His gym was representative of the golden age of the sport, situated on the second floor as it was, with a window letting in the sights of the Minneapolis down-town street traffic and the paper boys at their stands. You had to climb the stairs to reach it.

This was a sanctuary for Twin Cities prizefighters during the hey days of the sport, in the 1940s and 1950s, a refuge for the boxers, their pals and hangers-on and the old-timers who passed the hours comparing the new talent with that of by-gone days, cigars tucked into the corners of their mouths, absent only when they spoke.

Everybody in the fight game knew of Jimmy Potts’ gym, and anybody who was anybody could be found there observing fighters training for an upcoming bout or those simply trying to hone their skills or keep them intact while awaiting an offer of some kind to fight some where.

There was a heavy bag at one end, a speed bag near the door and a ring in the center of the room. Promoters watched fighters as they sparred, eager to sign a contract at the lowest possible cost, downplaying the skills or record of a fighter whose signature they were eager to obtain.

Potts had been a fighter himself, engaging in 110 fights over a 22-year career and followed up as a referee. He knew and understood the game, its shadowy interior as well as its glamorous public face. He knew what it took to take part in a sport that could rob you of your self esteem and much more in an instant without the proper dedication and preparation.“He didn’t put up with any nonsense,’’ said Hall of Fame fighter Jerry Slavin, who frequently sparred and worked out at Potts’ training facility. “He was all business. He ran a good gym.’’

Slavin recalled that Potts himself frequently sparred and worked with young fighters who were eager to learn the sport, the sweet science of mankind’s numerous athletic endeavors.

“He was a good teacher. I could tell by the way he worked with young fighters,’’ Slavin added.

What sometimes gets lost lost in all of the attention that Potts garnered because of his well-known training facility was the simple fact that he was a good fighter himself, deserving of a spot in the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame for that alone. Many of the boxers who frequented his gym were ignorant of his long, successful career as a prize fighter, meeting him often for the first time upon stepping into his facility.

“Oh, we could tell he had been a fighter,’’ said Slavin. “He seem to really know what he was doing in the ring.”

He did during his career in the ring as well, winning 75 of his 110 fights, 37 of them by kayo. He fought to a draw with fellow Hall of Fame fighter Mike Gibbons, and unlike many fighters, Potts was still winning fights when he called it quits, having won 16 of his last 18 engagements, including his last four.

Potts was born James Ebenezer Potts in Somerset, Wisconsin, and lived into his seventy-sixth year.

Slavin will turn 90 on November 20 and retains distinct memories of the time he spent in Potts’ gym on Hennepin Avenue and Seventh Street in Minneapolis. There was the occasion, for instance, when he was sparring with Jackie Burke, a Hall of Fame inductee with this year’s class.

Slavin was having a tough time of it in the ring with Burke and broke down. “I was actually crying,’’ he said. “I couldn’t get it going.’’

Burke turned that around for Slavin, telling him that he was getting a workout just as tough as what he got sparring with Rocky Graziano and Jake LaMotta. “That was quite a compliment,’’ Slavin said. “I felt a whole lot better after he said that.’’

Nonetheless a sore spot from his boxing days at Potts survives to this day. Slavin was getting ten dollars a round to spar with Earl Turner, a tough welterweight from Richmond, California, known as the Earl of Richmond. “He cut off the sparring with me after two rounds,’’ Slavin recalled. “I was hoping to get several more rounds.’’

And dollars.

There are numerous other memories as well. Slavin sparred at various times in Potts facility with two of the charter members of the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame.

“I worked all the time with Del and Glen Flanagan,’’ Slavin said. “And we didn’t take it easy when we sparred, either.

The best fighters in the nation often worked out at Potts gym when they were in the Twin Cities for upcoming bouts or even just passing through. And Potts welcomed them all, but with certain caveats.

“He was a real good guy,’’ said Slavin. “But he was real serious, all business, and he didn’t want any fooling around in the gym.’’

Potts began his professional boxing career on January 1, 1899 with a bout in Minneapolis that ended in a draw. His opponent? A fellow named Ernie Potts of Minneapolis who had one fight under his belt.

He was 42 years old when he climbed into the ring on April 29, 1929 in Winnipeg and emerged with a win on points over Billy McKenzie.

Jimmy Potts – boxer, referee, coach, gym owner – has found a well deserved place in the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame.