My almost meeting of The Champ

Except in Southwest Michigan, I suspect not many know that Muhammad Ali for decades had an estate and lived in Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Many others likely had closer interactions with Ali than I did.  Here's mine:

In 1994, my school district was preparing for a spring school facility bond issue vote.  I had just arrived at my school district in late summer 1993. I was the business manager new kid on the block.

I drove to one of our elementary schools, Stewart, for a meeting with the school principal something about how the bond would impact her school.  Leaving the school parking lot, I was walking up the long sidewalk leading to the main entrance.  I was running late, so I was walking fast.

On the sidewalk, I passed two people.  Both were wearing business suits. One was a lady.  The other an African American gentleman.  I forget which was carrying a valise which made me think they were some kind of sales representatives trying to sell something to the school and the valise carried samples of their wares. 

I quickly passed the two on the sidewalk.  As I approached the main entrance doors.  Several special needs school children were in the entry with their teacher.  They were all waving excitedly out the glass.

Not sure exactly what I thought at the time, but was wondering why they were waving at me. "Boy. They really like me at Stewart" or something like that.

I opened the school door.  The teacher who would become one of my best friends in the district, Kathy, stated:

"Rob, you know you just walked past Muhammad Ali."

I turned around. Sure enough it was the Greatest, the Champ. 

The valise?  Ali loved to perform silly magic tricks for kids.  I am told he loved to hear them giggle and clap and cheer.  It was his bag of magic tricks.

Later I found out one of the other teachers at the school was a friend of Ali's.  Her husband, a local executive, sat on the Boys and Girls Club board.  Ali may have been honorary chair of the Board.  In any event, he was involved with the Benton Harbor community in trying to improve the impoverished city.

Ali's son played baseball at Niles High School.

A Forbes story about the sale of the Ali estate in 2018 with pictures.  

The estate had at least two famous owners.  Ali at one time the most famous person in the world .

The other more infamous:  Al Capone.

From Forbes:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/keithflamer/2018/06/22/the-secret-history-of-muhammad-ali-mystical-michigan-farm/