not a competitive type person, is it something that you've been coming involved with just for the front of it? Sure, we have some people coming in right now just for the 10K, some of the runners club in the state of Ohio, in Pennsylvania, we already called, can we just jump in for the 10K? You know, fine, whatever you'd like to do, but the clock starts at 8 o'clock on July 12th in menor at Menorheadland, and we'll end up back here in Mayfield Heights at the Atlantic Health Club at Landry-Hailin, there's going to be a circus tent here, or it should

hold about 1,000, 2,000 people, there'll be beverages, there'll be prizes for the first three-place winners, there'll be many things, it'll be very exciting, matter of fact, we're even interested in the athletes after the triathlon, we're having some stretching done here by a gentleman named Reggie Kelly, and he's going to stretch these people out after and cool them down a little bit, which is something that's not done either, usually they're worried about you at the beginning. We've seen that it's very important at this time to give them down after and to cool them off a little bit. On that same vein, is there any type of preparation, minimum preparation, one would have in going and competing in a particular meet such as this, even if you're doing it just for fun? What you should do is, as I stated, it's half mile swim, 25 mile bike, and 6.2 run, but they suggest as you work out a half of that, so you work out that, let's say, quarter mile, 12 miles on your bike, and just three miles on your run, you work out a half this

way you should be prepared for the all-out race when it's ready. I would suggest that proper diet, proper diet is most essential. And when you say proper diet, give us some of the... Pull it up a couple hydrates a night before. Okay. Have yourself that big dish of spaghetti, and just fill up, but other than you're stay away from your sugars, I mean, as far as your all-out candy, stay away from alcohol. And a lot of vegetables, I would suggest a lot of fish, stay away from your fatty foods. What is the weather like in Cleveland, in July, no, in July, when we were looking somewhere between 65 and 75 degrees, in over here, it's very hard, it could snow also in the way anywhere. Rather than that, no, we're looking anywhere between 70 and 75 degrees. What should make it nice? Is there a deadline for entry? Right now, right now we have no deadline. Right now we're trying to see how many people are interested. We're shooting for maybe between 500 and 1,000 people, which is very possible. You mentioned the event has been sanctioned.

Who are the sanctioning organizations? Right now, the two that I mentioned, which would be sanctioned by weather runners clubs here in the area. There is the Triathlon Society here, which has a big triathlon called the Emerald Tribe, which is a total all-out tribe. And there are also, we are also sanctioned by the, I'm trying to think who are some, but we already got a letter for the other day from someone that says, another runner's club is what it is. And some swim team, a national swim team here from this side of the side of town. So it's people that said, you know, they would give us their backing. All the bikers, for example, all their bikes will be checked out by a gentleman from the Mayfield, Hightseria and someone from the Miner area, so for safety factors. Hightseria's response has been from a local medium in Cleveland. Very well. We were on the news held so far, and they just gave us a little line to let people know that, you know, we're starting this. And after we plan on going full boat as of April 1st, we should have our applications, and we should have our posters up and ready to go in the total area.

Other than that, the people have really been great. They're very interested. Like you said, it's something a little different. Okay. Jim, give us the address and the phone number where participants or would-be participants can call or write. All right. It's Gemini Health Club at Lander Haven, 21-01, Lander Road, Mayfield, Hightseria, 4-4-1-2-4. If you're interested in calling, dial 461-14-04, and remember that July 12th at 8 o'clock in the morning, we start. Jim Churisi of the Gemini Health Club. If you have a comment or would like to purchase Acre Set Computers program, write us. The address is in Black America, Longhorn, Radio Network, UT Austin, Austin, Texas, 787-12. For in Black America's technical producer, Cliff Hargrove, I'm John Hanson, join us next week. You've been listening to In Black America, Reflections of the Black Experience in American Society. In Black America is produced and distributed by the Center for Telecommunication Services

at UT Austin and does not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Texas at Austin or this station. This is the Longhorn Radio Network.