FAMI
ROY DURST Though he had left MAC to manage the stadium, ]ames Richardson never passed up the opportunity to promote boxing. In LeRoy Durst, he saw a fine boxing coach. Durst, a Nebraska farm boy who began boxing at 19, won a six-state Midwest tournament in the '30s and fought professionally in the '40s. He came to the club on his 29th birthday in 1948 to begin a career that spanned 42 years. Building talent through athletic memberships, Durst took teams all over the Northwest, reaching Olympic elimination matches in San Francisco and Las Vegas. Among his most successful boxers was Hugh Minsker, who attained a national reputation in the '50s. Later, Durst worked with Hugh's son Andy Minsker, an Olympic finalist, outside of MAC. Yet, Durst's impact was most strongly felt through children's lessons. He touted the sport as a marvelous builder of self-confidence, and though he admitted his methods were sometimes strong, he believed they built character and strength of spirit. When interest in boxing began to ebb in the late 1950s, Durst started coaching the boys' baseball team, and became advertising manager for The Winged M. Often working 15-hour days, he also ran the Early Birds program and became Sunday manager of the club. He continued teaching boxing, bringing his gruff style to mold a new generation of young boys. And, all knew that under that tough, old-guy hide was someone who cared.
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about the cost of inventory and the temporary loss of what had been substantiallocker rental fees, the increase in bar patronage soon turned a profit.
An early '50s proposal to eliminate athletic memberships prompted boardroom skirmishes against erosion in the role of club sports. President Weiss protested, "Let me first of all dispel any fear ... that we are moving toward de-emphasis of athletics. In 1955 we had a more varied program, spent more money on this activity, and had greater member participation than any year in history. This to me does not sound like liquidation of the department." True, but he neglected to mention how youthful MAC athletes had become. Kids, like cars, were everywhere. To anticipate their effect, the youth activities committee was formed in 1953. Juniors even had their own club telephone line. By 1959, kids decisively dominated club sports in levels of activity not seen since the '20s. A new term, age-group record, entered the vocabulary of statisticians. Juniors played Pygmy, Pee Wee and Babe Ruth baseball, packing
Winged M pages with team portraits. They filled MAC's swimming, archery and tennis classes. Pop Warner football returned red and white teams to the Coach Roy Durst taught that age, size and shape are no barriers in learning defense. The long and the short and the tall were invited to use boxing room facilities.