He was among the giants.

He was arguably the most famous person I’d ever stood across the table from. To say that I met Muhammad Ali would imply that it was an occasion that he might have remembered, and that certainly wasn’t the case. There were very few folks in the room, but it was a larger gathering than some sports press conferences.

Some of us just wanted the chance to be in the same room with The Greatest.

One of the river casinos was regularly staging boxing matches and Mohammed Ali had been brought in to help publicize the event. It was long after his career had ended and he was already suffering the effects of Parkinson’s.

Still.

He was Muhammad Ali.

Even on that day, years after his career’s end, he was a formidable presence in the room – I could only imagine what it would have been like to have been in the same circumstances in his prime. I recall back then that the man was acknowledged to be the most recognizable man on planet Earth, known to inhabitants on every continent.

Many of you won’t have attended press conferences, but I can attest to the fact that it is rare that anyone lingers. Television crews have to pack up gear before they go. Radio folks pick up gear and go. Newspaper reporters just go.

Not at this one. We all had just one more question, or some other reason to stand up and head up to the table where Ali was seated.

He was Muhammad Ali.

Whether you agreed with him or disagreed, he was one of those that you’d not miss an opportunity to meet. The casino, of course, benefited greatly from the appearance. Every metro media outlet carried the story.

That event was long enough ago that I’m sure there are plenty of folks who don’t know much about Muhammad Ali, and even less about Sonny Liston and George Foreman. Or Howard Cosell, the brash broadcaster who could hold his own – at least verbally – with the Louisville Lip. There is no way to explain what a phenomenon Ali was.

You hadda be there.

Some might debate whether he was the top boxer of all time, but there’s no mistaking that – in his day – he was… The Greatest.

RIP Champ.