Meeting Muhammad Ali in his own home

We talked on the air Wednesday about memorabilia that people have collected over the years. Some of the callers had some pretty good stories about how they acquired their treasure.

A woman called about her Muhammad Ali autograph. It wasn't that she had the signature of a world-famous sports and social icon. It was how she got it.

Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) holds up five fingers in a prediction of how many rounds it will take him to knock out British boxer Henry Cooper. (Photo by Kent Gavin/Keystone/Getty Images)

The caller said she was a 21-year-old bank teller in South Jersey back around 1972. Her friend told her she knew where Muhammad Ali lived and asked her to go with her to get an autograph. She went during lunch from her job in Laurel Springs on the 10-minute ride to Cherry Hill. They parked in front of the house at 1121 Winding Drive and walked up the driveway to knock on the front door.

This kind of story seems unimaginable in today's world but back then it was commonplace for people in the area to knock on the champ's door and meet him.

Stories abound of how he would invite unknown visitors in and hang out. One such story is beautifully told by a reporter/writer who knocked on Ali's door when he was 11 years old and asked to do an interview with the champ for his school newspaper.

Muhammad Ali (Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research)

It's an amazing story beautifully told by reporter Mark Voger who grew up, among other things, to become a staff writer for the Asbury Park Press.

Muhammad Ali's old Cherry Hill home on Winding Drive has changed hands several times since the champ lived there from 1971-73 and is once again on the market. It's asking price is $1.8 million, but the memories he so generously gave all the admirers and fans who knocked on his door are priceless.

Check photos of the house below:

Zillow

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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