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Caity Healy<\/strong> | Editor-in-Chief<\/span><\/p>\n On April 26, 2017, The Western Journal published a story titled \u201cThe Motown Throwdown,\u201d written by our then Sports Editor, Burke De Boer. The story delved into the tradition that occurred each Spring at Western, then called Oregon College of Education, called the TKB Smoker. Hosted by the self-titled group Tappa Kegga Beer, the TKB Smoker was an annual, student-run boxing tournament that existed throughout the \u201870s. It ended for unknown reasons. But before the tradition could die out, it left one boxer famous for his tenacity in the ring: Lee Reed.<\/span><\/p>\n On May 7, I received a phone call from a man named Dave Clarke. He told me that he actually knew Lee Reed \u2014 and he had a lot of stories to share with me. So, he was kind enough to tell me all the memories he could recall of Reed, as a fighter and as a friend.<\/span><\/p>\n Clarke first heard of Reed through his brother, Robert. Robert attended Western Oregon State College in 1979, and when he came home, he told Clarke all about something called the TKB Smoker.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHe told me about a really \u201ckick ass\u201d guy he\u2019d seen fight in the campus smoker \u2014 a guy named Lee Reed. Robert told me that he\u2019d seen Lee knockout a couple of guys in less than a minute,\u201d Clarke said. \u201cMy brother also told me that Lee taught a Taekwondo class on campus.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n From then on, Clarke wanted to become a martial arts sensation. He came to Western in 1981, and noticed a flyer posted near Barnum Hall advertising a class taught by Reed. So, he went to the Taekwondo class and met Reed first-hand.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cClass was very difficult, and Lee was demanding but always fair and interested \u2026 I just about worshipped him at the time,\u201d Clarke said. \u201cI didn\u2019t get to know Lee better until I was in class for a few months.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n As Clarke began getting to meet Lee outside of his classes, he noted that Lee was a bit of a partier. Lee would host get-togethers at his apartment, where he\u2019d cook for everyone. Clarke recalls the memory of one party.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOne day I was standing in Lee\u2019s kitchen \u2026 he asked me to hold still for a second, so I did. He kicked off the flip-flop sandals he usually wore and did a perfect spinning wheel kick to my face. I could feel the bottom of his foot skim the top of my nose. This was in a space that was probably four feet wide \u2014 amazing,\u201d Clarke recalled. \u201cAfter that, he put his sandals back on and smiled at me. He said, \u2018I just wanted to see if I could still kick a person as tall as you in the face.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHe told me he was an orphan in Korea, and that he had to learn to fight to survive. He said \u2026 the other students would always want to fight him because of his mixed heritage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n However Lee reached the point he was at now, Clarke only had kind words to share about him.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLee was always attentive to me, never once looked down on me , Clarke explained. \u201cI sparred with Lee a few times. One time a backfist I threw touched Lee\u2019s cheek. He paused and said, \u2018That\u2019s one of the best backfists I\u2019ve ever seen \u2014 you should throw more of those.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Unfortunately. Clarke didn\u2019t have any other information about why the TKB Smoker did come to an end, nor information on where Lee ended up. However, he knows that his memories of Lee will not fade.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/files\/2019\/05\/TKB.jpg\")
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When Clarke hosted parties, he felt lucky if he was able to find a few spare moments with Lee to get to know him better. It would be at one of these parties that he really began to understand Lee.<\/span><\/p>\n