Coach Mckay graduated as a Top - Ten Senior from UTEP in 1971, earned his Masters in 1975 with a 4.0 GPA, and has completed advanced work from Purdue University. He has been a boxing coach and official for over 40 years. He founded the El Paso Boxing and Martial Arts Hall of Fame and served as its first president. McKay has also been a co-director of the Regional Golden Gloves, coach of the year twice and co-coach of the year three times. He has also served as a referee at the local, state and national level. McKay obtained his grooming in the art of boxing by experts Santos Quijano, Alex Guerrero, Ollie Wilhelm, and Mauricio Barragan.

  In 1967, Dr. Raul Rivera, attorney Pat Dwyer, John Lanahan, coach Tom McKay, coach Sammy Burke of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and notable others helped form a boxing alliance between New Mexico and El Paso with the acronym SWIABA (Southwestern International Amateur Boxing Association). A box off tournament was then held at the El Paso Coliseum to select a team to compete in the AAU National championships in San Diego, California. It was the first ever event at the city’s new Sports Arena. With their team intact and the necessary monies raised, if was off to San Diego where arrangements were made with the United States Marine Corp to provide room and board for the coaches and team. The tournament was to last three days and because it was the largest contingent of amateur boxers in USA history, competition was to run 24/7.

The big event had three rings and coaches and boxers got little rest. Nevertheless, the SWIABA team pulled off a number of upsets, especially by Mike Ortiz 132 of Las Cruces, New Mexico. After four wins in 36 hours over state champions and nationally ranked fighters, Ortiz, only 10-6 coming into the tournament, won his way to the semi-finals where he lost a split decision to three time national champion, Quincelan Daniels. Even more brilliant was Earl Large, who captured the 119-pound championship to pocket GOLD. The short-handed SWIABA fighters fought hard and made a name for them selves. And they finished 5^th in the nation out of over forty-eight teams. Even Mexico, the Philippines and Hawaii were represented. Back home, only New Mexico newspapers wrote extensively about the huge accomplishment.

 McKay was head coach of the Ft. Bliss Falcons during the 1980’s and owned, operated and coached the Eastside Boxing Club for some twenty years. From 1980 to 2004, McKay worked intermittently as an assistant coach to El Paso’s 7-time World Kickboxing Champion, Cliff ‘Magic’ Thomas. In 2003, McKay helped condition Thomas for his 7^th world title. Shortly thereafter, McKay and Thomas corroborated on a book about the latter’s life and dynamic ring career. The book, “Magic! Magic! Magic!” has met with tremendous local success, excellently on the road, and good Internet sales.

            In 1996, McKay, afflicted with aggressive cancer, was recruited by principal Efren Yturralde of the Raymond Telles Academy to teach boxing and science to problem youngsters, hard-core gang members and a few incorrigibles at the academy. After four years, a teacher of the year award, and some 500 students participating in the highly successful program, McKay’s illness led to his retirement. However, after surviving chemotherapy, McKay was hired by Powerhouse Gyms as Boxing Director and became a personal trainer as well. In 2006, Tom met James Butler and was so impressed with his school of Jiu-Jitsu that he hired on as both a striking and boxing coach.

       McKay’s wife, Leticia, is a senior art major at UTEP; his son’s, Mike and Les, are both officers with the El Paso and Austin fire Departments; his daughter Leah works in Florida for FEMA and his daughter Jennifer is a housewife in San Diego, California. McKay has five grandchildren: Christopher McKay, Sean McKay, Mikala Lowrance, Abrielle Stewart and Lonnie Ray Stewart III.

More Bio For The Hardy Reader

Thomas W. McKay was born in Balmorhea, Texas, October 2^nd 1934 to Raymond and Ermine McKay. He is the great grandson of the renowned western country icon, Annie Riggs. A museum in her honor is located in Ft. Stockton, Texas. During the hard and difficult times of the 1930’s, the McKay family moved from the depressed areas of Ft. Stockton and Balmorhea to El Paso.

        Tom attended St. Patricks, St. Margarets, Burleson, Alta Vista, Austin High School and El Paso High School before the family moved to Pampa, Texas. In El Paso, he received boxing instruction from Santos Quijano and in Pampa from Ollie Wilhelm. He worked to help the family and only occasionally got to spar. In 1951, he decided to live with his brother Frazer, a great jockey of the Southwest, and work as a groom. Frazer set us shop in California where he eventually became a trainer and a farrier. Tom grew too big to be a jockey and had little time for boxing though he did get to Archie Moore’s Gym on occasion. However, he was a proud graduate of Mar Vista High School.

      In 1952, Tom returned to El Paso and went to work for Mountain Bell Telephone Company. He built his own gym and planned on entering the Golden Gloves but a sparring injury stopped him cold. He joined the Marine Reserves and was soon off to active duty with boot camp in San Diego. Later, he had orders for Korea but luckily they were changed to Japan. After his military stint, Tom returned to Ma Bell in 1956 but soon married a girl from Ft. Stockton, Betty Dyson, and moved to Odessa, Texas to work at the Butadiene Plant as an instrument man. He missed El Paso and in 1959 moved back to sell insurance for Aetna Life Insurance Company and in 1960 became an El Paso Policeman. That is when he met Chito Barragan and wanted to learn how to become a boxing trainer. But first, he was Ring Clerk for the 1966 Golden Gloves and Co-Director with Joe Bohling for the 1967 Golden Gloves.

        Tom also did judging and served as a referee at tournaments in Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado as well as spending time with coach Barragan. In 1967-68 he worked extensively with coach Barragan and struck up a friendship with another coach, Rocky Galarza. When Barragan passed away unexpectedly, Rocky and Tom teamed up to form the Carolina Boxing Club. The team won nearly every tournament they competed in and helped groom kickboxer Cliff ‘Magic’ Thomas for El Paso’s first world championship in any sport in 1980.

    Back in 1968, Tom entered UTEP while working a night shift on the police department. He obtained his bachelors degree in 1971 with honors and was overwhelmed with joy when selected as one of the Top-Ten Seniors. UTEP hired McKay on the spot as Sgt. In charge of Criminal Investigations. A few months later, McKay was made acting Chief of Police and was selected for that position on a permanent basis by a selection committee. Some nasty politics and nepotism evolved and McKay just moved on to teaching and coaching football, basketball, soccer, track and field and of course, boxing. He also ran a pest control business on the side.

         In 1975, Tom and Robert Nava brought in Randall ‘Tex’ Cobb to fight Tom’s Golden Gloves Heavyweight champion, David Ochoa, in the first ever full contact karate event in El Paso. After Randall stopped Ochoa, he was invited to live with Tom who would help prepare him for an eventual pro boxing career out of Joe Frazier’s Gym in Phildadelphia. Randall also became a movie star.

        After a few years with Rocky, Mckay became co-head coach. However, in 1981, boxing great and administrator, Vic Villarreal, gave Tom the opportunity to coach the Ft. Bliss Falcons.  It was Tom’s second head coaching job and he didn’t disappoint as the team won over 80% of their bouts and captured tournaments in Arizona and New Mexico and the Regional Gloves two years running.

            When a new general at the base dropped boxing in favor of weightlifting, Tom, who saw the change coming, had already opened his Eastside Boxing Club. He coached and developed top-notch boxers and hooked up with Rocky Galarza to form the Eastside-Rocky’s Boxing Club.   Again, the duo of Rocky and Tom took top honors in most of the boxing meets in New Mexico and the El Paso Southwest.

       Ernie Lazcano, David Rodriguez, Cliff Thomas, Marco Martinez, Les McKay, Mike McKay, Sergio Vela, JoJo Galarza, Ricky Leon, Sal Caballero, Ricky Martinez, Duane Reid, Mike Uzeta, and over two hundred other fighters were developed by the Galarza/McKay coaching duo. And to top matters off, Tom, bringing witness Vic Villarreal along to the courthouse, founded the El Paso Boxing/Karate Hall of Fame in 1993 and became it’s first president. It is a 501 C3 charitable organization that raises money for children with cancer.

       After teaching biology, physical science and honors biology at Austin High school for 25 years, Tom was working some tough man fights when Raymond Telles principal, Efren Yturralde, saw him coaching and called him over and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse: to create a boxing program for students with baggage and other problems and to teach science. Tom took the job as it offered a 25% raise.

    The program and Mr. Y’s other initiatives in other subjects was so successful that other school district representatives from around the country came to see how Mr. Yturralde developed and maintained such phenomenal programs and especially Tom’s program, which was always the showcase for visitors. It even replaced the annual Christmas program. A short film of the overall program was developed and the state gave it a top honor. And Tom was made teacher of the year in 1998.

     Tom had been diagnosed with possible cancer in 1996 and verified in 1997. In 2000 and age 65, Tom needed additional treatments as his cancer worsened. He retired but did well with the triple androgen blockade treatments and was soon hired by Joseph Bencomo as Boxing Director of his Powerhouse Gyms. In 2006, Tom, age 72, Met the dynamic Jiu-Jitsu expert, James Butler, and was immediately impressed; impressed enough to hire out with James as a boxing/striking coach instructor at El Paso Jiu-Jitsu on James Watt.

      Tom had the pleasant opportunity in 2006 of meeting El Paso’s other world kickboxing champion, Fernie Calleros. His flair, charisma, and enthusiasm for his sport made Tom an instant fan of the 4-Time World champion. On occasion, Fernie includes Tom in his tournaments and even lets Tom work out with some of his students.  Last February (2007) Tom spent a few days working the spar mitts and his widow-maker bag with Fernie’s AKKA Karate School students, a few entered in the Regional golden Gloves. Fernie showed the boxing coaches a thing or two as one of his fighters demolished three champions entered from Mexico and won Gold. Two others were unopposed as word was out about their wins in kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts. Fernie, though retired and nearing forty, has been selected by Chuck Norris to be a member of the Houston Professional Kickboxing Team with a new format that will feature team scores and a year ending final four just as is done football and basketball.

    Tom has been with his present wife, Leticia McKay, since 1988. Leticia is a local artist and is a senior at UTEP working for her BFA. Lety has been supportive of Tom’s coaching and is co-writing a book with him that might be on the market in 2008. Lety has been in many juried shows and expectations are that in a few years, she will be one of the Southwest’s top artists. Lety was also instrumental in making the annual boxing/martial arts hall of fame banquets successful.

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