Behind the wheel at Pierce Transit 35 years, a gold medal boxer rides into the sunset
Leo Randolph is still cutting the kids’ hair at Remann Hall., The 1976 Olympic gold medal boxer, who helped solidify Tacoma’s reputation as a breeding ground for champions in the sport, has been doing it for decades.
Randolph sees the volunteer work as a way to give back to the community he grew up in, he said this week, and a chance to help young kids who need guidance — much as he did when he was their age, not much older than when he wandered into the now legendary Al Davies Club for the first time, an experience that ultimately changed the trajectory of his life.
As of last Friday, however, what Randolph’s not doing anymore is driving a bus.
After more than three decades behind the wheel at Pierce Transit — and a humble post-Olympic career spent providing an essential service and a welcoming smile to thousands of local riders, most of whom knew nothing of his glory in the ring — Randolph recently retired.
Newly married and eager to travel the country with his new bride, Randolph, 65, views it as a chance to write a fresh chapter in a life that has already included reaching boxing’s pinnacle at the Montreal Olympics when he was still in high school — and the lasting local notoriety that came with it.
At Pierce Transit, where Randolph has served as a trusted driver, and as an ambassador for an agency that prides itself on its connection to the community, the reaction had been much more complicated.
“We are all emotional about it,” said Pierce Transit spokesperson Rebecca Japhet.
“It’s so well deserved, but he will be very much missed by his colleagues and customers,” she added.
Japhet is right. While offering a bit of hyperbolic praise would be understandable given the circumstances, particularly in the service of honoring a long-time employee riding into the sunset, there’s no exaggeration to be found in her words.
Long after the national spotlight faded, Randolph has continued to be a local treasure, not to mention a human reminder of so many of the things that make Tacoma and Pierce County special.
If Randolph’s exploits as a boxer earned him a lifelong place in Tacoma’s heart, what he’s accomplished simply driving a bus — and the constant, positive presence he’s provided for so many — deserves nearly as much recognition.
I’ve seen his impact firsthand.
I first met Randolph in 2016. I was relatively new to The News Tribune. The former gold medalist, meanwhile, was preparing for the latest in a string of honors he’s received during his life: serving as the community grand marshal for the 83rd annual Daffodil Festival parade.
I found Randolph in a familiar place: the South Hill Mall Transit Center. At the time, he was assigned to route 425, which provides a vital connection between Puyallup and bustling South Hill.
Randolph met me with an unmistakable smile, which had long since become his trademark as a driver, I learned, encouraging me to take a seat behind him and ask anything that came to mind.
It’s not every day that you cross paths with an Olympic gold medalist — or a former World Boxing Association super bantamweight champion, for that matter, a title Randolph briefly held in 1980 before retiring at only 22 with a professional record of 17-2, his whole life ahead of him. I was visibly excited.
What I wasn’t expecting was to be just as enamored with Randolph’s charisma, his unwavering faith and — most of all — the pride he took in just being someone his riders could depend on, no matter what.
Randolph showed me his gold medal, which he kept tucked away in an understated black case. He even let me hold it.
But it was his endearing humility and the way he approached what could have easily been a thankless job that truly won me over.
“I try to get along with people,” Randolph told me back then, a man of few words who prefers to leave his indelible mark on Tacoma unspoken.
“I try to be a people person, because what goes around comes around,” he added.
Randolph and I spoke again this week, on Tuesday afternoon, as he made his way to Remann Hall for what will soon become weekly hair-cutting visits. The demands of his job limited the time he could spend volunteering at the juvenile detention center, he explained, and the flexibility to do more for the kids is one reason retirement appealed to him.
He was also looking forward to his big retirement party in a few days, he said, and still plans to visit his aging mother every Sunday.
A deeply religious man, Randolph told me he met his new wife through church, and he’s looking forward to spending his golden years with her. The couple hopes to buy an RV, he said, and already has a long list of trips penciled in, including seeing Las Vegas, California and Mississippi — where he was born and briefly lived before his family moved to Tacoma when he was young.
Randolph has four grandkids now, he added, a blessing bestowed on him by two children from a previous marriage. His son, Leo Randolph Jr., spent more than a decade driving for Pierce Transit himself but recently relocated to Arizona. That’s another life change that influenced his decision to call it a career, he said.
Mostly, though, Randolph wanted to impress on me how honored he is for a life that’s exceeded his wildest dreams, and the important role Tacoma has played in making it possible. He wanted readers to know how thankful he was.
I told Randolph that the City of Destiny clearly got the best end of the deal, and it’s not even close.
We’re the ones who should be grateful.
We’re who benefited most from his life of service.
“A lot of people were shocked, and I’d get to watch their face glow up, and then we’d get to hang around and talk, sometimes for the whole trip,” Randolph told me of people’s reaction upon learning he was a world-famous boxer.
“You’re out there doing something important for people. Sometimes they’re lost. Sometimes they don’t have the fare. Sometimes they’re just going through difficult circumstances,” he continued.
“I like driving, and I like helping people. It’s been a great job, and I’ve had a wonderful time doing it.”
This story was originally published September 14, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
