Jack Crowell fell in love with boxing while watching Pete Petroskey work Kenny Lane’s corner during a 1963 title fight on a hot August afternoon in Saginaw. In a dozen or so fights over the next decade, Crowell proved he could punch and developed “a decent left hook.” From the start, though, Crowell knew his boxing legacy would be built outside the ring, not in it.
He began his coaching career in 1976.  Working out of his small Cloverville garage with kids from the neighborhood, Crowell laid the groundwork for a local boxing renaissance that blossomed in the mid-1980s. And it was Crowell who, along with Lane, Petroskey, and Terry Markowski, helped keep the Muskegon Area Boxing Club going as it was kicked around town for almost three decades before finding a permanent home in the Muskegon Recreation Center at Smith-Ryerson Park on Jackson Hill.

Featuring a strong stable of successful fighters, the sport returned to local glory.  With bulging crowds filling local auditoriums, Crowell moved his shows to the L.C. Walker Arena.  With his reputation as a trainer growing nationally, Crowell was named a coach for the U.S. Golden Gloves team from 1980-82.
Crowell lives in Muskegon with his wife, Sandy. They have two children.