MUHAMMAD ALI

On friday night, i cried.

A big part of my life from the time i was a teenager passed away late friday night and a part of me disappeared forever.

MUHAMMAD ALI died at the age of 74 and he had been part of my life for over fifty years. i followed his life and career and was NEVER anything but a fan of his.

my father & i were never close when i was a kid and ALI polarized us like no other topic could until my father's death in the early 90's,

my father yelled "loud mouth" and "lucky" in 1964 when Ali  upset SONNY LISTON for the heavyweight championship of the world but i thought his braggadocio was very cool and his boxing style was new and exciting. my imitation of ALI'S vocals & poetry did nothing to endear me to my dad.

The standoff continued in 1967 when Ali refused to be inducted into the army and my dad yelled "draft dodger" and i staunchly defended his right to freedom of religion under the first & fourteenth amendments..

When he was convicted of draft evasion in the same year, my dad said "i told you so" and my retort was "he's going to win on appeal."  when the supreme court exonerated Ali with a unanimous 8-0 vote in 1971, i called my dad in northern wisconsin and he hung up on me.

Most people today have no idea what 'closed circuit' tv is or was but back in the day, that was the only way to see most championship fights as there was no free home tv and it was well before 'pay per view.'

 i spent many a dollar to see the champ at venues like the PICKWICK in PARK RIDGE, the old ROSEMONT ARENA, the MERCURY THEATRE IN CHICAGO and in various hotel rooms & garages with illegal hijacked signals but the one i remember the most is when i hung on the fence FOR FREE at the harlem-irving outdoor theatre in 15 degree temperatures and listened to my transistor radio to see him beat liston).

on closed circuit, i watched him lose to JOE FRAZIER, beat frazier in both rematches and destroy GEORGE FOREMAN to regain the title. i saw all 5 of his losses. FRAZIER, KEN NORTON, LARRY HOLMES, LEON SPINKS & in a fight that burst my balloon, TREVOR BERBICK. who?

but i also saw forty of his wins, including two rematches against frazier, two rematches against norton, his destruction of GEORGE FOREMAN, (Ali was a 3-1 underdog) and regaining his title against leon spinks.

i was fortunate to meet him in person three times....once at a gym in the late 60's, once while walking down MICHIGAN AVENUE in the city and my favorite, waiting for a plane at o'hare where he drew a little sketch on a 3 x 5 which i framed and still hangs proudly in my house.

As most of you know, i collect memorabilia but the autograph i have the most of is the CHAMP. on my bedroom walls are one WALTER PAYTON and three MUHAMMAD ALI sigantures.

He's been retired for 35 years and he's STILL the most recognizable name in the world. I LOVED THAT MAN and everything he went through to defend his principles.

I'm sad that he's gone but happy that he's no longer suffering from advanced parkinson's disease. 
MUHAMMAD ALI, I LOVE YOU. REST IN PEACE.