Muhammad Ali loved being Muhammad Ali. It’s apparent in every story that’s been told about him since his death. Each tale seems better than the last, with average folks relating stories of Ali being unfailingly kind and generous to fans, no matter how famous he became.
Among the
best we’ve heard so far comes from a tiny town in the Midwest. It came at the height of Ali’s career and personifies his often used moniker “the people’s champion”.
Jack Replogle sat at the Country Village Restaurant, now the site of the Plaza Motel just off a Missouri interstate, having breakfast. There was a sharp-looking camper in the parking lot. He walked into the bathroom to find someone shaving at the sink. The guy looked really familiar and before Replogle could finish a sentence asking if he was the heavyweight champ, Ali answered for him.
That meeting produced an autograph, one Replogle literally carried with him for years and still owns. It also started a passion for collecting sports memorabilia for Replogle.
Watch the story from KY3 in Springfield.
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