I first met Scott LeDoux late in his life. I had heard of him, seen him when we attended a former church, but never met him face to face. He had long since retired from boxing, gone into real estate and ran for (and won) a seat on the Anoka County Board. He was heavily involved in fund raising for the new Andover Community Center as well as the collaborative YMCA.
And that is where Scott and I met. He was the first Board Chair for the newly established YMCA and I was the Y Partners Chair. When he and I first shook hands, I was amazed by the size of Scott's hand. All I could think of was how much it had to hurt other boxers who had to face the business end of those hands. Scott was always polite to everyone on the Board and pride never seemed to be an issue with him. I liked him from the get-go.
A few months after the Board was established, he and I were suppose to attend a meeting for all Board and Y Partner Chairs at the Edina Country Club. He called me up and said he had a problem - his routine colonoscopy was scheduled for that morning. Since they "dope you up" during the exam, you are not allowed to drive home after the appointment. He asked if I could come to the hospital and pick him up. Not a problem I responded. I would pick him up, take him to the meeting, and then back to the hospital where his car was parked. By that time he would have been okay to drive home.
The next morning I was at the hospital at the time he requested. Scott was late coming out as the procedure took a bit longer than he thought it would. When he got in the car, I could tell he was still a bit groggy. I decided to just let him be and not engage in too much talking. Scott, however, had a different idea.
He told me about the struggles he had with some of the fighters he faced. In particular, a very famous opponent really gave him fits. I won't go into details, but many hurtful things were said to and about Scott by this boxer and his team. When Scott told me one particularly troubling thing that happened, I asked if he was tempted to get him out of the ring and have a go at him. He turned and looked at me and said something very simple - "Maybe at one time. Today I could not, as I now have the love of Christ living in my heart". To hear this mountain of a man, probably the most famous boxer in our state's history, confess his love for the Lord was humbling. I will never forget that moment.
As most of us know, Scott developed Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS). It is one of the cruelest diseases which resides in the Muscular Dystrophy family. Inch by inch, it robbed Scott of his mobility, his health, and finally his life. Many miss Scott - not just because of who he was, but also because of what he did for Minnesota. Hundreds, probably thousands of people who live in Minnesota got to know Scott much better and much longer than I did. However, during a car ride to a meeting on a early May morning, I was blessed that Scott was able to share with me his best news of all.
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