I had the pleasure of meeting him in person when he was in training for the Oscar Bonavena fight. That was the first fight of his comeback after he was stripped of the title for refusing to be inducted into the armed forces. It was November of 1970. I remember it well because Fay and I were on our honeymoon in Miami Beach. Because Ali was a Muslim he required kosher food. He was training and staying at the same kosher hotel, ( The Seagull at 21st St. & Collins Ave.) that we were. It was not publicized at all that he was there. He got up very early in the morning to do his road work and would come into the lobby just when I was coming down from my room to go to morning prayer services. We would talk for a while every morning until the services began. He was a very warm, friendly, and down to earth person; not at all like his public image which was just an act to boost ticket sales. He took a liking to me because I sympathized with his anti-war philosophy and called him by his proper Muslim name. I compared him to The Weavers who were blacklisted during the Joe McCarthy era and he could relate to that very well.

                                              SOL ZELLER