Ken Fitzgerald
01-20-2007, 10:23 PM
As a teen I only had two men I idolized........my Dad and Muhammad Ali.......Both fighters in their own right
I have two oil paintings in my home.....the one in the living room...a gift for my 50th birthday...My youngest son in his Navy officer's dress whites in the front of the oil portrait....US flag behind one shoulder.....Navy flag behind the other shoulder....My father in his enlisted dress blues in the upper left corner......me in my enlisted dress blues in the upper right corner...a gift from my youngest son........You see...my father died 3 months before my youngest son was born.
In my family room there is a 30" x 40" oil portrait of Muhammad Ali.....he's upright in a neutral corner.....looking down on you.....you the viewer are on the canvas....
My father boxed during WWII......climbed in the ring a couple of times when my grandmother needed a house payment....county fair....$30 if you can last 3 rounds.....according to Grandma after Dad's funeral.....he knocked the guys out in less than 3 both times.....I witnessed the results of his furious fists a couple of times while working for him on oil rigs....3 weeks before he died of a heart attack...he knocked a guy out at a 4th of July company picnic as related to me by my Dad's boss at Dad's funeral.
He detested Muhammad Ali...."he's not a fighter"...."look at that coward run"...."why doesn't he stand still and fight?" My reply was always the same..."there's nothing intelligent about standing and letting some muscle bound idiot pound on you."
So this week.....Muhammad Ali...."The Greatest".......turned 65. He became more of a champ as he aged IMHO. Quite a statesman IMHO. Perhaps the most recoginized sports figure in the world.
I have two oil paintings in my home.....the one in the living room...a gift for my 50th birthday...My youngest son in his Navy officer's dress whites in the front of the oil portrait....US flag behind one shoulder.....Navy flag behind the other shoulder....My father in his enlisted dress blues in the upper left corner......me in my enlisted dress blues in the upper right corner...a gift from my youngest son........You see...my father died 3 months before my youngest son was born.
In my family room there is a 30" x 40" oil portrait of Muhammad Ali.....he's upright in a neutral corner.....looking down on you.....you the viewer are on the canvas....
My father boxed during WWII......climbed in the ring a couple of times when my grandmother needed a house payment....county fair....$30 if you can last 3 rounds.....according to Grandma after Dad's funeral.....he knocked the guys out in less than 3 both times.....I witnessed the results of his furious fists a couple of times while working for him on oil rigs....3 weeks before he died of a heart attack...he knocked a guy out at a 4th of July company picnic as related to me by my Dad's boss at Dad's funeral.
He detested Muhammad Ali...."he's not a fighter"...."look at that coward run"...."why doesn't he stand still and fight?" My reply was always the same..."there's nothing intelligent about standing and letting some muscle bound idiot pound on you."
So this week.....Muhammad Ali...."The Greatest".......turned 65. He became more of a champ as he aged IMHO. Quite a statesman IMHO. Perhaps the most recoginized sports figure in the world.