HISTORICAL WALKING TOURS | BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
  • Freedom Trail Tour
    • The Boston Massacre Tour
    • Boston Civil War Tour
    • The Kennedy Tour
    • The Boston Massacre Lesson Plan
    • Paul Revere's Row to Charlestown 4/18/1775
    • Virtual Tour of the Massachusetts State House
    • The Boston Massacre per the Pennsylvania Gazette
    • Paul Revere Lesson Plan
  • Revere Bells Index
    • The Stickney Revere Bell Listings of 1976
    • Paul Revere Bell of Beverly
    • Revere Bells in Boston >
      • Paul Revere Bell Old South Meeting House
    • California's 2 Paul Revere Bells
    • Paul Revere & Son's Bell Westborough Massachusetts
    • Falmouth, Massachusetts
    • Revere Bell Fredericksburg VA
    • Revere Bell Hampton NH
    • First Parish Church of Kennebunk
    • Revere Bells in Maine
    • Revere Bell in Mansfield
    • Revere Bell of Michigan
    • Revere Salem Mass Bell
    • Roxbury First Unitariarn Universalist Church and their Revere Bell
    • Revere & Son Bell, Savannah Georgia
    • Singapore Revere Bell
    • Tuscaloosa Bell >
      • History of the St John and Leavens Patriarchs
      • Samuel St John Jr Estate Genealogy
      • Authenticating the Revere Tuscaloosa Bell
      • Joshua B Leavens Last Will and Testament
      • 20th Century Tuscaloosa bell
    • Revere Bells Lost in Time
    • Revere Bells Washington DC
    • Revere Bell in Wakefield, Mass
    • Revere Bells Woodstock VT
  • Bostonians
    • Edward F Alexander of The Harvard 20th Civil War Regiment
    • Polly Baker
    • John Wilkes Booth
    • The Mad Hatter, Thomas, Boston Corbett who Killed John Wilkes Booth
    • Richard-Henry-Dana-Jr
    • James Franklin
    • Benjamin Harris of Publick Occurrences
    • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
    • William Lloyd Garrison
    • USS Thomas Hudner DDG116
    • Edward Hutchinson Robbins Revere
    • Amos Lincoln
    • King Philip
    • Mayor's of Boston
    • Mum Bett & Theodore Sedgwick
    • James Otis
    • Paul Joseph Revere
    • John Rowe >
      • John Rowe's Diary Entries
      • John Rowe's Dinner Party
      • John Rowe and the Jail Fire
      • Hang John Rowe?????
      • John Rowe the Fisherman
      • Joh Rowe's Tea Ship
    • Be Proud to be Called a Lucy Stoner
    • Rachel Wall , Pirate
    • Paul Revere the Coroner of Boston
    • Deborah Sampson
    • Who was Mrs. Silence Dogood?
    • Dr. Joseph Warren's Dedication
  • History Blog
  • Lilja's of Natick
    • Lilja Brothers Military History
    • Lilja's Family Album
    • Memorials and Tributes to the Five Lilja Brothers
    • Lilja Family Tree
    • Lilja Historical Family Tree Documents
    • Lilja References
  • Collage of Boston
    • 4th of July Parade, Bristol RI
    • Boston Harbor
    • The Customs House
    • Forest Hills Cemetery
    • Georges Island
    • Nonviolent Monument to Peace - Sherborn
    • The Battle Road
    • Skate bike and scooter park
    • Cassin Young & USS Cassin Young
    • MIT
    • Historic Charles River
    • The Roxbury Standpipe on Fort Hill
    • John & Abigail Adams National Park

A Break From Boston History to Celebrate Muhammed Ali

6/7/2016

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He Was the Greatest.

Muhammad Ali visited our place of employment many years ago.  He had lost his ability to speak at this time.  He brought along a close associate to help make a pitch to support Muhammad Ali’s favorite charity.  It was not Parkinson’s disease as best I can recall.  I was in a conference room with him and about twenty other people prior to moving to our cafeteria to permit our tenants to meet The Greatest.

While walking down the hallway I dared to tell him that I was from Smoking Joe Fraser’s home town, Philadelphia.  His eyes lit up and he balanced himself as if he was expecting that never ending wheel house left hook from Joe.  It was a wonderful moment.  I touched him on the shoulder and we shook hands.

We walked slowly but steadily to our cafeteria.  Hundreds of people had waited an hour for him to appear.  He and his lawyer pitched the charity.  Then his lawyer said Muhammad would like to demonstrate some of his magic for you.  We all looked at each other like kids that were at a puppet show.  His lawyer said if we would remain motionless and quiet Ali would levitate for us. The room was completely silent and motionless.  We waited five, ten, fifteen seconds and Muhammad Ali lifted himself out of his casual loafers and stood on his tippy toes.  And of course his lawyer said in a most comical way intent on embarrassing us that even The Greatest cannot defy gravity but if anyone could, bet on him and please take out your check-book and help us meet our goal.

That is the magic that Muhammad Ali had on everyone.  We felt he could defy the laws of nature.  Here is a classic example of his greatness.  Against Ken Norton in 1973, Norton broke Ali’s Jaw, somewhere between the middle rounds of a twelve round bout.  Ali said this, "Funny, the jaw didn't hurt so much in the fight," Ali later told Sports Illustrated's Tex Maule. "Under all the heat and the excitement, you don't feel it. Like a man in a street fight. He get cut in the stomach, fights on with his guts hangin' out and don't feel nothin' until he gets to the hospital.

Thanks for reading my inadequate celebration of a most amazing life.

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  • Freedom Trail Tour
    • The Boston Massacre Tour
    • Boston Civil War Tour
    • The Kennedy Tour
    • The Boston Massacre Lesson Plan
    • Paul Revere's Row to Charlestown 4/18/1775
    • Virtual Tour of the Massachusetts State House
    • The Boston Massacre per the Pennsylvania Gazette
    • Paul Revere Lesson Plan
  • Revere Bells Index
    • The Stickney Revere Bell Listings of 1976
    • Paul Revere Bell of Beverly
    • Revere Bells in Boston >
      • Paul Revere Bell Old South Meeting House
    • California's 2 Paul Revere Bells
    • Paul Revere & Son's Bell Westborough Massachusetts
    • Falmouth, Massachusetts
    • Revere Bell Fredericksburg VA
    • Revere Bell Hampton NH
    • First Parish Church of Kennebunk
    • Revere Bells in Maine
    • Revere Bell in Mansfield
    • Revere Bell of Michigan
    • Revere Salem Mass Bell
    • Roxbury First Unitariarn Universalist Church and their Revere Bell
    • Revere & Son Bell, Savannah Georgia
    • Singapore Revere Bell
    • Tuscaloosa Bell >
      • History of the St John and Leavens Patriarchs
      • Samuel St John Jr Estate Genealogy
      • Authenticating the Revere Tuscaloosa Bell
      • Joshua B Leavens Last Will and Testament
      • 20th Century Tuscaloosa bell
    • Revere Bells Lost in Time
    • Revere Bells Washington DC
    • Revere Bell in Wakefield, Mass
    • Revere Bells Woodstock VT
  • Bostonians
    • Edward F Alexander of The Harvard 20th Civil War Regiment
    • Polly Baker
    • John Wilkes Booth
    • The Mad Hatter, Thomas, Boston Corbett who Killed John Wilkes Booth
    • Richard-Henry-Dana-Jr
    • James Franklin
    • Benjamin Harris of Publick Occurrences
    • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
    • William Lloyd Garrison
    • USS Thomas Hudner DDG116
    • Edward Hutchinson Robbins Revere
    • Amos Lincoln
    • King Philip
    • Mayor's of Boston
    • Mum Bett & Theodore Sedgwick
    • James Otis
    • Paul Joseph Revere
    • John Rowe >
      • John Rowe's Diary Entries
      • John Rowe's Dinner Party
      • John Rowe and the Jail Fire
      • Hang John Rowe?????
      • John Rowe the Fisherman
      • Joh Rowe's Tea Ship
    • Be Proud to be Called a Lucy Stoner
    • Rachel Wall , Pirate
    • Paul Revere the Coroner of Boston
    • Deborah Sampson
    • Who was Mrs. Silence Dogood?
    • Dr. Joseph Warren's Dedication
  • History Blog
  • Lilja's of Natick
    • Lilja Brothers Military History
    • Lilja's Family Album
    • Memorials and Tributes to the Five Lilja Brothers
    • Lilja Family Tree
    • Lilja Historical Family Tree Documents
    • Lilja References
  • Collage of Boston
    • 4th of July Parade, Bristol RI
    • Boston Harbor
    • The Customs House
    • Forest Hills Cemetery
    • Georges Island
    • Nonviolent Monument to Peace - Sherborn
    • The Battle Road
    • Skate bike and scooter park
    • Cassin Young & USS Cassin Young
    • MIT
    • Historic Charles River
    • The Roxbury Standpipe on Fort Hill
    • John & Abigail Adams National Park